Here’s an in-depth look at common cake pan sizes & conversions, as well as how to adjust recipes or make substitutions based on the pan sizes you have. Free printable included.
Unless you have a fully stocked kitchen with dozens of baking pans, chances are that you’ll run into a recipe where you don’t have the specific pan required. In fact, a cake pan substitution is the subject of most recipe questions I receive. I figured it would be easier to store all of this information in one convenient place for us all to reference.
Welcome to my Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions lesson!
This Post Includes:
- Common Baking Pan Measurements
- Cake Pans That Are Similar
- Substituting Cake Pans
- Adapting Cake Recipes to Fit Certain Pans
- Amount of Batter Some of My Cake Recipes Yield
Common Baking Pan Measurements
In this list, you’ll find common baking pan measurements and the volume of batter they hold. **The amount listed is the total amount of batter each pan holds, but you usually only fill cake pans halfway (unless otherwise noted in the recipe you are using).** Most measurements were taken at my home kitchen. Cross referenced with the always trusted Joy of Baking, as well.
Measurement Conversions
- 1 inch = 2.54cm
- 1 cup = 240ml
Round Pans:
6×2 inches (15 x 5cm) = 4 cups (960ml)
8×2 inches (20 x 5cm) = 6 cups (1.4 liters)
9×2 inches (23 x 5cm) = 8 cups (1.9 liters)
Square Pans:
8×2 inch square (20 x 5 cm) = 8 cups (1.9 liters)
9×2 inch square (23 x 5 cm) = 10 cups (2.4 liters)
10×2 inch square = (25 x 5 cm) = 12 cups (2.8 liters)
Rectangular Pans – 2 inch (5 cm) tall
11×7 inches (28 x 18 cm) = 10 cups (2.4 liters)
13×9 inches (33 x 23 cm) = 14 cups (3.3 liters)
Springform Pans:
9x 2.5 inches (23 x 6 cm) = 10 cups (2.4 liters)
10x 2.5 inches (25 x 6 cm) = 12 cups (2.8 liters)
Bundt Pan – volume varies because of various designs
10×3 inch (25 x 8 cm) = 10-12 cups (2.8 liters)
Tube Pan:
9×3 inches (23 x 8 cm) = 12 cups (2.8 liters)
Jelly Roll Pans – 1 inch (2.5 cm) tall
10×15 inches (27 x 39 cm) = 10 cups (2.4 liters)
12×17 inches (32 x 44 cm) = 12 cups (2.8 liters)
Loaf Pans – about 3 inches (8 cm) tall
8×4 inch (20 x 10 cm) = 4 cups (960 ml)
9×5 inch (23 x 13 cm) = 8 cups (1.9 liters)
How to Determine the Volume Yourself
If you want to calculate a pan’s volume yourself, it’s so easy! Simply fill your pan with 1 cup of water at a time and count until it’s full. That’s what I do!
How Much Does This Pan Hold?
Here’s a helpful list of the most common baking pans and the volume of batter they hold, as well as which pans hold the same amount of batter. ***Keep in mind that the volumes listed mean you are filling the pan all the way to the top with batter, which isn’t ideal for baked goods. Unless otherwise noted, filling pans around 2/3 full is the best practice. This leaves room for rising.
- For example, my vanilla cake recipe yields around 8 cups of batter which I divide between 3 9×2 inch round cake pans. (Each hold 8 cups of batter!) Each cake layer has a little less than 3 cups batter each.
Use the following section to determine which baking pans can be substituted for others based on their full volume.
Round Pans
- 6×2 inch round pan holds 4 cups of batter, the same as an 8×4 inch loaf pan. Fun discovery! Cupcake recipes yielding 12-16 cupcakes fit wonderfully in 3 6-inch cake pans. See my post for 6 inch cake recipes for more information.
- 8×2 inch round pan holds 6 cups of batter.
- 9×2 inch round pan holds 8 cups of batter, the same as an 8×2 inch square pan and a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- 10×2 inch round pan holds 10-11 cups of batter, the same as a 9×2 inch square pan, 11×7 inch pan, 10×15 inch jelly roll pan, 10×3 inch Bundt pan, and a 9×2.5 inch springform pan.
