How Much to Fill the Pan

Most of my cakes call for 2-inch-high pans. With the exception of the dark chocolate oil cake used for the German Chocolate Cake, Wedding Cupcakes, and Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake, fill the pan no less than half full and no more than just under two-thirds.

Rule of thumb for odd-size pans: Classic génoise (see White Gold Passion Génoise) uses just under half the number of eggs as the cup capacity of the pan. A butter cake uses just under one-quarter as many eggs as the cup capacity. For example: an 8 ⅔-cup capacity pan uses a four-egg formula for classic génoise and a two-egg formula for a butter cake (1 whole egg equals 2 yolks or 1½ whites).