Baking cake in cast iron…any tips?

[Frito Ray]

I just tried baking a cake in a rectangular Lodge cast iron loaf pan instead of the usual circular spring steel cake pan.

The recipe is for an 8” circular pan (50 square inches) and my loaf pan is 3.5” by 7.5” (26 square inches), so I just halved the recipe.

I was expecting the flat cake that I usually get from the circular pan, but what I got was a cake that had risen about 1.5” higher in the middle and with sides that had barely risen.

Some say the pan needs to be preheated, some say to cover pan with foil for the first 10 minutes of baking, some say to lower temperature by 25 degrees (F).

Anyone here try any of these solutions?

 

[helicopter]

This little loaf pan?

 

[EdHeart]

The only things I've baked in cast iron have been a homemade pizza (using freshly ground kamut flour for the dough) and my version of a frittata for a brunch (1 dz eggs, fresh herbs, sauteed onions and mushrooms, grated cheese.)

In both cases the cast iron pan were pre-heated because I used them to sautee the veggies prior to adding any of the other ingredients to complete each dish.

What comes to mind: Did you grease the loaf pan well before putting the cake batter in? If not, it may be reasonable to guess the batter stuck to the sides causing the cake to rise more so in the middle than evenly.

Baking is more science than art, though once a recipe is learned, one can "play" a bit with proportions yielding a different result without ruining the integrity of the final product.

I once got a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake from a restaurant I worked at in college. The restaurant's version was a batch recipe resulting in 6 cakes (we sold a lot of this during the week.) The 1/6th recipe I got didn't perform the same as the batch recipe. I tried 3 separate attempts to make the cake and threw out all of them because it didn't taste the same as the batch recipe. This was many, many years ago. Today I would approach it differently: didn't know better at the time.

All that to say, perhaps simply halving the recipe made it perform differently, coupled with the use of a different pan?

 

[Frito Ray]

This little loaf pan?

Looks exactly like it.

 

[helicopter]

I wouldn't put a regular cake recipe in that loaf pan. I would use the 8" skillet. I think the center rise is probably due to dimensions and shaper more than material. I am sure there is a way to tweak it into a quick bread or if you just want a small cake, maybe cut back the baking powder.

I don't normally pre heat the CI for baking. I think it warms up fast enough for sandwich bread and cake. It warms pretty fast anyway. I do pre heat it for some things like cornbread because I want a crispy butter crust on that.

If you don't pre heat then you can grease or butter the rough surface well before you pour in the batter.

 

[Frito Ray]

Did you grease the loaf pan well before putting the cake batter in?

Greased and floured as usual.

All that to say, perhaps simply halving the recipe made it perform differently, coupled with the use of a different pan?

I’m hoping that is not it.

 

[Frito Ray]

I wouldn't put a regular cake recipe in that loaf pan. I would use the 8" skillet. I think the center rise is probably due to dimensions and shaper more than material. I am sure there is a way to tweak it into a quick bread or if you just want a small cake, maybe cut back the baking powder.

It is the shape that’s convenient, that’s all.

The sides were well greased and the cake easily slid right out, hopefully a simple fix will present itself.

 

[helicopter]

So, the baking powder is too active, or the flour is holding bubbles too well. Lower temp, or less baking powder might help, less stirring or a lower gluten flour might help. I wouldn't change all of these things at once.

 

[NorthwestCorner]

The wife often does sugar pie pumpkin and butternut squash loaves in a Lodge pan. I think she lines the sides with butter and parchment paper. She thinks they come out nicer in cast iron than pyrex but I honestly can’t tell the difference. As far as I know she just follows recipes including temperatures, possibly adding more yogurt or heavy cream than is called for. I like them best when she tops them with pulsed walnuts and brown sugar.

 

[gpjoe]

I would use the 8" skillet.

I use ours for corn bread.

 

[helicopter]

The wife often does sugar pie pumpkin and butternut squash loaves in a Lodge pan. I think she lines the sides with butter and parchment paper. She thinks they come out nicer in cast iron than pyrex but I honestly can’t tell the difference. As far as I know she just follows recipes including temperatures, possibly adding more yogurt or heavy cream than is called for. I like them best when she tops them with pulsed walnuts and brown sugar.