Square Pans
- 8×2 inch square pan holds 8 cups of batter, the same as a 9×2 inch round pan and a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- 9×2 inch square pan holds 10 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch round pan, 11×7 inch pan, 9×2.5 inch springform pan, 10×3 inch Bundt pan, and a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan.
- 10×2 inch square pan holds 12 cups of batter, the same as a 12×17 inch jelly roll pan, 10×3 inch Bundt pan, 10×2.5 inch springform pan, and a 9-inch tube pan.
Rectangle Pans
- 11×7 inch pan holds 10 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch round pan, 9×2-inch square pan, 9×2.5 inch springform pan, 10×3 inch Bundt pan, and a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan.
- 9×13 inch pan holds 14-16 cups of batter, essentially the same as 2 9×2-inch round pans.
Jelly Roll Pans
- 10×15 inch jelly roll pan holds 10 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch round pan, 9-inch square pan, 11×7 pan, 9×2.5 inch springform pan, 10-inch Bundt pan.
- 12×17 inch jelly roll pan holds 12 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch square pan, 10-inch Bundt pan, 10×2.5 inch springform pan, and a 9-inch tube pan.
Bundt Pans
10-inch Bundt pans are the standard size. I actually have several that are 9.5 inches and most Bundt cake recipes still fit.
- 10-inch Bundt pan holds 10-12 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch round pan (10 cups), 9×2 inch square pan (10 cups), 10×2 inch square pan (12 cups), 11×7 inch pan (10 cups), 10×15 inch jelly roll pan (10 cups), 12×17 inch jelly roll pan (12 cups), 9×2.5 inch springform pan (10 cups), 10×2.5 inch springform pan (12 cups) and a 9-inch tube pan (12 cups).
Tube Pans
9×3 inch tube pans are the standard size. I have a few that are 8 inch and 10 inch and most recipes using tube pans fit nicely in all.
- 9×3 inch tube pan holds 12 cups of batter, the same as 10×2 inch square pan, 12×17 inch jelly roll pan, and a 10×2.5 inch springform pan.
Springform Pans
- 9×2.5 inch springform pan holds 10 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch round pan, 9×2 inch square pan, 11×7 inch pan, a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan.
- 10×2.5 inch springform pan holds 12 cups of batter, the same as a 10×2 inch square pan, 12×17 inch jelly roll pan, and a 9×3 inch tube pan.
Loaf Pans
- 8×4 inch loaf pan holds 4 cups of batter, the same as a 6×2 inch round pan.
- 9×5 inch loaf pan holds 8 cups of batter, the same as a 9×2 inch round pan and an 8×2 inch square pan.
Substituting Cake Pans
I’m piggy-backing this one to the section above because there’s often a need to substitute different cake pans. If substituting a baking pan that holds the same amount of batter, be wary of the baking time because the dimensions of the baked good will change. Always keep your eye on the oven and begin checking for doneness earlier than the recipe states.
Remember, only fill pans about 1/2 to 2/3 full unless otherwise instructed in the recipe.
FREE PRINTABLE
Here is a free printable you can hang in your kitchen workspace: Volumes & Measurements of Common Baking Pans
Adapting Recipes to Fit Certain Cake Pans
Adapting recipes to fit the cake pans you have (or need) can often be complicated. While it’s always best to stick to the written recipe, sometimes you need to make adjustments and that’s where a little math can help.
1) Determine the volume your pan can hold. You can also determine the actual surface area of the pan in square inches. I actually used Food 52’s article by Alice Medrich on this subject to brush up on my math!
- For square and rectangle pans, multiply the length of the sides. For example, a 9×13 inch baking pan is 117 square inches. 9×13 = 117.
- For circle pans, determine the area by multiplying the radius squared by π. (π = 3.14, the radius is half of the diameter, and squaring means multiplying a number by itself.) For example, the area of a 9-inch round pan is 63. The radius is 4.5. 4.5×4.5 = 20.25. Multiply that by 3.14 = 63.5.
