How To Avoid Common Problems With Mini Loaf Pan Cakes
Almond & Lemon mini loaf pan cake topped with lemon Italian meringue buttercream, candies lemon zest and toasted almonds
Mini Loaf Pan Cakes are incredibly popular right now and for good reasons: they are fun, very portable (provided you can get the lids on!), can be made in an endless list of flavour combinations and can be decorated in any way you want.
But they come with their own challenges. How much batter do you put in? How do you make sure you can get the cake out? Which sponges work best? How do you make sure you can fit the lids on?
I made a batch of mini loaf cakes recently using 6.5oz mini loaf tins (internal dimensions approx. 15.5 x 5.3 x 3 cm). They turned out really well. I made an almond & lemon sponge which was decorated with a lemon Italian meringue buttercream, candied lemon zest and toasted almonds. You can get the recipe here.
Having made them, I thought I would look at the issues people commonly have when making them and explain how they can be avoided.
Follow these guidelines and you can make delicious uniform mini loaf pan cakes, and fit the lids on!
How Much Batter To Put In The Tin?
It is common to see mini loaf pan cakes that are half empty. Too little batter and this is what happens, but of course too much batter and the sponge will end up flowing over the top! What you should be aiming for is for the sponge to be level with the top of the tin once it is baked.
I often see people making general recommendations like putting 60-80g in the tin or fill the tin two thirds full. There is no one size fits all approach to these cakes. The amount of batter you need to put in the tin will vary depending on the type of sponge cake you are baking, as some sponges rise more than others. For example, the almond based sponge cake that I used in my recipe does not rise very much so the tin had to be filled with a larger quantity of batter. But if I had made a sponge with a white cake or Victoria sponge then I would have required much less as these sponges rise more.
The long and the short of it is that you should either carry out your own experiments with the recipes you are using to determine the right quantity or make sure that you use a recipe that has been tested in the size of tin you are using.
Almond & Lemon Sponge baked to the top of the tin.
Inconsistent Portions
Because these are small cakes, you tend to bake a few or many at one time. A common issue people have is making sure that their cakes are consistently the same size. It may not matter so much if you are baking for fun at home, but certainly if you are selling your cakes they have to be the same size or customers will be disappointed.
Another important reason to make sure your cakes are all the same size is so that they all bake consistently. If they are different sizes they will bake at different speeds.
The best way to do this is to weigh your batter as you pipe it into each tin. Once you know how much batter the tin requires, then use a digital scale and zero it with an empty cake tin on it. Then pipe in your batter to the required quantity and repeat with the rest of your tins. This way all your cakes will be the same size (and neither your customers nor Aunty Betty will be disappointed!)
How To Get The Cake Out?
This starts with preparing your cake tins. Now again this depends on what type of sponge cake you are baking. Here are some general rules:
For a high fat cake (i.e. a cake made using the creaming method like a Victoria Sponge), grease the pans with butter and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
For angel food cake and chiffon cakes, you need to make sure the batter clings to the sides so it doesn’t sink back into the pan. For this reason, do not grease the pan.
For low fat sponge cakes, like a Genoise, grease the bottoms of the pans but not the sides.
Over Or Under Baked Sponges
Because these are small cakes it is more common for them to be overbaked than under baked. Different sponges must be baked for different amounts of times and at different temperatures, so it really depends on the type of sponge you are making.
A good place to start is to make sure you know your oven. Oven performance varies dramatically depending on the type of oven you use (with/without fan), the age of the oven, the accuracy of the dial etc. Oven temperature can also vary a lot at different positions in the oven. From experience you will know how your oven works. An oven thermometer is a key piece of equipment to have. Using one means you know for sure what temperature your oven operates at, and you can even test temperatures at different points of your oven.
How do you know when your sponge is ready? Remember that a cooking time can only ever be a guide as each oven is different. So here are 3 ways to check your sponge is ready:
For a light sponge cake, check the colour. You are looking for a light golden colour.
Gently press the surface of the cake with your finger and the sponge should bounce back.
Insert a skewer or knife into the top of the cake and leave it there for 30 seconds before removing it. The skewer or knife should come out clean. If you are baking a nut-based cake, then some nuts may stick to the skewer or knife but so long as there is no batter this is fine.
Dry Sponge
Dry sponge is a very common problem. There can be various reasons why this happens.
Overbaking it has already been addressed above.
Different sponges have different moisture levels. For example, are you making a sponge that is oil or butter based? Is it a recipe that has a high nut content? Oil based sponge recipes are naturally much moister and retain that moisture for longer. The same applies for a sponge recipe that is made with nuts, like ground almonds.
If your sponge cake is not as moist (like a genoise) then a soaking syrup is a much-underused method to provide moisture. If you have made a sponge and think it is too dry, or that is prone to drying out, then make a simple syrup to add to it (equal parts sugar and water brought to the boil and cooled). A further benefit of a syrup is that you can add flavour to it such as citrus peel or juice or the alcohol of your choice.
If you are not eating your cakes straight away, then you must also think about how they are stored until they are eaten. If a sponge is left exposed to the air, then it will dry out. So, make sure it is covered and in an airtight container to keep it fresh. The other option is to freeze the sponge. There is a lot of snobbery about freezing cakes – frankly it’s nonsense! A freezer is a baker’s best friend. A well-made sponge that is frozen and then defrosted is no different to one that is made and eaten straight away.
What’s The Best Buttercream To Use?
If you are topping your cakes with a buttercream then you can use an American or Swiss meringue buttercream. You also have the option of a piped ganache.
My choice would be to use an Italian meringue buttercream. It tends to be my go-to option. It’s simple to make, very stable and has a lovely smooth texture. It can also be flavoured in lots of different ways very easily.
All will work well so long as you remember to balance the sweetness and ratio of the buttercream to the sponge. A common problem is matching a very sweet buttercream with a sponge that is already very sweet. Sweetness is important to give a pleasurable eating experience but not too much that it kills the flavours of the cake. Likewise, it’s important to get the right ratio of buttercream to sponge – not too much so that the buttercream overpowers the sponge cake. The great thing about mini loaf pans is that they give you the guide for the correct ratio - sponge baked up to the top of the tin, and then buttercream on top that still allows you to get the lids on!
How To Decorate Without Using Buttercream
It may be that you are restricted in what you can use to decorate your cakes by cottage baking laws, or you may just want to make a cake without buttercream.
Some simple alternatives include candied fruit or toasted nuts. You can brush apricot jam or marmalade on the top of the cake to stick them down. Other options include candied or caramelised nuts, brittles or a baked crumble. You could even add a layer of chocolate with some chopped nuts (whenever you use nuts, always remember to toast them first to bring out the flavour).
