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Welcome to Kitchen Queries, where the nigella.com team will answer your cooking or food related questions.  We’d love you to submit some of your recipe problems, dilemmas or queries for us to get our teeth into!

Please note, we are only able to answer questions selected for publication and aren't able to enter into personal correspondence.

Baking With A Slightly Larger Pan Size

Hi, I have a question about baking. I love your baking recipes, and have followed many to make cakes, pies, cookies, scones, etc.  However I only own two 9-inch round pans with which to cook. Occasionally, you will call for an 8-inch pan which would allow the finished product to have a bit more height. I've not run into any problems using 9-inch pans, but, the cakes do sometimes look flatter and a bit less glorious than the finished photo in your many cookbooks. I realize that not all cakes would function in the way I am about to ask this question, and while I could easily purchase 8 inch rounds, I've been lazy, and not done so yet. If I wanted to add some height to the finished product, is there a general rule of thumb for upping the ingredients to create the desired effect. Again, since baking does call for a modicum of precision, would altering deter the final process? I was curious if you had any advice so that I don't have a flat cake. No one is complaining, and since I'm only cooking for my partner, family, and friends, I've yet to have someone say, that two tier cake looks a little short. Any suggestions? Or should I succumb to the purchase of two 8-inch rounds.

Posted by thedinklejohn. Answered on 2nd Feb 2012 at 19.44

From the nigella team:

Unfortunately scaling cake recipes is not straightforward and this is one of the reasons we can't give scaled up recipes or guidelines, unless it is a fairly straightforward switch from one type of pan to another. Also in the UK a 20cm/8-inch pan size is most common whereas in the US a 23cm/9-inch cake pan is probably the most common (as many boxed cake mixes are for 9-inch cakes). However it is fairly easy to find 8-inch round pans in the US (Wilton do a good selection) so it is worth purchasing the smaller size at some point.

If you want to increase the height of a layer cake the other alternative would be to add an extra layer. With only 2 pans you would need to bake one full recipe of batter, baking it in the two pans as normal, then make a half quantity of the recipe and bake one more layer (making sure the pan is fully cool and is washed before re-using it). You would need to allow for some extra frosting too and we would suggest making 1 1/2 times the frosting quantity to make sure you have enough.

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Hi Kitchen Queries team, I am a huge fan of Nigella's Dense Chocolate Loaf cake (from How to be a Domestic Goddess) and would really like to make a variation for my daughter's birthday cake. I was wondering if the cupcake variation (p168) could be used? If so with what size cake tin? Can two pieces be sandwiched together? I appreciate that the Buttermilk Cake is probably a more practical option, however, my daughter would really like a chocolate one! I would really appreciate the help! Many thanks, Daniella Gardner

Posted by daniella_alba. Answered on 8th Feb 2012 at 14.51

From the nigella team:

Generally the batter from a 12 cupcake recipe will be sufficient for one layer of a 23cm/9-inch round sandwich tin (cake pan). The oven temperature would be the same but the cake should take 5 to 10 minutes longer to bake. However as this cake has a fairly close texture it may be better to bake it in a 20cm/8-inch pan as it won't rise as much as a more standard cupcake batter (again add 5 to 10 minutes to cooking time). So to make a 2-layer cake you will need to make a double quantity of the batter, split between two tins. Make sure that you grease each tin well and line the bases with baking parchment

Bear in mind that the cake may sink a bit when it cools and also the cake could be a bit delicate and more difficult to move around, so when you turn the fully cooled layers out out may be easier to turn them onto pieces of baking parchment (parchment paper) so that they can be lifted easily. Also if the cake sinks you can hide this a little by sandwiching the cake so the the two top sides are facing each other.

Nigella has several other chocolate cake recipes that would be good for birthday cakes and we would suggest looking at the Sour Cream Chocolate Cake from Domestic Goddess (p169), the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake from Feast (p269) and the Devil's Food Cake from Kitchen (p253).

Pancake Fillings

Hi Nigella and team, my family love pancakes but I was wondering if you can suggest any interesting ways of serving them on Shrove Tuesday, rather than just the usual lemon and sugar?

Posted by CMS. Answered on 16th Feb 2012 at 15.04

From the nigella team:

The first thing to do is choose your pancake. The thin crepes are traditional on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) but you could also ring the changes and serve the thicker American style pancakes instead. Nigella has recipes for both plain crepes and American pancakes and if you are going for the thicker type then we would particularly suggest Nigella's Arabian Pancakes with Orange Flower Syrup (see link below).

Crepes Suzette is a retro crowd-pleaser and Nigella has an Express version which can be made with either home-made or shop-bought crepes. Crepes spread with Nutella and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts will delight both children and adults (Nigella Express, p374). You could also serve the crepes with some vanilla ice cream and Nigella's salted caramel Sauce or a dollop of Passionfruit Curd (see recipe links below).

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/arabian-pancakes-with-orange-flower-syrup-236

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/crepes-suzette-49

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/passionfruit-curd-164

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/salted-caramel-sauce

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CREPES-5303

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/american-breakfast-pancakes-141