Can You Bake Cakes In Glass Pans?
If you are wanting to bake a cake at home but only have a glass pan, you might be hesitant to go ahead and bake!
Most cake tins are made from stainless steel, aluminum, or even earthenware, and using a glass pan might make you a little hesitant.
Can you bake cakes in glass pans? You can bake cakes in glass pans, as long as the glass pan is oven-safe and as long as it is the right shape and size for the cake you are wanting to bake. You will also need to lower the temperature by 25°F to ensure that the cake bakes evenly.
If you are wanting to bake a cake with a glass pan, keep reading to find out exactly how to do this, and some tips and tricks to use!
Is It A Good Idea To Bake Cakes In Glass Pans?
It is always best to stick to cake tins designed to be used for cakes, such as aluminum or stainless steel tins, but if you are stuck, you can use glass pans to bake cakes.
You do, however, need to be careful with the glass pan you are using. Not all glass pans are suitable to be used in high temperatures, such as when baking cakes, so this is something you need to look for.
Make sure that the glass pan is oven-safe and suitable to be used at high temperatures.
The reason that glass is not the most popular material used to make cake tins is that glass acts as an insulator, rather than a conductor. This means that it is slower to heat up fully, but once it is heated, it retains heat for a long period.
The problem with this is that it can lead to uneven baking, as once the inside of the cake finally cooks, the outside might be burned.
For this reason, you have to go slow and steady when baking a cake using a glass tin, to try and ensure the cake bakes evenly both inside and outside.
How Cakes Baked In Glass Pans Turn Out Differently
If you do not adjust the baking time and temperature when baking cakes in glass pans, then the cakes could turn out dry and burn on the outside.
This is because glass does not distribute heat as evenly as other metal pans do, and it takes longer for the heat to bake the middle of the cake compared to other options.
This means that if you bake cakes for the same amount of time in the oven, and at the same temperature as when you use metal cake tins, the cake will likely be dry and dark on the outside, and the inside might not even be cooked fully.
It will take longer to bake a cake in a glass pan compared to more traditional cake tins, so make sure to factor this in before putting the cake into the oven.
Tips And Tricks For Baking Cakes In Glass Pans
Baking a cake in a glass pan is fine to do, as long as you follow a few different tips and tricks that would help your cake turn out perfectly.
You cannot bake the cake with the same time and temperature that you would when using a metal cake tin, so to get the best results possible, you need to make a few adjustments.
Here are the things to keep in mind when baking a cake with a glass pan:
Check The Glass Pan Is Suitable
One of the most important things to remember is that you need to check that the glass pan you are using is suitable to be used in the oven.
There are many brands of glass pans and trays that are oven-safe and which can withstand high temperatures, but there are many that can’t.
There will be a symbol or sign at the bottom of the glass pan indicating whether it is heat-proof. Alternatively, you can check the instruction manual or labeling to see whether or not it is safe to use in the oven.
Using a glass pan in the oven which is not oven-proof can lead to the glass pan shattering in the oven, which is not only dangerous but really hard to clean up too.
Lower The Temperature
Glass pans take longer to warm up, so you want to ensure that the outside of the cake does not burn or dry out before the inside of the cake warms up enough to start baking.
To do this, you should lower the temperature of the oven. The cake recipe you are following will likely recommend the baking temperature, but when using a glass pan, you should lower this temperature by 25°F.
This will help the inside and the outside of the cake bake evenly, for a cake that remains moist throughout.
Make The Cake Thinner
Another option you have with baking a cake in a glass pan is to make the cake thinner.
As mentioned, the inside of the cake will take longer to bake than the outside, and one way to combat this is to make the cake thinner, so the heat doesn’t have to travel through too much batter to cook the cake.
If you are wanting a thick cake, you can bake a few layers separately, and join these together once cooled with some frosting.
Extend Baking Time
As you will be lowering the temperature of the oven when baking a cake in a glass pan, you will need to extend the baking time.
Start by extending the baking time by 5 minutes, and check the cake after this. Stick a toothpick through the center of the cake, and pull it out.
If it is clear, then the cake is ready; however, if there is batter on the toothpick, then the cake needs to be baked for longer.
Leave the cake in for another 3 minutes before checking it again.
Grease The Dish
Glass pans do not have a non-stick coating like other metal cake tins might, so you will need to grease the pan before pouring the batter in.
You could use a non-stick spray made for baking cakes, or you could spread some butter into the pan to act as a grease layer.
Baking paper can also be laid down into the glass pan, which will make it easier to remove the cake once it has been baked, but this could land up causing the glass to take longer to heat up evenly.
Are Metal Pans Better For Baking Cakes?
When it comes to baking cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, and similar, metal tins are the best way to go.
Metal pans, whether aluminum, steel, or a combination, conduct heat better than glass. They heat up and cool down quickly, and they can withstand a higher heat than glass can.
For all of these reasons, metal cake tins are great at baking cakes evenly and are great to use to bake items that don’t require much time in the oven, such as cookies and brownies.
Metal pans are often finished with a non-stick coating too, which means that the baked goods are easier to remove once baked.
Glass pans on the other hand take longer to heat up, which means that heat is not distributed as evenly. However, they retain heat for longer and can be long-lasting.
Glass pans are great for different purposes, such as for cooking casseroles and roasts, but when it comes to baking cakes, metal cake tins are definitely the better option!
Can You Bake Cakes In Glass Pans?
You can definitely bake cakes in glass pans, but there are some adjustments that you need to make when doing so.
Glass takes longer to heat up than what metal tins do, so this can often lead to the outside of the cake drying and burning before the inside is cooked.
To avoid this from happening, you should lower the temperature of the oven by 25°F, and extend the baking time by a few minutes.
You need to remember to grease the glass dish too, as it will not have a non-stick coating like metal tins do.
If you only have a glass pan to use to bake a cake, you can still make a deliciously moist cake, but you just have to make a few slight adjustments!
Related Questions
Now that we’ve gone over the best ways to use a glass pan to bake cakes, let’s take a look at a few related questions on the subject!
How do I make sure the cake doesn’t stick to a glass pan?
You need to completely grease the pan before pouring the batter in. Use butter, margarine, or shortening to prepare the pan.
You could also sprinkle some flour onto the greased pan to give it even more of a non-stick finish, to make removing the cake much easier.
Should I wait for the cake to cool before removing it from the pan?
You should remove the cake from the pan when it is still slightly warm. If you leave it to cool too much, the cake might stick to the pan.
Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake while it is in the pan to make it easier to remove.
