Unlike ceramic or glass bakeware, aluminum and aluminized steel pans conduct heat steadily, allowing cakes to bake evenly. They’re also durable enough to last a long time.
Fat Daddio’s anodized aluminum pans come in several depths and 레터링케이크 diameters, giving you plenty of options for baking a single layer or multiple. Their light color prevents the overbaking that can occur with dark pans.
Material
The material used in a cake pan can affect how easy it is to use, whether the cake bakes evenly and how affordable it is. There are many types of metal cake pans on the market, including aluminum, anodized aluminum, cast iron and silicone. Each type has pros and cons.
Aluminum is lightweight and cheap, and it conducts heat quickly and evenly. It also comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some aluminum pans have a nonstick coating, which is easier to clean and prevents food from sticking. However, some nonstick coatings can contain PTFE, which is a health concern for some people.
Aluminized aluminum is a thicker metal that can handle high temperatures and is durable. It is also a good choice for making multilayer cakes. Other types of metal cake pans include steel and stainless steel. They are heavier than aluminum and can be more expensive, but they are dishwasher safe.
Height
The size and height of a cake pan affects its volume capacity. For example, a full-sheet cake typically bakes about 70-80 servings. Half-sheet cakes can feed 36-48, and quarter-sheets bake 20-24 servings.
If your recipe calls for a larger or smaller pan than you have on hand, you can compensate by adjusting the volume of the batter to fit the pan’s dimensions. This requires some on-the-fly math.
A good rule of thumb is to use a pan that is the same width as your oven’s rack. This allows the heat to circulate evenly across the pan and prevent overbaking. Also, choose a pan with perpendicular sides. This will help ensure the batter rises evenly, which can improve the texture of your cake. A few other important factors to consider are the material and design of the pan. For example, dark-colored metal pans tend to become hotter and brown the crust more quickly than light-colored ones.
Width
When baking a cake, you need to know the width of your pan. This will help determine how much batter you put in and also whether the cake will bake evenly.
Round cake pans, Bundt pans, and tube pans are typically 2 1/2 inches wide. These pans can also be extra-deep, which is useful for deep cakes such as cheesecakes.
Sheet cake pans come in several sizes including full, half, and quarter-sheet. Full-sheet cakes can feed about 70 people, while half-sheet cakes are ideal for medium parties and family gatherings. Quarter-sheet pans can hold between 20 and 24 servings.
The volume capacity of square and rectangular pans can be difficult to calculate, but there are some simple formulas. The area of a circle is equal to its radius squared; the area of a rectangle can be calculated by multiplying one side times the other. These formulas are easy to remember and can be used to find out which pan substitutions will work well in a recipe.
Corners
These pans heat up and cool down quickly, which makes them a good choice for bakers who need their cake to get in and out of the oven fast. They also produce cakes with very little doming and a light texture that releases easily from the pan.
The rolled edges of this pan feel sturdy and the double-hemmered bottom adds strength. We were pleasantly surprised that the pan required less grease than many of our other contenders and didn’t leave difficult-to-clean nooks and crannies behind. However, its slanted sides mean that the pan isn’t ideal for stacking a layer cake. The other problem is that the pan’s protruding grooves make it harder to frost and decorate a finished cake. Hand-washing is recommended to keep this pan in prime condition. Avoid using abrasive sponges or soaps, which can scratch the surface. It’s also not dishwasher safe.