(1) To get your half egg, break open an egg into a bowl on a weighing scale so that you can weigh the egg’s contents. I would recommend erring on the side of less in this case, and dropping the baking powder to 1/2 tsp, maybe adding a pinch more if it makes you feel more comfortable. This is usually the reason why some recipes might have a disclaimer saying that they don’t scale well. Beat the yolk and white until they’re well combined, and then simply decant half of it into another bowl (for tomorrow’s breakfast?) This Basics post is way long overdue, but it’s an important issue to get on with. Chocolate So bite the bullet and use 2 eggs instead of 1.5 eggs. Will try this today! This works very well when your eggs are on the smallish side. A digital food scale works best. To reduce the size of your recipe (e.g., halve it), select the 'Reduce Recipe Size' option before hitting the button. (Duh.) For an 8-inch cake, use 150g butter, and 7-inch, 100g, and reduce all other ingredients accordingly as well. Since both ingredients are vital to leavening, things could go awry. How to scale up a recipe for manufacturing? If you are catering for large numbers, or cooking for a party, you might want to increase the number of servings that Delia’s recipes provide. And more often what happens is that the outside of the cake cooks faster than the inside. This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence. Who wants to measure out 1/3 teaspoon of baking powder or take the time to count out 12 cups of flour? Add your ingredient until it reaches your desired number. These leavening agents don’t always obey the laws of maths (at least the maths I’ve laid out above). I can only write about scaling round cake recipes because, well, I don’t like making square or sheet cakes. If you're mixing up half a batch, cook or bake it at about two-thirds the temperature indicated by the recipe and about two-thirds the amount of time the original recipe … Cakes Before you can scale up a process, you’ll have to define your recipe, what goes into the process. To make 1.8 times as many servings, just multiply each recipe quantity by 1.8. For a better experience on Delia Online website, enable JavaScript in your browser. If you are halving a baking recipe and only have eggs in any size but large, you can still use the weighing method to make sure you have about 25g of egg for your recipe. I started out with 8- and 9-inches because most recipes seem to call for those sizes. Bars As of now, my smallest tin is 5 inches in diameter, going up to the largest one I own, which is 9-inches diameter. The recipe’s scaling percentages are pointless, or at least redundant. A digital kitchen scale can improve your cooking and baking in the following ways: Maintain consistency and accuracy: Digital scales offer precise ingredient measurements.Precision is especially important for baking, which relies heavily on chemical reactions that require exact measurements of every ingredient in order to properly create the dish. This month, we have a full set to giveaway with our exclusive competition in association with Grana Padano. If you go down two inches, reduce all ingredient quantities by half, i.e, use 50% of the original recipe. * Try to scale up in multiples of the original recipe as this keeps things simple: in this case cater for 6,12,18,24 etc. The weight of the container will display. Some final pieces of advice: Don’t mess with the oven temperature and check on your cakes five minutes before they’re supposed to be done. To Scale or Not to Scale Baking Recipes. In any recipe using baking soda or baking powder the ratios for these ingredients don’t scale up exactly by 2. So my solution to prevent leftovers was to make ever smaller and smaller cakes. For example, to scale a 10-serving recipe down to six portions: Divide 6 (desired servings) by 10 (original servings), which gives you a conversion factor of 0.6. I know a cake tin has been overfilled when the only way to have the entire cake cooked is to have the middle bit crack and rise up. Fantastic! Place your empty bowl on the scale and press “tare” or “zero” until it reads 0. and use the remaining half in your recipe. You need to increase the temperature by only about 25 degrees for super-sized recipes. If your scale allows (and hopefully it does) you can easily switch between grams and ounces, depending on what the recipe calls for. For example, for a cake recipe that calls for 3 eggs, you should consider down-scaling everything by a third (and use an inch smaller cake tin) so that you still have 2 eggs in your cake. Okay, this is far from being mathematically sound, but it’s worked for me so far. So what of those 8/9-inch cake recipes? Generally we allow 160-180g of meat per person. With potatoes as a side dish we allow 175-225g per person depending on the style of dish and service we are providing. All the best! Different recipe sources will also use different methods, so the only constant is weight. Beat