Baking with a dark pan can be tricky, so here's what you need to know about it.
The magazine, Sift, has beautiful photography and delicious recipes.It's a great resource for bakers.From time to time, we pick out a reader's question from Sift to feature here in our blog, like this one from our Holiday 2016 issue:
I am wondering about baking in dark pans.I made a recipe from your magazine and it came out very dark at 350F, even though the pan was lined with parchment.Is it a good idea to lower the heat when using dark pans?Karen.
The answer is yes, when baking cake in a dark pan, reduce the oven temperature to 25 degrees.To be safe, start checking the cake about 10 minutes before the recipe says it should be done.
A dark metal pan absorbs and distributes heat more quickly than lighter colored pans.The cake will bake more quickly in a dark pan if it is exposed to too much oven heat.
Here's why.They'll set quickly if the cake's sidewalls are exposed to high heat at the beginning.When you're trying to stack a layer cake, the center of the cake continues to rise, causing a dome.
It is easier for the oven's heat to penetrate cake crust when it is still soft.A set crust that blocks heat from reaching the cake's unbaked interior is the last thing you want.
The quicker your cake bakes, the more chance you have of over-baking it, because your window of opportunity for pulling it out of the oven at the right moment is smaller.
The black tube pan in the photo above is dark and the party bundt pan at the bottom is light.
There are many shades of metal cake pans, from very light gray to dark charcoal.If you know that the darker the pan, the quicker your cake will bake.
The cake was baked in the party bundt and in my darker bundt.Both crusts are acceptable, but the darker pan produces a darker one.
When baking in a dark pan, you should check your cake for doneness 5 to 10 minutes before the time indicated in the recipe.
When you bake in a dark pan, do you need to lower your oven temperature?
The cakes were baked in a tube pan for 45 minutes.The left and right cakes were baked at the same oven temperature.A lighter crust can be achieved by baking at a lower temperature.
The crust is lighter and more tender.The cake baked at 350F has a thicker, darker crust than the cake it was baked in.
The darker crust is harder because sugar is drawn by heat to the cake's outer edge, then caramelizing there.
I find that the cake baked in the two bundt pans is perfectly done at 50 minutes, even though the recipe calls for a bake time of 50 to 60 minutes.
Even with the oven temperature reduced to 325F, cake baked in the black tube pan is done in 45 minutes.Reducing oven temperature and baking time will yield perfect results when baking cake in a dark pan.
I've focused my tests on metal since we're celebrating the Year of the Bundt.Common kitchen wisdom says to lower oven heat by 25 degrees when baking in a glass pan, but without having done the tests myself, I can't vouch for that.There is a great discussion on glass vs metal pans.
The original reader question mentioned lining a dark pan with parchment.It's important to keep cake out of a pan.It won't block heat.Don't rely on parchment to illuminate your pan.
My advice?The best way to bake cake is in a metal pan."If you have the option, next time reach for a lighter-colored baking pan," Susan said in her answer to the reader question.You will be amazed at the difference.
PJ was born in New England, graduated from Brown University, and worked as a journalist in Maine before joining King Arthur Flour.PJ bakes and writes from her home on Cape Cod, where she enjoys beach-walking, her husband, three dogs, and really good food.
What about baking with cast iron?I think the baking woul... is by Heather.
I bought one of your pans several years ago.It was by J.A. Vann is not verified.
In reply to The TOP, or in the case of a bundt cake, the bottom is turning brown.