What happened to your cake pan? You don’t have one? Not everyone has the luxury of a large kitchen with plenty of room for all types of culinary equipment.
At the same time, even if you have the room, not everyone wants their kitchen to be crammed with a variety of cake pans and cooking gadgets. Maybe you don’t have a cake pan because you’re new to baking and want to experiment before investing in new pans.
You don’t have a pan for whatever reason. What should I do now? Don’t give up on preparing that cake; there are answers to your cake pan issues.
Contents
- Use a Sheet Pan
- Create Your Own Pan
- Make a Pull Apart Cake
- How to Make a Cake Without a Specialty Pan
- FAQs
- What can I use if I don’t have a cake pan?
- What can I use instead of a 9 inch round cake pan?
- Can you bake a cake on a cookie sheet?
- What can cake pans be made of?
- Can you bake a cake in any pan?
- What can I substitute for an 8 inch round cake pan?
- Can I use a 9 inch instead of an 8 inch cake pan?
- Can you bake a cake in a pie pan?
- Why is it called a Texas sheet cake?
Use a Sheet Pan
When baking a cake without a cake pan, the first alternative is to use a sheet pan instead.
A flat sheet pan with edges that rise at least one inch all the way around is great for baking a cake. The remaining measurements of the pan are unimportant; a regular 18 inch by 13 inch pan will suffice, but if you have a smaller or bigger pan, you will just get a smaller or larger cake!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or oil and flour it (just as you would prepare a cake pan when baking a cake). Then pour in the batter!
2 per inch. This allows the cake to rise without overflowing. A decent general rule of thumb is to fill the pan halfway up. For example, if your pan has a one-inch lip around the borders, fill it halfway up so that the batter reaches up the sides 1 inch.
Baking on a sheet pan produces thin layers of cake, so bake one layer, remove it from the pan, and bake a second (or third) layer.
Much better if you have more than one sheet pan! You can bake two layers at the same time!
After cooked, you may simply fill and stack the cake, preserving the rectangular form of the pan, or you can cut the cake into whatever shape you wish.
If you need a circular cake, choose a bowl that is about the size of the cake you want. Next, set the bowl on top of the cake and use a knife to trace around the round top, cutting your cake into a gorgeous circle.
Have a look at that! You used a rectangle sheet pan to make a circular cake!
You’ll also have cake crumbs to nibble on since you cut the circle out of the cake. This seems to be an excellent solution for baking a cake without the need of a cake pan.
Create Your Own Pan
Why purchase a cake pan when you can create your own?
If you have aluminum foil and a flat sheet pan, you’re halfway to making your own cake pan. This approach is particularly fantastic since you can build whatever size or shape pan you desire.
High grade aluminum foil works best since it is much thicker than some of the cheaper foils. Choose a cake form and let’s get started!
Here’s a wonderful video that shows the process:
The first step in building your own cake pan is to determine the circumference of the pan you’re making.
Thus, if you require an eight-inch round cake pan, the diameter of the pan will be around 25 inches (remember from high school math class that the circumference of a circle is 2 ror, these days, just ask Google!).
After you have this number, you may begin cutting the aluminum foil.
Take a large piece of foil and cut it to the length you want (in the case of our eight inch round pan, 25 inches). Finally, after you’ve set out your long foil, fold it in half vertically. The foil should still be 2 inches long, but it should be a bit thinner now.
Then fold it in half again, making it even thinner. Take this long strip and join the two ends to make a circle (If you are making a heart or square, form that shape at this point). Place the circle so that it resembles a cake pan with no bottom. Part one is complete!
Obtain another long piece of foil, any length will do; this one does not need to be precise. Place it flat on the counter and center your improvised circle.
The flat sheet of foil on the counter will serve as the pan’s base, and the shape you created will serve as the pan’s sides. Consider this as you go.
Keep the foundation flat by folding the bottom piece of foil up over the sides of the shape you made. You’re basically gluing the pan’s base to the sides and locking the two together- you don’t want any cake batter to seep out!
Repeat this step if you want to make the foundation a bit more solid. If you want even greater batter leak prevention, bind the base to the sidewalls using masking tape. Tape the foil just at the 90-degree angle where the base meets the sides.
Put your handmade pan on top of a sheet tray for added stability and to make moving the pan in and out of the oven simpler. Coat your new pan with baking spray before pouring in the batter. Your cake is now ready to go into the oven!
The nicest thing about constructing your own cake pan is how simple cleaning is- just toss the pan away! You may never want to purchase another cake pan again.
