Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi,
I’m considering starting to bake my cakes in sandwich tins for quicker cooking and ease of layers.
Having already invested in deep invicta tins I wasn’t wanting to spend too much money, it seems fairly easy to find round sandwich tins in varying sizes but I’m finding it really difficult to find Square ones especially in any range of sizes! Does anyone know where to find these please?
On another note does anyone use this method instead of layering deep cakes if any ones got any feed back it would be greatly appreciated. Also has anyone tried Paul’s chocolate cake in sandwich tins? And finally (sorry!) do people usually make their cakes 3 or 4 layers please?

Sorry for so many questions and thank you so very much in advance for any feedback x

Hi fi28

I’ve invested in sandwich tins from my local restaurant supply outlet for same reason. Great place to buy cake pans however storage becomes a problem!
The only square shallow pans I have seen are 2″ deep by Wilton. Normal sandwich tins are approx 1.5″ deep and work great for sponge cakes but not so great for madeira or other dense cakes which need longer baking. I haven’t tried doing Paul’s recipe in a sandwich tin. I can’t see it working because sandwich tins are quite thin and the chocolate cake needs a thicker pan for a longer bake to set the batter. If you try it adjust the sugar so the batter sets sooner. There are lots of tweeks for the recipe in this thread:

‘Paul’s moist chocolate cake’ My feed back

For layered square sponge cakes, I bake large sheet cakes and cut out squares using an adjustable square cake ring like this:
http://www.bakingfrenzy.com/adjustable-square-cake-ring-p-734.html
Sheet cakes take less time (sponge cakes). My blog on ‘baking problems and solutions’ diccusses deep cakes v sheet cakes and the different types of pans and batter and how to assess timing. The blog is here:

Front Page

It’s great using this method to layer cakes but it isn’t suitable for all cakes. Cake batter is so different, unfortunately there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. I bake deep cakes for more dense recipes.

As for how to layer deep cakes there are layering tools available. I have a small Wilton cake leveller which is adequate for my needs. However if you are in business, I would definitely recommend the Agbay leveller as seen being demostrated by Paul:

Agbay Tool | Review, Unboxing and Demonstration

There are lots of other makes. I made the mistake of buying a so-so Agbay lookie which was a complete disaster! For round cakes there is the Zenker multi slicer. Having good long serrated knives also helps. I have the Gustav brand (in every size) for my denser cakes. Take a peek here my answer about knives:

Cake cutting knives or other ways to cut?

To see other discussions on knives, type in the search box ‘knives’.

Cake designs have become more dramatic. This has seen a rise in taller cakes. Many people are beginning to either make double barrel cakes or three/ four layers to give the extra height. I sometimes make three 1.5″ deep layers, when filled and iced gives me a good 5″ cake depending on the thickness of the filling. If I make 4 layers I get a 6 ” cake. A cake card between the middle or a centre dowel to stablize the structure is recommended.

Phew!! hope some of the above helps. Wait and see what other members say so that you can make informed discisions.

I use sandwich tins, find it so much easier to get three evenly baked layers, and much quicker – I used to do a large bake in a deep pan to get my first two layers, then make a new mix to use the same pan to get my final layer – very time consuming.

I use alan silverwood loose bottom sandwich tins and have gradually built up to having three of each size so I can bake one full tier at once from one mix. will probably eventually build up to 4 or 5 of each size so I can do taller tiers in one go too. These are really great quality pans and I would recommend them, reasonable prices too. The square ones from alan silverwood are also good as they produce really sharp corners, but unfortunately these are only available in 7, 8 and 9 inches so I have the same problem as you. I have been keeping my eye out for some but not found any yet.

For squares other than those three sizes I have, I have been reverting to the time consuming method of two bakes in a deep tin, but I may invest in some trays and follow madeitwithloves suggestion.

Sorry I can’t be much help, but I would personally recommend using sandwich tins, even if only for round

Thank you Madeitwithlove and Katie 7 for taking the time to respond both of your answers were exremely helpful I will have a good look at the alan silverwood pans and the idea of the square cake ring, much appreciated. Thanks! x

fi28, I too use the Alan Silverwood pans, I have the multi pan and the sphere pans. The company itself is extremly helpful and will answer any questions you may have about their wares. I think the multipan is fantastic! x