Is there a guide or rule of thumb about scaling a cake. If the recipe calls for an 8-inch square pan and I use a 10-inch square pan, how will it behave in the oven? I expect the baking time will be longer but should I change the temperature for more even baking?
Note: I already realize that a 10-inch pan will requires roughly 1.5 times the batter than is called for for a recipe designed for an 8-inch pan.
for square pans: (10 * 10) / (8 * 8) = 100 / 64 ~ 3/2
for round pans: (pi * 5 * 5) / (pi * 4 * 4) = 25/16 ~ 3/2.
Best Answer
Within reasonable limits, baking time is proportional to the thickness of the cake.
If you scale your recipe proportionately to the change in surface area from the standard pan to the one you are going to use, the baking time will be approximately the same. You can continue to use the base time as a guideline, but as always in successful cooking and baking, you will want to test when the layer is done with an appropriate method, such as the toothpick test.
On the other hand, thinner layers require less time, and counter-intuitively, higher temperatures; thicker layers more time and lower temperatures. You should not see this requirement if you are scaling based on pan surface.
When you begin to make very large layers, as for a wedding cake, changes to leavening will also be required.