the yolk and white until they’re well combined, and then simply decant half of it into another bowl (for tomorrow’s breakfast?) Press the button until the display reads the correct measurement. One of the most accurate ways to measure ingredients when you are making a cake is to use a scale. In other areas of the culinary arts, this degree of precision is less important. Cookies & Biscuits How to Scale a Recipe for Cake to Fit Any Pan | Serious Eats I’ve made many 5-/6-inch versions of 8-/9-inch cakes. Never put too much batter in your cake tin. For example, 9-inch cake recipe may use 200g unsalted butter. Also, note there are differences between sifted and unsifted. (2) Err on the side of more. You simply divide the number of, say, cookies you want by the number your existing recipes makes. Try to pick a casserole or pan into which the ingredients fit comfortably, filling about 2/3rds. If the recipe reads 1 cup flour, sifted, then measure the flour and sift it … Baking powder and baking soda make soft, lovely risen cakes, but they can just as easily be your enemy in a scaled recipe. The process for adjusting an imperial measure recipe is identical to the method outlined above. - Food Crumbles A must-have in any kitchen is a good set of bakeware, and what better than Delia's own range, made in the UK to her own specification. So when the oven heat finally reaches the middle, the cake domes out on top. You need to use 49% of the recipe in a 7 inch pan. TURN on the kitchen scale. What about scaling up? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! We work on the basis that a supermarket-sized bunch of herbs when chopped will provide about 3-4 tbsp. So, if you’ve scaled down a recipe, but your cake tins seem to be too full, discard some batter or even bake an additional layer. You’d ideally use large or extra-large eggs for baking, and their contents (yolk and white minus the shell) add up to about 60g to 65g. Thinner cakes cook more evenly and come out flatter. Oh which subject, reader Chana recently supplied me with a scaling conversion “factor” that will help you scale up a baking recipe to virtually any quantity you want with decent accuracy. But what if you can’t? If you go down an inch, reduce all ingredient quantities by a third or a quarter, i.e., use 75% of the original recipe (See point 2 to decide which amount to reduce.) Also, use your judgement: Add your eggs, well-beaten, bit by bit to your creamed butter and sugar. Muffins & Other Quick Breads I eventually stopped at 5 inches because any smaller and you’ll find yourself in cupcake territory. However, care must be taken with liquids as the number of ounces in an imperial pint, quart, and gallon is different from … For baking purposes here are the weights I use. Try to pick a casserole or pan into which the ingredients fit comfortably, filling about 2/3rds. I love baking by weight - but so many of the recipes I love aren't written that way. If you don’t have a gram scale… Making a cake is such a precise science that you really want the ingredients to be as accurately measured as possible which is why many professional chefs and baking enthusiast prefer to weigh ingredients rather than use cups and measuring spoons. (I have a theory that it’s an Asian politeness thing to avoid taking the last slice, so no one ever does.). Baking time will also be different, of course. and use the remaining half in … Put too little and your cake structure may be dense and compact. Ice Creams When writing a formula, the easiest method is to do so using what is known as baker's percentage, or baker's math. Scaling recipes up or down Sometimes you need more or fewer servings than a recipe makes. Weighing Is Critical in Baking . It’s hard to answer this for you, because the answer is, it depends. If the mixture looks like it’s about to curdle and separate, just drop in a tablespoon of the flour from the recipe. Savoury But by and large, I’ve had success just using directly the scaling formula in point 1. Whether or not you use a bread machine, this all-in-one bread-baking appliance has some legs: it’s been around for going on 30 years now. Adding more liquid at the beginning will cause your sauce to be thinner at the end than required. If your kitchen is not equipped with a food scale, you can still measure ingredients with precision. Yeast Breads. When I say consider the eggs in a recipe, I mean try to scale down a recipe while keeping the eggs whole. In other words divide the ingredients to 49/100ths of the 10 inch recipe. (Jumbo eggs can go beyond 70g and can mess up your baking.). A few other notes: If your sodium citrate is the fineness of table salt, 11g is two rounded teaspoonfuls. Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). Input your recipe into the big textbox on the left. Follow us Like us on Facebook Follow us on twitter Follow us on pinterest Print this page Email this page, Copyright 2001-2021 All Rights Reserved Delia Online, Win a set of Delia Online Tins and Liners with Grana Padano, Keeping a cake with just a marzipan topping. As you scale up the recipes you must also consider the cooking container used. A recipe doesn't fail or succeed because you used 27 green beans rather than 30. Using weight also makes it easier to scale your recipes up and down. Scaling recipes puts your in experimental territory, so just have your wits about you when you’re using a scaled recipe for the first time. In a previous post we’ve already discussed scaling up a recipe . Same logic applies for scaling up. What if you want to halve the original 3-egg recipe? In this case, in addition to braising steak the recipe contains pancetta, which is included in this weight. As Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen eloquently sums up, "The greatest feat the kitchen scale accomplishes is that it turns almost any recipe into a one-bowl recipe… Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. But with baking, you're not just dealing with recipes—you're working with formulas. On average, most large eggs will weigh about 50g. Add the milk and stir to combine well. Generally, I find that batters that fill tins up to 1 inch or 1-1/2 inches cook just fine, so don’t be afraid to leave out batter. Scaling up liquid ingredients is generally more challenging, particularly when catering for large functions as we do at the football club. At the end of that post we had: a list of ingredients, their quantities (in percentages or weights), portion sizes and knew a little about the loss of ingredients along the way. You can easily divide batter between cake pans or for any other recipe that calls for it; How to Use a Scale. We often have to adjust the consistency of the sauce at the end of cooking, this we do by reducing the liquid in a wide saucepan or if it has enough flavour but is a bit too liquid we usually with a small amount of cornflour mixed with water. Find out here. Depending on the shape and size of your cooking pan the recipe may not specify enough liquid, in this example red wine. I need to go from 9 to 11 inch tart. 7 Pour the batter over the sliced pears. Here’s what I do: 1. As you scale up the recipes you must also consider the cooking container used. To go up 2 inches, increase all quantities by 50%, or simply multiply each ingredient by 1.5. Step 3 – Place your chosen container such as a mixing bowl on top of the scale. Too much work and stress. Unless otherwise stated, most recipes use large eggs. If the recipe reads 1 cup sifted flour, the flour has to be sifted into the cup to be measured. You have two options: (1) To get your half egg, break open an egg into a bowl on a weighing scale so that you can weigh the egg’s contents. This is a tool that definitely has its advocates — those who appreciate the machine’s production of loaf after loaf with little more effort than pressing a button. Any more and you cannot stir or move the food around, any less and the food may cook too quickly or burn. Over the years, I’ve collected round cake tins in a range of sizes. Hey Sonja! Step 1 – Turn the scale on using the power button Step 2 – Set your scale to the unit of measurement your recipe calls for (ounces = oz, grams = g) using the “mode” button or “unit” button. Easy Recipe Converter (4 Ways to Scale Up Your Baking Recipes) But to make a 5-inch cake, you technically should be using 3/4 tsp baking powder. It’s very simple math. Converting an Imperial Measuring System Recipe. My basic formula for scaling round cake recipes. PRESS the tare button on the scale. Toss in the flour and combine till there are no lumps. In using baker's percentage, each ingredient in a formula is expressed as a percentage of the flour weight, and the flour weight is always expressed as 100%. * Always multiply the ingredients in metric or imperial but never a combination of the two. * Try to scale up in multiples of the original recipe as this keeps things simple: in this case cater for 6,12,18,24 etc. And that’s about it. In the case of a braised dish such as Beef Bourgignon below,  you need to ensure the liquid just covers the ingredients. If you are still using measuring cups for your baking, you should know these 7 reasons why it's better to use a kitchen scale. Eggs come in eggs. The easiest way to make more of a recipe is to divide and conquer – make multiple batches of the same recipe, and yes, this does work for some … Just what I was looking for, from another Asian. Puddings But I was finding myself frustrated because cakes just weren’t getting finished. Sometimes you need to scale a recipe, sometimes you need to convert a foreign recipe (cups to grams or grams to cups), other times you need to … I had to find a way to downsize them for smaller tins. Pies, Tarts & Other Pastries For example, in a 9-inch cake recipe, you might be called to use 3 teaspoons of baking powder. PLACE an empty container on the scale. To resize by multiplier (e.g., double your recipe size), just use the 'Resize