2) After you determine the volume your pan can hold or its square inches, you can confidently make baking pan substitutions.
- For example, if a 9×13 inch pan is 117 square inches and a 9-inch round pan is 63.5 square inches, you can be confident that the volume from one 9×13 inch pan can fit into TWO 9-inch round pans (approximately 120 square inches total).
What if volumes and square inches don’t match up perfectly? You’ll have to adjust the recipe and this requires more math.
For example, if you want to adapt a 9-inch round cake to a 10-inch round cake, you’ll need to make adjustments. A 9-inch round cake pan is 63.5 square inches/holds 8 cups of batter. A 10-inch round cake pan is 78.5 square inches/holds 10-11 cups of batter. Without any adaptions, your 10-inch cake layers will be very thin. You’ll need to increase the batter by 25%.
The get this percentage, work with the cups or square inches. Subtract the number you have (8 cups) from the number you want (10 cups). Divide that (2 cups) by what you have (8 cups), then multiply by 100. (The universal way to find a percentage.) This equals 25%.
How to Avoid the Math
What works for me most of the time (because I don’t trust myself with too much math!) is to 1.5x the recipe or even making 2 batches of batter. (For best success, taste, and texture, I always recommend making separate full batches instead of doubling. Doubling risks over-mixing or under-mixing and could overwhelm your mixer.) Then, I use leftover batter to make a few cupcakes on the side to freeze for another time.
It’s better to have extra batter rather than not enough.
What About Eggs?
If you need part of an egg for when you are adjusting a recipe, crack the egg, beat it, and whatever percentage of that mixture you need. If you need 1/3 of an egg and you have 3 Tablespoons of beaten egg, use 1 Tablespoon. For a more precise amount and if you don’t trust your measurements, you can also weigh the beaten egg on a kitchen scale to determine exactly how much you need.
- Cover, refrigerate, and add any leftovers to your scrambled eggs the next morning!
Amount of Batter Some of My Cake Recipes Yield
The following list will help if you need to adjust my recipes for different pan sizes. These are the recipes I know and all measurements are approximate.
- Checkerboard Cake: about 8 cups
- Vanilla Naked Cake: about 8 cups
- Vanilla Cake: about 8 cups
- Confetti Cake: about 8 cups
- Chocolate Cake: about 6 cups
- White Cake: about 7 cups
- Banana Cake: about 6 cups
- Strawberry Cake: about 7 cups
- Snickerdoodle Cake: about 8 cups
- Coconut Cake: about 7-8 cups
- Red Velvet Cake: about 6-7 cups
- Lemon Cake: about 7 cups
My Favorite Baking Pans
I have a list for you! Stock your kitchen with these 8 best baking pans and these 10 cake baking & decorating tools.
The next time you have a question about cake pan sizes & conversions, I hope you find your answer in this post so you can confidently make the adjustments needed.
Reader Comments and Reviews
What about when the cake pans are the same width but different depth? Like a 8×3 round versus a 8×2 round. Do I just fill them to equal levels?
Hi Cherie! If you’re making two equal cakes, then yes, we would fill the shorter one halfway, then fill the taller pan to match that one.
Hello, I love your recipes, I make carrot cake a lot on a 8 or 10 inch pan, I have an order to make one but for a 14 inch pan, can you please help me with how much batter I need or how many mixed cake packages to make this one large cake. Thank you Melrose
Recipe calls for a 10” (12-cup) tube pan but I have a 10 inch (12-cup) tube but I have a cast iron Bundt pan which holds 9.8 x 4.3” (13.1 cup). Will this work for my pound cake.
Hi C, it should work because it is a similar capacity.
I have a recipe for a 4 servings cake in 8” round pan. I need enough batter for a 9×13 pan. Ingredients I need help with to increase amount are 1 stick butter, 2/3 cup packed lt brown sugar, 1/3 c whole milk,1 c flour, and 1tsp baking powder
I want to double the recipe from 8x3x3 loaf pan and want to use a heart shape pan. What size pan should I buy
This is a very helpful page! Can you clarify whether recipes typically call for sewing pans halfway or 2/3? It says both of those at different places in the text above!
