ISO converting pan size

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CWS4322

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I want to make a cupcake recipe but I want to use the mini cupcake size. How do I figure out the time needed to bake the mini cupcakes?
 
I would start checking them using the toothpick method about half way through the time suggested.

When the toothpick comes out clean then they are done.
 
That would be the "by guess and by golly" method. Since baking involves chemistry, I guess I was thinking "spreadsheet, equation, table" where one could plug in the new pan/muffin paper size and get the percentage by which to reduce or increase the time based on the change in the mass. Kinda like an online converter where you can convert baking times rather than measurements <g>. It would seem that linear heat transfer equation might work. The recipe I wanted to try has a baking time of 23 minutes. Using an LHT equation, the baking time to raise the center temperature to approx. 190 degrees would be between 8 and 16 minutes. I'm guessing the cooking time will be between 14-16 minutes. If anyone knows of such a spreadsheet...I looked on the Internet (maybe I didn't put in the right keywords), a link to the same would be appreciated.
 
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While it is probably mathematically possible to figure out the time involved to heat a given mass to a specified temperature with a given temperature input. I would guess that there are too many variables to arrive at a meaningful answer. I would go with the toothpick method.
 
I'd bet there is a fixed relationship between the cooking times for a mini cupcake size vs. standard or large cupcake sizes with the same recipe.

I think your best bet is to experiment and make notes. Buy some cake mixes on sale and donate the results to the local senior center. You'll have your info and make a lot of people happy at the same time.
 
Interestingly enough, there are several articles in peer-reviewed domestic and international journals on this (the ones I read this a.m. had to do with bread). That's enough to peak the curiosity of my DH--nothing like a problem grounded in the laws of physics for which he can tweak an equation to get his brain churning. Especially if he might be able to "spin" an article for a journal out of it. Some people's ideas of "fun" are different from others <g>.

Have to say, one of my pet peeves is a cake recipe that saws "can also be used to make cupcakes" but doesn't even hint at the time it takes for cupcakes...
 
I'd bet there is a fixed relationship between the cooking times for a mini cupcake size vs. standard or large cupcake sizes with the same recipe.

I think your best bet is to experiment and make notes. Buy some cake mixes on sale and donate the results to the local senior center. You'll have your info and make a lot of people happy at the same time.

There definitely is. The spatial area of the mini-cupcake is about 2/3rds that of the large size. The result for the equation for LHT is about 2/3rds that of the large size--the flex would be 1/3 to 2/3 of the cooking time for the large size. Of course, what the equation can't factor in is temperature fluctuation if you open the door or if your oven thermostat is funky or the size of the oven (large vs. small).
 
...Of course, what the equation can't factor in is temperature fluctuation if you open the door or if your oven thermostat is funky or the size of the oven (large vs. small).


All baking recipes have to deal with the variables you mention and more, not just converted ones. Posted times are always to be taken as guidelines. Individual results may vary.
 
I still don't see what's wrong with using a toothpick. The principle of transmitting a given value of heat to the core of the batter of a cake or a cupcake so it can rise and solidify is the same. By my measure, the thickness of a single layer in a cake pan is very close to that of a cup cake, and since the heat is transmitted through the minor dimension of both, the time should be about the same. That's where the toothpick comes in. At the baking time the cake is due is when I would test the cupcakes for doneness. Adding 3 minutes at a time once or twice should complete the process.

No muss... no Pythagorean theorems... no headache trying to calculate the surface of a sphere... just meeting the everyday challenges of baking with tried and true techniques.
 
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I still don't see what's wrong with using a toothpick. The principle of transmitting a given value of heat to the core of the batter of a cake or a cupcake so it can rise and solidify is the same. By my measure, the thickness of a single layer in a cake pan is very close to that of a cup cake, and since the heat is transmitted through the minor dimension of both, the time should be about the same. That's where the toothpick comes in. At the baking time the cake is due is when I would test the cupcakes for doneness. Adding 3 minutes at a time once or twice should complete the process.

No muss... no Pythagorean theorems... no headache trying to calculate the surface of a sphere... just meeting the everyday challenges of baking with tried and true techniques.

But some of us like mathematical calculations. :LOL:
 
But some of us like mathematical calculations. :LOL:

Exactly! The DH is a theoreticial mathematician and pure physicist, besides having advanced degrees in engineering. This is his kind of thing to "noodle." You don't want to know what kinds of math (not to mention arithemtic) he can do in his head (no calculator, no paper). It is a brain exercise for him.
 
That's what I'm doing--but he has a prototype to make for a blood exchanger for chemo patients to make first--so this is his "play" activity. I figure by the time I'm back from MN in late April, he'll be done with the prototype and will have the "cupcake" calculations figured out. I've also asked him to figure out how to convert the time for a cupcake recipe to several different cake pan sizes. This will keep his mind occupied while I'm gone <g>.
 
A few years ago, he made me a b'day cake. The recipe was for a layered cake, he decided he wanted to do it in a flat pan. So, he calculated the sq area and adjusted the cooking time accordingly. The cake was perfect.

"Normal" people would've resorted to the toothpick test--not him.
 
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I could never get bread to the correct degree of doneness. Part of the problem is that I do not bake it in pans, knead it in a bread machine, and then form it into whatever shape strikes me at the time. Then I read that bread was finished at around 195 degrees. Now I stick a probe thermometer in the loaf, and take it out at slightly over 190.
 
According to the peer-reviewed papers I read today, bread is done when the internal central temperature is 190 degrees--so 195 is definitely done. So you are definitely on track. What type/brand of thermometer do you use?

Now, my grandma who taught me to make bread at her knee when I was 9, taught me that when you hold the loaf up to your ear and tap it, it should sound hollow. She made the best bread <g>. Kinda like hearing the sea when you hold a conche shell up to your ear <g>.
 
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Mine is a Williams Sonoma house brand. I tried the tapping, setting the time, and others. Thermometer works for me.
 
Exactly! The DH is a theoreticial mathematician and pure physicist, besides having advanced degrees in engineering. This is his kind of thing to "noodle." You don't want to know what kinds of math (not to mention arithemtic) he can do in his head (no calculator, no paper). It is a brain exercise for him.

I use trig for crochet patterns :LOL:
 
There are a lot of other good ones on the market. Any digital should do the trick. The W-S is OK, but I think it is off a few degrees. I have an accurate scientific thermometer, and the WS registers a few degrees warmer. Not a problem if you know it, but a little annoying.

The WS looks like a rebranded Taylor at $15-20. If I were to buy another, I would look at an OXO, I have always had good luck with OXO. But it's twice the price.
 
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