Page 77 - Chocolate Cake Doctor

L U S C I O U S L A Y E R S 59

Round Pans, Square Pans

was once foolish enough to suggest differently, too. Round pans bake more
Ito my readers that round and square evenly. Cakes baked in square pans are
pans hold the same amount of cake more likely to dome up in the center
batter. My cousin Joe Brady, a mathe - because the batter in the corners cooks
matician, set me straight. He said the best quickly. This doming in square pans, and
way to calculate how much one pan holds in the large round pans used for wedding
versus another is to measure by volume. cakes, can be prevented if you wrap Teflon
Fill the pans with water, measuring it as baking strips (found at stores where cake-
you go along. I found that a 9-inch round decorating supplies are sold) around the
and an 8-inch square, both 2 inches deep, outside of the pans before they go into the
will hold about 7 cups of water. A 9-inch oven. If you can’t find these strips, cut old
square pan, on the other hand, holds bath towels into strips, wet them, and use
more. And round and square pans bake them around the pans instead.

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil’s food 2. Place the bananas in a large mixing
cake mix bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on
1 cup buttermilk low speed for 45 seconds, or until
smooth. Add the cake mix, buttermilk,
1 ⁄2 cup vegetable oil
oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend
3 large eggs
with the electric mixer on low speed for 1
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
minute. Stop the machine and scrape
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
down the sides of the bowl with a rubber
Quick Caramel Frosting (page 440)
spatula. Increase the mixer speed to
medium and beat 2 minutes more,
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven scraping down the sides again if needed.
and preheat the oven to 350°F. Gener- The batter should look well combined.
ously grease two 9-inch round cake Divide the batter evenly between the
i
pans with solid vegetable shortening, prepared pans, smooth ng it out with
then dust with flour. Shake out the the rubber spatula. Place the pans in
excess flour. Set the pans aside. the oven side by side.