Hi Eve, you should aim to fill your pans somewhere between the two, not going over 2/3!
Can I double the ingredients to make two zucchini cake loaves.
Hi, I am a beginner and this is all soooo incredibly useful! Thank you so much for taking the timeto share this!
I love the converter calculation. Can you help me with how much batter need to be made for 15 x 11 x 2 inch pan. Also, how the baking soda, baking powder calculation is done. I have recipe of batter which currently fills three 6×2 inch pans.
Also, what would be the bake temp and bake time.
Hi Sally, I need help. I want to make a 3 or 4 (prefer 3) layer Red Velvet Cake. Your recipe of course.
I have 4 9 inch pans. I could double the recipe but I am not sure if that is advisable. Just not sure if stacking 4 layers is advisable? I see tall cakes in bakeries, which has peaked my interest. Will you direct me on how to do this?
Hi Cheryl! Since those are already thicker layers, you could try making 3 thinner cake layers with the recipe as written, or make 1.5x the cake batter and spread it between your 4 cake pans. It would be quite a tall cake with 3 or 4 full sized layers, and cream cheese frosting isn’t the most stable for stacking. Let us know what you try!
For the lemon cake you mention it yields 7 cups. Is that per layer? Since an 8” cake pan holds about 6 cups?? I’m wanting to make a 10” cake 2 layers I’ll cut in half instead of a 3 layer 8”. Would doing 1.5x still be advised?
Hi Mark, that is 7 cups of batter total. An 8 inch cake pan holds 6 cups, total, but you do not fill all the way with batter. About 1.5x the lemon cake recipe should be about right.
Hello, I am so sorry to bother you with this but I wasn’t sure how to make this as a double recipe into one pan and what exactly I should do with it. But you seem very knowledgeable about this stuff and thought I’d take a chance on asking you about this. So I have a recipe that calls for a 9inch springform pan, if I was to double that recipe what size pan could I use to substitute for this? I really appreciate your help and time in this matter.
Hi Akema! A 9 inch springform pan holds 10 cups of batter, so you would need something that would hold 20 cups total for double the recipe. You could always use one springform pan, and one other similar sized pan, like a 9 inch square pan. Additionally, we generally caution against doubling cake recipes because it is easy to over or under-mix the batter. It is usually best to make two separate batches. Happy baking!
It’s not a cake recipe it is a food recipe called “Sweet Noodle Kugel”, it looks really good but one wouldn’t feed my kids and us, I have a HUGE family. I never double cakes or anything like that just because they never turn out right when I have tried to in the past, but thank you for the cautionary warning. I appreciate your time though and thank you although if you don’t think it would work with this recipe either I can use separate pans too. If you never heard of this I can send the recipe as well for further input as well. Thank you so much again for your time.
I made you multi-grain bread today and it turned out great! Can I put that recipe into two 8×4 pans to get two smaller loaves?
Hi Tom, You can certainly make smaller loaves with this bread but we have not tested it so we are unsure of the exact bake time needed. Keep your eye on the loaves and to test for doneness you can give the loaf a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F-200°F (90°C-93°C).
hello! I would love to make your Lemon Cake in a 12 x 17 jelly roll pan and make a two-layer sheet cake. given that the jelly roll pan holds around 12 cups, I’m planning to double your recipe and then measure 12 cups into each jelly roll pan. how long should I bake each cake for? thanks so much!!
I love the conversion info. But what about baking time adjustments? If I need to put my bundt recipe into a different pan the baking time won’t be the same would it? A bundt cake moved to a springform pan would need some adjustment to get done in the center wouldn’t it?
Hi Kathy! Yes, bake times will change with different pans, but there are no hard and fast conversions for bake times. It will depend on the specific recipes.
I know, my Mom used to say “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” how ever there is one more I alays have trouble with , and that is muffin pans! I love your recipe for “bakery style blueberry muffins, but what if I choose to make the same ones in a regular muffin tin….HELP !
