How long can cake batter sit before going in oven? 1 hour? 3 hours?

[weft]

I need to know if it's okay for cake batter to sit for an hour or possibly up to three hours after it's all mixed and before going in the oven and does it depend on the kind of cake? Assume standard yellow or chocolate layer cake baked in two or three 8 or maybe 9" layers.

The reason is can only bake one layer at a time (details below) so the second and maybe third has to wait. Will that be a problem for rising, air bubbles, baking powder etc.? I was hoping someone out there has first-hand experience with this or has been to cooking school.

You can skip everything below this line......

The reason for one layer at a time is, I live in Europe where we have small ovens (practically toy sized by US standard) that can't fit two pans on a rack. Nor does putting them on two racks work because the oven's too small to stagger them which all the recipe books say you should do and it lacks the heating strength and/or circulation needed to provide stable heat for two cakes (partially due to our own model and partially because that's just how ovens are here). Also we don't room for second or third pans I hardly ever use so that could mean waiting for cooling and removing from pan - maybe 3 hours total!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I need to know if it's okay for cake batter to sit for an hour or possibly up to three hours after it's all mixed and before going in the oven and does it depend on the kind of cake? Assume standard yellow or chocolate layer cake baked in two or three 8 or maybe 9" layers.

The reason is can only bake one layer at a time (details below) so the second and maybe third has to wait. Will that be a problem for rising, air bubbles, baking powder etc.? I was hoping someone out there has first-hand experience with this or has been to cooking school.

You can skip everything below this line......

The reason for one layer at a time is, I live in Europe where we have small ovens (practically toy sized by US standard) that can't fit two pans on a rack. Nor does putting them on two racks work because the oven's too small to stagger them which all the recipe books say you should do and it lacks the heating strength and/or circulation needed to provide stable heat for two cakes (partially due to our own model and partially because that's just how ovens are here). Also we don't room for second or third pans I hardly ever use so that could mean waiting for cooling and removing from pan - maybe 3 hours total!

Standard butter cake batter can store up to 3 days.

Foam cakes have to be baked when mixed as the whipped egg whites will deflate if left to sit.

 

[retired baker]

Cake batter should not sit for more than 2 hours before going in the oven to ensure proper rise and texture

thats the difference between sit and store.
it all depends on ambient temperature.