Sizing down recipe

[LucieGHill]

Hi everyone! I'd love to use this recipe (https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/heart_cake_47249), but I have 2 6-inch heart tins and would like to use these instead of the two 8-inch round tins in this recipe. How do I scale the recipe please?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi everyone! I'd love to use this recipe (https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/heart_cake_47249), but I have 2 6-inch heart tins and would like to use these instead of the two 8-inch round tins in this recipe. How do I scale the recipe please?

To accurately scale a recipe for a round pan to an odd-shaped pan like a heart, you would need to use some advanced math.

So to avoid complicated math, it best to approximate the amount of batter needed.


Method 1: Approximate with a round pan

You can treat the heart pan like a 6” round pan.



Step 1: Find the area of each pan

• Area is roughly the size of the batter surface.
• Use this simple rule: area = radius × radius × 3.14 (pi)
• The radius is half the pan diameter.

6” pan area: 28.26

• Radius = 6 ÷ 2 = 3
• 3 × 3 × 3.14 ≈ 28.26

8” pan area: 50.24

• Radius = 8 ÷ 2 = 4
• 4 × 4 × 3.14 ≈ 50.24

Step 2: Find the scaling factor

• Divide the smaller pan area by the larger pan area:

28.26 ÷ 50.24 ≈ 0.56​

Step 3: Scale your ingredients

Multiply the weight of each ingredient by 0.56, the scaling factor

• Example: 330 g flour × 0.56 ≈ 186 g flour

Do the same for sugar, butter, eggs, milk, etc.


———————-




Method 2: Scaling Batch Size with Baker’s Percentages

Baker’s percentages are just a way to compare ingredients to flour. Flour is always 100%, and the other ingredients are a percentage of it.


Example from this recipe:

• Flour = 330 g = 100%

To calculate the baker’s percentages, just divide weight of each ingredient into the weight of the flour

Example

• Sugar = 320 g = 97% because 320 ÷ 330 ≈ 0.97

Say you want to make more layers or a bigger cake:

1. Add up the total batter you need.
2. Divide by the total batter/dough required by the total baker’s percentages to get a “multiplier.”
3. Multiply each ingredient’s percentage by that number.

Example: the original recipe makes 1214 g batter, which is 607 g batter per 8” cake.

• Say you want three 8” layers → 1821 g batter is required (1214 + 607 = 1821)
• Total baker’s % = 375.26
• Multiplier = 1821 ÷ 375.26 ≈ 4.85
• Multiply each ingredient’s baker’s percentage by 4.85.
• Flour = 100 × 4.85 = 485 g
• Sugar = 97 × 4.85 = 471 g
• Baking powder = 4.24 x 4.8 ‎ = 20.35
• Repeat with the remaining ingredients

So to make three layers, you would use 485 g flour, 471 g sugar, 20 g baking powder, etc.

This keeps the recipe proportions exactly the same, no matter how big or small your cake.


You can use this method to scale batch size up/down (e.g., mix batter for 6 cakes or 20 cakes or mix dough for 2 dozen cookies or 8 dozen cookies); increase/decrease individual product size (e.g., mix dough for 5 dozen 70 g cookies, or 1 dozen 35 g cookies; mix dough for six 750 g loaves or two 500 g loaves.) This method works with everything, breads, cake, cookies, icings, pastry cream…





The total bakers percentages = 367.26%

The total batter weight = 1214.42

I calculated the baker’s percentages for
your recipe here.

330g plain flour, sifted 100%

320g caster sugar 97%

14 g baking powder 4.24%

175g unsalted butter 53%

175 mL (3) eggs 53%

190 mL whole milk 57.6%

8 g (1½ tsp) vanilla extract 2.42%

pinch salt

 

[retired baker]

Hi everyone! I'd love to use this recipe (https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/heart_cake_47249), but I have 2 6-inch heart tins and would like to use these instead of the two 8-inch round tins in this recipe. How do I scale the recipe please?

I'd make the original recipe and bake the extra batter in muffin tins.