View attachment 1927603

Yeah, the pans are great for quick breads. I guess the paper will keep the acid from the pumpkin from picking up color from the pan.

 

[Frito Ray]

So, the baking powder is too active, or the flour is holding bubbles too well. Lower temp, or less baking powder might help, less stirring or a lower gluten flour might help. I wouldn't change all of these things at once.

I only bake once a week so it might take a while to nail the solution. Will keep you guys posted on outcomes.

 

[helicopter]

I only bake once a week so it might take a while to nail the solution. Will keep you guys posted on outcomes.

So I said not to change all things at once, but stirring the wet and dry ingredients, you definitely want to be under 40 stirs, even if there is still some clumps of mixed dry ingredients at that point. 40 stirs is better. So if you are doing more than 40, you can probably change the stirring and change something else at the same time.

 

[Frito Ray]

So I said not to change all things at once, but stirring the wet and dry ingredients, you definitely want to be under 40 stirs, even if there is still some clumps of mixed dry ingredients at that point. 40 stirs is better. So if you are doing more than 40, you can probably change the stirring and change something else at the same time.

You are correct that over stirring can lead to denser cakes.

I’ve been baking this cake in a round spring pan for a number of years and it always turns out fine. This was my first time using the cast iron loaf pan and believed I could just half the recipe to match the 50% reduction in surface area.

I’m not married to the idea of using this pan if It causes too many problems, it is just an interesting shape and practical size.

 

[Old Hippie]

I just tried baking a cake in a rectangular Lodge cast iron loaf pan instead of the usual circular spring steel cake pan.

I'm speculating that what happened is that the edges got doner faster than usual, and the rest of it could only go up. More surface area on the edges to a rectangular pan than a round one.

I've got a stack of those Lodge loaf pans. Four, I think; I've got a batch of bread that uses all of them.

I've also used them for an apple cake recipe of my mother's. Works fine. Cornbread gets made in a #8 skillet, or in the cornstick pans or occasionally (with added onion and chopped jalapeno) in one of several cast iron muffin pans I have.

My favourite cast iron baking pan is the Lodge Bundt pan. I have one of the old design and it's literally a cast-iron bugger with a full load of fruitcake batter in it (about 25 pounds all together).

I don't preheat any of them, and don't turn down the temp, either. I will occasionally preheat the skillet before pouring in the cornbread batter. One thing that works well for that is to use the baking steel and preheat the oven 50 degrees hotter than the recipe calls for. Place the cold pan and close the oven, then turn the heat down to the recommended temp.

I use a good pan spray and only rarely bother to flour and even less often to pave the pan with parchment. Don't usually have release problems.

O.H.

 

[Frito Ray]

My favourite cast iron baking pan is the Lodge Bundt pan. I have one of the old design and it's literally a cast-iron bugger with a full load of fruitcake batter in it (about 25 pounds all together).

WOW that‘s heavy!

 

[Old Hippie]

WOW that‘s heavy!

Yeah. But when it's all baked I have a very large and tasty fruitcake. Which reminds me that getting a batch or two of fruitcake done would be a good idea. I usually use small loaf pans but every once in a while I'll pull out Big Mama and put a double batch in one pan. Takes a while to eat it all, though...

O.H.

 

[Frito Ray]

Yeah. But when it's all baked I have a very large and tasty fruitcake. Which reminds me that getting a batch or two of fruitcake done would be a good idea. I usually use small loaf pans but every once in a while I'll pull out Big Mama and put a double batch in one pan. Takes a while to eat it all, though...

O.H.

Must be a costly but delicious endeavor!

 

[Old Hippie]

Must be a costly but delicious endeavor!

Yes. I've cut way back on the amount I make now. For about 20 years I supplied cakes to a distribution list of folks I know. I quit last year after realizing that I was no longer looking forward to the challenge every year but rather dreading it all. I make it for me now, though Mrs. Hippie will occasionally have a slice. I like to have a few loaves on hand in the root cellar, particularly when my birthday rolls around in August.

I'm not much on those fluffy cakes but a good solid fruitcake will please my soul.

O.H.

 

[Frito Ray]

I'm not much on those fluffy cakes but a good solid fruitcake will please my soul.

All cakes are good cakes in my book!