Help!! Making cake in smaller tins, how to adjust recipe?!

[topbannana]

There is only DH, DS (9) and I so these recipes that say "serves 10" are far too big for us and I prefer to bake more often and have fresher stuff. BUT is there a simple way to scale down a recipe?
I am quite adept at halving recipes and adapting quantities so can halve the cake recipe easily, it's just how I go about resizing the tin that is vexing me :o If I get it wrong then surely I will end up with either uncooked or burnt cake? And it CANNOT be as simple as just halving the size of the cake tin. Can it?!

Nope, don't half the cake tin size! You need to work in volumes.
[[http://www.kitchenscookshop.co.uk/shop/items/baking-guide/ gives a guide for number of egg sponge cake for different size tins, which might get you started?

DOH, don't forget to modify the cooking time also!

Topbanana what size tin are you thinking of using? i have a recipe for all size tins square and round, plain and chocolate, from 6inch to 12inch.

If length scale factor is k, volume scale factor is k^3.

So - a 12inch diameter to a 9 inch diameter has a length scale factor of 0.75 (9/12), but volume sf of 0.75x0.75x0.75=0.42. So use about 42% of the original amounts rather than 75% of the original amount in this example.

Hope that's clear enough and I've not made any stupid mistakes.

nannycook I have a 7" round tin here I was thinking of using as its a nice size for us. If you have quantities for this tin I would be eternally grateful for them (chocolate and plain please :))

topbanana, i'm in work at the mo, when i get home i'll get back to you. i've made 6cakes in the last fortnight, all different sizes, its a good cake mix too, will be happy to share the recipes with you also.

3 eggs, 6oz, butter (marge/olivio or whatever), 6oz sugar, 6oz self raising flour (5oz flour + 1oz coco powder)

will do 2 7inch round sandwich tins or mame a nice thick cake in a 7inch deep tin.

BM gets away with 2 eggs, to 4oz, but she is a brilliant baker. Her cakes always rise and she can split them in half perfectly. I precer a bit more margin of error.

BM=DM(um)

sorry still no spell check need to ask the geeks if they know why kindle fire has lost its red line

What size & shape time is the original recipe for?

Tin, not time.

Breathe the original is for 20cm, my tin is 18 but have since found out various family members with children will e at tomorrow's Big Lunch so 20cm will not be wasted this time around :)

I adjust recipes based on surface area, rather than volume, since you don't generally want to change the depth of the cake.

So if you want to halve a recipe written for a 20cm tin, you would take radius (10cm) squared and divide that by 2 (so you get 50),and then the square root of that is the new radius. Square root of 50 is near as dammit 7,so you would need a 14cm tin.

Topbanana, been to a party, home now. This is a fab recipe, for a 7/18cm round tin,

200grms each of soft butter and sugar, 4eggs,150grms plain flour, and 50grms of s/r flour, 3tsp milk, cook for 1hr 15mins, this is using the creaming in method, i use gas 3, or 160/350f. i can give you the choco cake recipeif you want too.hope this is helpful.

I'd use the surface area approach too. The surface area of the 20cm tin is 314 sq cm and the surface area of the 18cm tin is 254 sq cm. 254/314 is 80% so you need to make 4/5 of the recipe. Unless it easily divides by 5, I wouldn't bother making it smaller as the savings on ingredients won't be great. If you particularly want to make a smaller cake them you can cook the spare batter in fairy cake cases. I find that spare cake goes down well at work. Obviously that isn't quite the answer you were looking for.

I also have the same recipe for all size tins if you want them, its a nice recipe. Give it a try and if you dont like it, try another way.

I put some pis on my profile so you could see the different size i used.

This a perfect ready reckoner without working out maths. Used for all my cakes and wedding cakes.

www.lindyscakes.co.uk/2009/07/27/how-to-i-change-a-cake-recipe-quanities/

Thank you so much for all your help
nannycook the chocolate recipe would be very welcome as well please :)

Topbanana what size tin are you using? Same as before? I'll give you 7&8 inch round,its nothing fancy just a simple choc cake, what you put inside it will make all the difference, use chocolate ganache, mmm.

For 7inch.
140g (5oz) butter.
250g(8oz)caster sugar.
1and half tsp vanilla.
2eggs
55g(2oz) s/rflour.
165g(5 and half oz) plain flour.
3/4tsp bicarb soda.
60g(2oz) cocoa powder
210ml(7fl.oz)milk.
Cook 1 hr gas 3-4
Creaming method again and add dry ingredients and fold in alternately with small quantities of milk.

8inch round tin.
165g(5 and half oz)
300g(10oz)caster
2tsp vanilla
3eggs
65g(2oz) s/rflour
200g(6andhalfoz)plain flour
1tsp bicarb
70g(2and halfoz) cocoa powder
250ml(8fl.oz)milk
Cook 1hr 10mins or untill cooked and method as before.
Topbanana, hope this is helpful, let me know if you try it ok?