Hi Diane! Are you referring to our jumbo blueberry muffins recipe? There’s instructions for regular sized muffins in the recipe Notes: For standard size muffins baked in a 12-count muffin pan, reduce baking time to about 20 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at 425°F and 15 minutes at 350°F. Yields 14-15 standard size muffins.
For the two loaf pans, I don’t understand. The smaller one is 8x4x3 and the larger one is 9x5x3, so the volumes are 96 cubic inches and 135 cubic inches. There’s no way the larger one holds twice as much as the smaller. It’s only about a third more.
Hi there, a quick question! I’m struggling to understand how a 10 inch bundt pan with a huge hole in the middle can possibly be the sane volume size as an ordinary 10 inch cake pan with no hole. I’d expect the ordinary round pan to be smaller than the bundt to compensate the hole. Am I wrong? Thanks for helping!
Hi Jane! We’re happy to help clarify. The Bundt pan has much higher sides and can be filled with more batter—the 10-inch round cake pan should only be filled half way (not to the edges), so that it has ample room to rise and bake evenly. Because you’re only filling the cake round half way, it will yield a smaller cake than a Bundt, even though the 2 pans can hold the same volume if both filled to the very edge. Hope this helps!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been put off from trying some ex-U.S. recipes because I was unsure about pan measurements. This info is wonderful!
What if I’m making a pound cake which calls for a Bundt pan and I want to make two loafs instead? Would I cook for the same amount of time?
Hi Phyllis! It will depend on the recipe, but usually you can use two loaf pans instead of a bundt pan. The bake time will be similar, but definitely keep an eye on it as it bakes.
Regarding conversion of cake pan sizes to a particular recipe, I assume pie pans follow those rules too? I have 10″ pie pans and almost all pie recipes are asking for a 9″ pan. I just add a little more ingredients to fill up that pan. Sometimes it works, sometimes I mess it up but I certainly got it right this time with lemon sponge pie. I don’t know why recipes for pies do not have conversions to apply to the 10″ pans included in the recipes. Over the years I bought Longaberger pie plates which are 10″ pans as are Lock n Lock glass pans. Makes me feel as tho I’m the only one who makes pies 10″ because they are ALL 9″ pie recipes. Why is that?
Hi Marsha, pie dishes will follow the same guidelines. Most pie dishes are 9 inches, but I have a lot of 9.5 inch pie dishes. And I use them for recipes that call for 9-inch pie dishes all the time. Extending a 9-inch recipe to your 10 inch pan shouldn’t be a huge issue. Which recipes have been difficult?
Great information to have. Thank you.
I love you, Sally & team! Threw away a pan of perfectly good ingredients this past weekend by trying to substitute pans.
This is an excellent print out and great information to have on hand. Thank you!
Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU! This was a most timely email to receive from you. In fact, I remailed it to 1 of my other no subscription email addresses so that I can find it easily, until the printer is back online.
What is best for cake round ? High sides or lower sides?
Hi Vicki, we typically use round cake pans with 2-inch high sides. Whatever the height of your pans, be sure to only fill your pans half way—this allows the batter room to rise evenly without risk of overflowing. Hope you found the post helpful!
Thank you so much
How do I convert the ingredients for a rich fruit cake with 6 eggs and a varietr of dried fruits etc. from a 9″ square to a 12″ square tin?
I love your explanations so much
could you please let me know, as a new baker i got to make 100 servings sponge cake vanilla, and they want them i square shape
i thought of doing double layers
but i am not sure about the recipe measurements and cake pan size to do this
could you please help me thanks
natalie
It’s fantastic that you’ve done all these calculations for cake pans! Just as you say, some recipes call for a size or shape we don’t have, so this conversion page is so helpful.
I do love this recipe- and my grandson has requested a vanilla T-Rex cake for his 3rd Birthday!! I have the T-Rex cake pan, and will follow the math on the amount of batter for the tin – can’t use parchment. Any other suggestions?
Hi Mindy, if you cannot use parchment, be sure to generously grease your pans so that the cake will release easily. Hope it’s a hit!