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    Decorated Treats » Tips & Techniques

    How to Calculate Cake Recipes

    Published: Aug 25, 2020 · Modified: Aug 4, 2022 by Priya Maha

    Have you ever wondered how to calculate cake recipes for odd shaped cake tins? This is a question I often get asked. Knowing how to calculate the quantity of batter for non-round and non-square cake tins will enable you to bake cakes in odd shaped tins and molds without any wastage.

    Poster on how to calculate cake recipes with images of cake tins and measuring jugs.

    This is the technique I used when I baked a 3D car cake in a car shaped cake tin. And I use the same technique for all my other cakes which are baked in non round and non square cake pans.

    This is an easy technique so long as you have a cake recipe that you have baked before and know how much batter it will produce for a certain cake tin size.

    A car shaped cake.
    Jump to:
    • ❤️Why you will love this tutorial
    • 🧾Supplies required
    • 💡How it works
    • 👩‍🍳How to Calculate
    • ❤️More tips and techniques you will love

    ❤️Why you will love this tutorial

    • It helps you bake cakes in any shape.
    • It reduces wastage at having to guess the amount of batter required for a specialty cake tins.
    • You can also use this technique to scale up or down the size of round cakes and squares cakes.

    If you like this tutorial, you should also check out my other guides on how to level and layer a cake, how to line a cake tin, how to make and decorate your own cake boards and how to transported cakes.

    🧾Supplies required

    This is what I use in this tutorial to calculate and come up with the estimation for the cake batter:

    • 6 inch round cake tin (I have baked six inch round cakes many time and know how much batter the tin would require)
    • Water - this is used as a substitute for the cake batter when calculating the estimate.
    • A large measuring cup
    • The actual cake tin or pan you intend to bake your cake in.

    💡How it works

    Note: In order for this technique to work, you must know how much batter you cake recipe yields for a standard round or square tin.

    For example, if the recipe you have is for a 6 inch round cake, you will need to know much will the cake batter fill the 6 inch cake tin, i.e., whether it will fill half of the tin or two thirds of it. Only if you know this will this calculation technique work.  

    Assuming your recipe normally fills two thirds of a 6 inch round tin, you will need to fill the cake tin with water until it is two thirds full. Then, pour the water into a measuring jug. Note the measurement.

    In my example, two thirds of my 6 inch cake pan fills 800 ml water. So, this is how much batter my recipe will yield. If my odd shaped cake pan requires more than 800 ml batter, I will have to scale up my recipe accordingly.

    Let's assume I wish to bake a dome shaped cake in a bowl shaped cake tin. To determine how much batter my dome-shaped tin requires, I fill it with water all the way until it is about ¾ inches to the rim. This is how much I want the cake batter to fill my cake tin. I then pour the water into a large measuring cup. In my example here, the dome-shaped bowl requires almost 1000 ml batter. This is more than the 800 ml for a 6 inch round tin. So I will have to scale up my recipe in order to have enough batter to fill my dome-shaped bowl.

    👩‍🍳How to Calculate

    To calculate how much scaling is required, you can use this formula:

    • Batter for odd shaped cake tin (in ml) / Batter for standard round or square tin (in ml)  = number of times the recipes needs to be scaled up or down

    I have illustrated this in graphics below. 

    The Scenario

    Assuming the recipe you have is a butter pound cake recipe for a 6 inch round cake tin. You have baked this cake before and know that the batter (before baking) will fill up to two thirds of the cake tin.

    You now want to bake the cake in bowl shaped tin and need to know how much you need to scale the recipe (up or down).

    Step 1: Fill the round cake tin with water

    Fill your 6 inch round cake tin with water until it is two thirds full (two thirds because that is how much batter your recipe normally produces and you know it).

    Note: You will only be able to use this technique this if you remember the point at which your cake tin is filled with the cake batter based on your experience of baking the cake previously.

    Pointing to the water level in a cake tin filled with water.

    Step 2: Measure the water in the round tin

    Pour the water from the cake tin into a large measuring cup and note the measurement. In this example it is 800ml.

    Pouring water from a cake tin into a measuring jug.
    Pointing to a line on the measuring jug.

    Step 3: Fill and measure the water in the bowl shaped tin

    Repeat the same process with your bowl shaped cake tin. Fill it with water up to the level where you want my cake batter to fill up. 

    Pointing to the water level in a bowl filled with water.

    And then pour the water into a large measuring cup and note its measurement. In this example, the bowl requires 1000 ml batter.

    Pointing to a line on the measuring jug.

    Step 4: Calculate the batter required with the formula

    Based on the measures above, here is the formula to calculate the required amount of cake batter for the odd shaped cake pan:

    • Batter for odd shaped cake tin (in ml) / Batter for standard round or square tin (in ml) = number of times the recipes needs to be scaled up or down.

    Using this formula in the example above, the equation to calculate would be as follows:

    • 1000 ml / 800 ml = 1.25 times

    This means you will need to scale your recipe by 1.25 times from the original recipe which was meant for a 6 inch tin. To do this, each ingredient in the calculated recipe for a 6 inch round cake tin must be multiplied by 1.25 times. This way I will have the required amount of cake batter for the dome-shaped bowl. 

    And that's it. This is how I calculate cake recipes for odd shaped cake tins and pans. 

    I hope this will be able to help you to calculate cake recipes for your baking projects! 

    ❤️More tips and techniques you will love

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      How Long Can Cheesecake Sit Out (Best Storage Practices)
    • An edible image with green buttercream border.
      How to Put Edible Image on a Cake (A Complete Guide)
    • A bowl of mascarpone cheese against marble background.
      Can You Freeze Mascarpone Cheese (How To & Tips)
    • A round cake on a cake board.
      Why is My Cake Wet In the Middle (and How to Avoid It)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alan Kenney

      February 26, 2023 at 12:28 am

      Hi, I'm not understanding the formula stuff. I waqnt to make a Victoria sponge in my new air fryer using 2 x 5" Springform tins and I want to know what the quantities are for the ingredients please
      Thank you
      Alan

      Reply
      • Priya Maha

        February 26, 2023 at 7:32 am

        Hi Alan,

        In order to be able to calculate the quantities required, you would need to have a base measurement. Have you made the cake in any other cake tin sizes pls. If not, you wont be able to use the formula.

        Reply

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    Poster on how to calculate cake recipes with images of cake tins and measuring jugs.
    A poster of images with a Minion cake, a doll cake and images pointing to cake tins.
    A poster of images with a Minion cake, a doll cake and images pointing to cake tins.