Choosing a Baking Pan

The round cakes in this chapter should bake in a ten-inch springform pan or cheesecake pan with a removable rim. If using a springform pan, the rim can hold the cake and filling in place during assembly and chilling time. Alternatively, if a springform pan is not used, have a 10 x 2-inch or 10 x 3-inch mousse cake ring mold on hand. Cakes that use sponge cake only (without a Mürbeteig crust as the cake’s base) can also be assembled in a 9 x 2-inch or 9 x 3-inch mousse cake ring. Even though cakes bake in a ten-inch pan, sponge cakes shrink during baking and cooling, so the nine-inch mousse cake ring makes for a tighter fit during assembly. For more information, refer to “How to Cut and Assemble Layered Sponge Cakes” later in this chapter. (There is one round cake that is an exception in size. It is the double-layer version of the Hazelnut Sponge Cake. That cake bakes in two nine-inch layer cake pans. An eight-inch mousse cake ring is recommended for that cake.)