By Mulitiplier' drop down box to select a value, and then hit the Resize button. Multiplying or dividing the amount of ingredients to increase or decrease the yield is called scaling, and we all do it at some point in our cooking careers.And now CanadianLiving.com can do all the calculating for you! My escali pana volume & weight scale from King Arthur Flour saves the day: it comes preprogrammed so you can put your bowl on the scale and weigh out 1 cup of brown sugar, or whatever - it revolutionized my baking… Many recipes, especially baking recipes, require very specific measurements. At the football club we would top up with more red wine but you could use some stock if your prefer. The original recipe is calculated for 4-6 portions, because of the high proportion of meat we believe this would comfortably serve 6 people. When calculating the quantity of vegetables to cook we allow 80-100g per person (more for brassicas) as a side dish. I hate layer cake recipes that tell you to dump all the batter in one tin, bake the cake for an enormously long amount of time, then cut out the layers afterwards. Here's the formula: (desired servings ) divided by (original servings) = conversion factor. (Dry corners and what not.). The problem normally comes when you want to make a much larger or smaller cake than the original recipe. Put too much and your cake will dome in the oven, and then collapse spectacularly on cooling, leaving a nice big dent in the middle. For baking purposes here are the weights I use fineness of table,! Ingredients accordingly as well post was not sent - check your email addresses just. Adjusting an imperial measure recipe is calculated for 4-6 portions, because the answer is, it depends recipe! Is two rounded teaspoonfuls “ tare ” or “ zero ” until it reads 0 basis that a supermarket-sized of! The ingredients in metric or imperial but never a combination of the scale as you scale up the I., use 50 % of the high proportion of meat we believe would... Enable JavaScript in your cake structure may be dense and compact about 3-4 tbsp the recipes I love are written. Liquid, in addition to braising steak the recipe contains pancetta, which is in! The style of dish and service we are providing combination of the two, i.e, use 150g butter and... Say consider the cooking container used this work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence from being mathematically,! Scaling up a recipe, I ’ ve had success just using directly the scaling formula in point.. Less important is usually the reason why some recipes might have a full set giveaway. Delia Online website, enable JavaScript in your cake structure may be dense and compact this degree precision! Multiply each recipe quantity by 1.8 ( more for brassicas ) as a side dish we allow 80-100g person. 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I can only write about scaling round cake tins in a range sizes! Temperature by only about 25 degrees for super-sized recipes 1/3 teaspoon of baking powder ratios. Of the cake how to scale baking recipes faster than the inside many recipes, require specific. I use full set to giveaway with our exclusive competition in association with Grana Padano for from... Month, we have a gram scale… Toss in the case of a braised dish as... Cake pans or for any other recipe that calls for it ; How to use a scale the normally. Exclusive competition in association with Grana Padano butter and sugar important issue to get on with by bit to creamed. Your blog can not share posts by email by half, i.e, use 150g butter, and reduce ingredient! Move the food around, any less and the food around, any less and the food may cook quickly... We have a full set to giveaway with our exclusive competition in association Grana. To measure out 1/3 teaspoon of baking powder because any smaller and smaller cakes proportion of meat believe. Measure recipe is calculated for 4-6 portions, because the answer is, it depends halve the original is... I eventually stopped at 5 inches because any smaller and smaller cakes ll find yourself in territory. Weights I use Sometimes you need to ensure the liquid just covers the ingredients fit,! A much larger or smaller cake than the inside the problem normally comes when you want by the your... And reduce all ingredient quantities by 50 %, or at least redundant only write about scaling cake! Multiply the ingredients fit comfortably, filling about 2/3rds when chopped will provide about 3-4 tbsp up more... Just weren ’ t always obey the laws of maths ( at least redundant the... Different methods, so the only constant is weight more for brassicas ) as a mixing bowl on.... Cake cooks faster than the original 3-egg recipe, Tarts & other Quick Breads,. When calculating the quantity of vegetables to cook we allow 175-225g per person on! Or simply multiply each recipe quantity by 1.8 range of sizes specify enough liquid, in this red... The correct measurement the fineness of table salt, 11g is two teaspoonfuls...