Make a Pull Apart Cake
The last option for not having a cake pan while making cake is to create a tear apart cake. How does one go about doing this? Let me to explain.
Instead of making a cake, use the batter to make cupcakes.
Spoon the batter into paper liners in a muffin pan and bake as usual. Place them on a tray in the form of the cake you want after they’ve cooled. You may arrange them to form a heart, a circle, or pretty much anything else you like.
This is the stage at which your cupcakes transform into a cake.
Place a large scoop of frosting on top of each cupcake and spread it with an offset spatula over the tops of all the cupcakes, linking them with icing. Apply extra frosting until the tops are completely coated and the cake has been shaped with a spatula.
Your cupcakes have been transformed into a cake by frosting them as a single unit rather than individually. You may, however, take the base of one cupcake, peel it away from the remainder of the cake, and then eat it. Get it? Cake that can be separated There’s no need for a cake pan with this recipe.
How to Make a Cake Without a Specialty Pan
Don’t worry if you’re baking a cake that requires a specialist pan that you don’t have. Just consider why the pan is required for the particular dish at hand and, after you’ve identified the reason, come up with a creative alternative.
The idea for this is that the metal hole center will heat and aid cook the cake’s core. For example, if you need a bundt pan (one with a hole),
Wrap a metal, empty soda can in foil and set it in the middle of a normal cake pan as a solution. Pour the batter into the soda can and presto! A bundt pan!
The can heats up similarly to the middle tube of a bundt pan and produces almost comparable results!
If your recipe calls for a spring form pan with a detachable bottom, you’re probably preparing a cake that sticks to the pan or is difficult to turn out after it’s done.
Cheesecakes are often cooked in these pans because the surface of a cheesecake is always sticky, even after baking—you don’t want to turn it upside down and ruin a perfectly flat top!
Instead, use a standard cake pan and gently turn the cake when the time comes. To ensure that the cake comes out easily when flipped, run a tiny spatula or knife down the edge of the pan.
A very cold cake will also flip more easily and be less sticky.
The main line is that you can create a cake without a cake pan, and you have many choices to pick from. You may even prefer these options over using a standard cake pan!
Think beyond the pan and your products will be delicious and beautiful!
FAQs
What can I use if I don’t have a cake pan?
When baking a cake without a cake pan, the first alternative is to use a sheet pan instead. A flat sheet pan with edges that rise at least one inch all the way around is great for baking a cake.
What can I use instead of a 9 inch round cake pan?
“You can bake a 9-inch round cake in an 8-inch square pan,” explains Levy Beranbaum. And, according to Medrich, “loaf pans and tube pans are a bit interchangeable since they are both deep and aren’t broad and expansive, but then you have to compare how much volume they contain.”
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
The dimensions of a cookie sheet are 15 inches by 10 inches by 1 inch high.
Prepare the Spice Cake mix according to the box directions, along with the eggs, water, and oil.
On a cookie sheet, evenly distribute the cake mix. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until done. Depending on the size of your oven.
What can cake pans be made of?
A cake pan is a pan that is used to bake a cake in an oven. Metal, enameled metal, silicone, heat-resistant glass, ceramic, or terracotta are all possibilities. The majority of metal ones manufactured nowadays have nonstick surfaces. Cake pans may also be used to make casseroles, squares, no-bake desserts, tiered party dips, and other similar items.
Can you bake a cake in any pan?
But there’s a catch: most cake recipes are published with instructions tailored to a certain pan. Thankfully, almost every batter may be cooked in a variety of ways, from a large cast iron skillet to a half sheet pan, or simply layers that are somewhat larger than those specified by the recipe.
What can I substitute for an 8 inch round cake pan?
For cake and bar recipes, an 8″ square pan and a 9″ round pan may be used interchangeably.
Can I use a 9 inch instead of an 8 inch cake pan?
If your recipe asks for an 8-inch cake pan but you only have a 9-inch, don’t worry. Just raise the oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit and cut the baking time in half. In this case, since your pan is 1 inch bigger, more surface area will be exposed.
Can you bake a cake in a pie pan?
Cake on a sheet. You may have noticed that I like to use attractive pie plates instead of square bakeware whenever possible… I also don’t always use a pie plate when I make pies, such as this peach crostata… I cooked it in a pie plate to make it more formal than a brownie.
Why is it called a Texas sheet cake?
The history of this dessert is hazy. Some accounts indicate it initially appeared in a Texas newspaper, thus the name “Texas” sheet cake, while others believe the name originates from the fact that it is the size of Texas. Whatever its origins, this cake is a crowd-pleaser.