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Small batch baking tips and ways to reduce recipes to serve fewer people! Tips and tricks for making dessert for two, or small versions of your favorite desserts in small pans for portion controlled desserts!
Behind the scenes, I get a lot of emails. A lot.
You usually write me to ask meย about my bakeware. I am so happy that you are on the hunt to find miniature bakeware so that you can make my small batch desserts. I am so glad we are on this ride together! Sharing small dessert recipes is my passion, and your validation means the world to me. Thank you thank you.
If youโre new to Dessert for Two, I suggest you start with these three pans. You probably already have two of them in your kitchen!
The 6โณ round Cake Pan:
Letโs talk first about the 6โณ mini cake pan. The majority of the questions I getย refer toย this little pan! This pan measures 6 inches across and 2 inches high. In the past year, they started making a 6โณ cake pan that has 3โณ tall sides. Do not buy that size. The extra inch of height will make your cake sink. It has to do with the amount of heat in the oven radiating off the sides of the pan. I have trouble-shooted a ton ofย recipes thisย past year with readers only to find out they haveย the 6ร3โณ pan instead of the 6ร2โณ pan.
The 6ร2โณ pan is the standard cake size for the top layer of a wedding cake. Isnโt that sweet?! In the case of Dessert for Two, itโs the only layer we need.
I have tons of recipes for your favorite cakes, scaled down to size here: small cake recipes. We donโt need to be tempted with all those leftovers, do we?
If I had to pick a favorite mini cake, Iโd chose this glazed oatmeal cake. Soft and tender with a crunchy frosting!
The Quarter Sheet Pan:
Next upย is the quarter-sheet pan. It measures 9 x 13โณ and has a 1โณ lip around the edge. The standard baking sheet pans that you have in your house for roasting vegetables and baking large batches of cookies is aย half sheet pan that measures 17 x 12โณ. Two quarter sheet pan fit inside your standard baking sheet, roughly. (If youโre wondering about the full sheet pan, do notโitโs usually only for commercial use and most likely wonโt fit in your home oven).
I use this small baking sheet to make aย small batch of cookiesย (I have almost 100 recipes for cookies that make less than 1 dozen!) and also a Texas Chocolate โQuarterโ Sheet Cakeย (pictured above). A standard recipe for Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake makes enough for at least 12 servings. Awesome for a party, not so awesome on a Tuesday night alone on the couch with Netflix.
The 9ร5โณ bread loaf pan:
Last, but definitely not least, the standard bread loaf pan is a workhorse in my kitchen. I use it for everything, because when you cut it down the middle, it makes two generous portions. And when I say I use it for everything, I really mean it: lasagna, bakery-style brownies,ย one pint of ice cream, and even rice crispy treats! There is no end to the ways you can use this pan to make smaller portions of your favorite foods. Plus, I know you already have a bread loaf pan in your kitchen!
I hope this guide to small baking pans helps you whip up even more small desserts in your kitchen! Do you have any tips and tricks for small batch baking that I need to know about? Iโd love to hear from you!
I bought a 6-inch cake pan with 3-inch sides because you recommended it in the mini Texas chocolate sheet cake recipe in your first (I think) book. Do you still recommend using this pan in the recipe? Thank you.
Let me thumb back through that bookโฆare you sure it says that? Iโve used the same 6ร2โณ pan for the past 7 years. But maybe when I measured the pan for the book, it was slightly over 2, so it got rounded up to 3 for print. The 6ร3โณ pan is new in the past 2 years. Anyway, let me check and get back to you. I donโt recommend that pan for any recipe, sorry :(
The recipe for Mini Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake (page 87) states, โLine the bottom of a 6-inch round cake pan with 3-inch sides with parchment paper, . . .โ So I bought that pan. I returned the book to the library, but I think it was your first.
In any event, Iโve since bought a pan with 2-inch sides as well, and Iโm trying it out with your carrot cake recipe. Happy Easter!
Your pans look very handy. I am gonna buy these pans! Thanks Christina for sharing!
I found your site by wondering if cakes baked in a 6 inch pan come out drier than eight or 9 inch cakes because I put a recipe for a regular cake into my three 6โ x 2โ pans and I just feel like theyโre coming out dry. Now that I have read this article I feel like maybe there are specific recipes for small pans and you canโt just slap any old cake into smaller pans. Will research on your site more.