How to adjust cake recipe for glass bakeware?

October 7, 2010 8:19 AM

How should I adjust a cake recipe to make it in a glass or pyrex pan rather than metal pan?

I want to bake a cake, but don't have any metal baking pans. And, I bake cakes so infrequently that I don't want to buy any for this one cake I need to bake. Based on a recent episode (read: disaster) with baking brownies in a glass pan rather than metal pans, I'm assuming that I need to adjust the recipe: higher temp and less time, or lower temp and more time. This just discusses pros/cons.

So, based on the physics of metal vs. glass pans, how should I adjust the temp and/or baking time to bake a cake in a glass pan?

posted by mdion to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

I have never baked a cake in a glass pan, but I've made about a zillion batches of brownies--in pyrex glass pans, casserole dishes, silicon pans, metal cake pans, metal cupcake pans, etc--all with roughly the same results. What was the nature of your disaster?
posted by phunniemee at 8:22 AM on October 7, 2010

25 degrees lower oven temp and be sure to grease pan well, same time is the normal adjustment to use pyrex rather than metal. Be sure you're using the same size pan as specified in the recipe since that can make a big difference too.
posted by leslies at 8:24 AM on October 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Glass pans will hold their heat much more effectively than metal pans. I think the usual advice is to back at 25F / 15C less than you normally would, and check the cake a bit earlier.

With glass you also have to pay attention to greasing the pan well, as there's a greater tendency to stick.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:28 AM on October 7, 2010

Clear glass = lower temperature by 25 degrees or decrease baking time by about 10 minutes based on density of upcoming cake. If it is brown or blue glass, you don't really need to decrease temperature, just be a little more vigilant about checking doneness (toothpick inserted in center comes out clean) in the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent having a dry, overbaked cake.
posted by banannafish at 8:29 AM on October 7, 2010

As far as greasing the glass pan, I always just use parchment paper. It's tricky, as you have to fold the corners in just the right way, but it works well when I make brownies.
posted by two lights above the sea at 8:37 AM on October 7, 2010

Yes, lessen by 25 degrees and check the cake at least 5 minutes earlier.

Instead of just greasing, I'd recommend using a flour + butter baking spray like this one. Easy to find in the grocery store and works perfectly for cakes every time.
posted by misha at 8:44 AM on October 7, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks! The brownie disaster was that the middle/bottom stuck to the pan and it wasn't as cooked even though the top/edges were.
posted by mdion at 8:44 AM on October 7, 2010

Also note that because glass/pyrex retains heat longer than metal, it will continue to cook the cake after you pull in out of the oven for a longer period than metal. So you might want to underbake the cake more than you would if you were using metal.
posted by crLLC at 11:29 AM on October 7, 2010

Generally, we use the same temp and just check doneness 10 mins (and progressively) earlier than recommended.

Has not failed us yet.
posted by the.carol.baxter.experience at 2:43 AM on October 8, 2010