How to use the cake pan converter
- Enter the recipe’s pan: its shape, size and how many pans the recipe uses.
- Enter your pan the same way.
- If the pans have different depths, or one is a bundt or tube pan, tick compare volume and enter the depths or capacity.
- Multiply every ingredient by the factor, or type your ingredients into the list to scale them automatically.
The formulas
Round pan area = π × (Diameter ÷ 2)² Square pan area = Side × Side Rectangle area = Length × Width Scaling factor = Your pan area ÷ Recipe pan area With depth: factor = (Area × Depth of your pan) ÷ (Area × Depth of recipe pan)
Worked example
The recipe is for one 8-inch round pan and you have a 9-inch round pan:
- 8-inch area = 3.1416 × 4² = 50.3 in²
- 9-inch area = 3.1416 × 4.5² = 63.6 in²
- Factor = 63.6 ÷ 50.3 = 1.27 — 2 cups of flour becomes about 2½ cups, and 3 eggs becomes 4 (3.8 rounded)
Common pan sizes
| Pan | Area | Approx. batter (2 in deep, ⅔ full) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 in round | 28.3 in² (182 cm²) | 2½ cups |
| 8 in round | 50.3 in² (324 cm²) | 4 cups |
| 9 in round | 63.6 in² (410 cm²) | 5½ cups |
| 10 in round | 78.5 in² (507 cm²) | 7 cups |
| 8 in square | 64 in² (413 cm²) | 5½ cups |
| 9 in square | 81 in² (523 cm²) | 7 cups |
| 9 × 13 in rectangle | 117 in² (755 cm²) | 10 cups |
| Half sheet 13 × 18 in (1 in deep) | 234 in² (1,510 cm²) | 10 cups |
| Standard bundt | — | 10–12 cup pan, fill ⅔ |
Tips for scaling cake recipes
- Weigh if you can: scaling grams is far more accurate than scaling cups and spoons.
- Eggs: round to the nearest whole egg, or whisk and weigh — a large egg is about 50 g out of the shell.
- Leavening: for small changes, scale baking powder and soda with everything else. For doubling or more, many bakers use slightly less than double.
- Fill pans halfway to two-thirds so the cake has room to rise without overflowing.
- Temperature: keep it the same for most changes. For very large or deep cakes, lower it by about 25 °F (15 °C) and bake longer so the middle sets before the edges dry out.
- Glass and dark pans conduct heat faster; reduce the oven temperature by 25 °F (15 °C) when using them.
Changing shape, not just size
Batter behaves differently in different shapes even when the area is the same. A square pan has corners that bake faster than the centre, and a bundt pan’s central tube helps a dense batter cook through evenly. When moving a recipe from a sheet pan to a deep round, expect to need more time and check the centre with a skewer rather than relying on the clock.