Light-colored Pan Effects

• Cake pans with light-colored finishes produce cakes with pale crusts. Pale crusts tend to stick to pan interiors more than dark ones. Light-colored pans reflect oven heat rather than absorb it, so the pans brown the batter more slowly than darker-colored ones. Cake pans with lighter colors are also not typically available with non-stick coatings, which make them less likely to release cakes intact with smooth surfaces.

Dark-colored Pan Outcomes

• Dark-colored cake pans absorb the heat in ovens more readily than light-colored pans. This makes the crust of the cake darker and more apt to easily release from the bottom and sides of the pan. Pans with darker colors are normally covered with non-stick materials, which also make removing the cake easier than with light-colored pans.

Other Pan Considerations

• Although pans made from heavier gauge metals are less likely to warp when exposed to high temperatures and are generally more durable, the thickness of metal baking pans has little to do with performance. Ovenproof, tempered glass cake pans, often sold under the name brand Pyrex, produce as nicely browned crusts as dark metal cake pans and gives bakers the advantage of monitoring the browning process during baking. Insulated cake pans are constructed from two layers of metal with air in between them that inhibits browning and creates pale, flimsy crusts. Silicone cake pans not only produce pale, weak crusts, their flexibility makes it difficult to safely transfer the batter-filled pans onto the oven racks.

Tips and Hints

• If a recipe recommends a light-colored cake pan and all you have are dark colored or Pyrex types, reduce the recommended oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit and closely watch the cake to avoid over baking. To ensure even baking with multiple pans, make sure there is at least an inch in between them and the oven walls to allow adequate air circulation. When choosing cake pans, always buy ones with straight sides as those with flared sides create cakes that are difficult to remove from pans and inhibit the stacking process for layer cakes.