Gingerbread—all dressed up.
Is there any more powerful draw to the kitchen than the smell of baking gingerbread? The unique combination of ginger, molasses, and cinnamon carries with it the feelings of warmth, home, and welcome. It’s a lot like the perfect hug on a plate.
Since gingerbread is so tied to everyone’s taste memories, everyone assumes that recipes for gingerbread are easy to come by. There are fewer around these days than you might think, because it’s not actually “trendy” right now. We surprised ourselves when developing our King Arthur Flour Guaranteed recipes to find that after 10 years of putting recipes online (and a collection of well over a thousand), we didn’t HAVE a gingerbread recipe up there.
I had the happy task of developing a gingerbread recipe that would be easy to put together and pretty much bulletproof. The result? This Gingerbread, which sailed through our testing process with remarkable ease. No matter who baked it, using all-purpose or whole wheat flour, the results were universally moist and tender.
First, turn on the oven and grease your baking pan. We’re going to use a dressier pan this time; it’s our stoneware “wavy baker,” also known as our Harvest Baking Dish.
Its shape is a bit different than the 9” square pan the recipe calls for. How do you know if a standard-size recipe will work in a different-shaped pan? The quickest way is a quick “squinch” (square inch analysis). A 9” x 9” pan has 81 square inches of baking surface. The harvest baker measures 8” x 12”, which comes out to 96 square inches. That’s 20% bigger than the 9” square pan’s amount.
There are a couple of choices in this situation. Convert the recipe, by multiplying all of the ingredient amounts by 1.2, or do something a little more seat-of-the-pants, which is what I did. The recipe has a couple of optional ingredients: diced crystallized ginger, and a cup of diced dried apricots. I added both, which increased the recipe’s volume enough to make it work in the bigger pan.
Off I went. First, I measured out the dry ingredients. If you measure with a scale, as we most often do in the test kitchen, it’s a good idea to place your ingredients in distinct piles like this as you work your way down the list. That way if you get interrupted, you can tell where you left off by looking what’s in the bowl and what isn’t.
After melting the butter, I poured the molasses into the same container. You can do this even if you don’t have a scale, because as you can see the molasses will drop right down underneath the butter, and you can measure the 3/4 cup in the recipe with the butter floating above it.
Now they go into the flour mixture. I’m particularly fond of my Danish Dough Whisk for mixing quick breads like this.
Next it’s time for the egg and buttermilk.
Now the ginger and apricots.
Once the batter is mixed, it goes into the pan.
There’s a fair amount of headroom, as you can see, but the gingerbread will get significantly taller as it bakes, so not to worry.
Here it is in the oven after 20 minutes; as you can see, it’s beginning to climb.
The standard recipe calls for a 30 to 35- minute bake, in a metal pan that’s more shallow than this one. I found that after 35 minutes the center of the gingerbread was still quite wet (the top wobbled when I touched it lightly in the middle, too: looked a lot like a waterbed).
So I started setting the timer for 5-minute intervals. By the time the gingerbread was cooked in the center, it had baked for 50 minutes.
It seemed like a lot of extra time, but when I thought about it I remembered I’d added extra volume (the ginger and apricots), and the shape of the pan was also slowing things down. Ceramic pans don’t transfer heat as quickly as metal ones do, and the extra headroom in this baker was also deflecting some of the heat.
Now that I had a lovely pan of gingerbread, I decided to finish dressing it up with some spritzes of whipped cream and some jaunty Ginger Babies . Now my dessert is ready for company: the perfect treat on a cool fall day.
Read, review, and rate (please!) our recipe for Guaranteed Gingerbread.
Buy vs. Bake:
Buy: City Café Bakery, gingerbread sheet, $7.00, 77¢ per slice
Bake at home: King Arthur Guaranteed Gingerbread, $3.71 for the cake, 41¢ per slice
October 6th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I LOVE gingerbread. I find it funny that it isn’t “in vogue” right now - I suppose fancier desserts are. But there is something so homey about traditional recipes - gingerbread, apple pie, pear cake, banana bread….the lack of fussiness really makes me feel good about what I’m baking and what I’m serving.
But, I have to admit something…I prefer my gingerbread with lemon sauce. I’m not a fan of whipped cream at all….*sigh* Or with a side of chunky cinnamon applesauce…that’s good too.
Gingerbread just says, “Hello, Fall!”
Yes, lemon curd with gingerbread! Yum!
Happy Baking!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 6th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
YUM! I just made the whole-grain pancake recipe posted in August for the first time this weekend, and figured I’d be throwing out the leftover buttermilk.
Why is it that buttermilk only comes in quarts? Unless you are a hard-core baker (which I’m not) it means I generally only use 1 cup each time I buy it and throw out the other 3 cups!
Hi Tracey,
You can freeze leftover buttermilk. Just shake it well after thawing and it works just as well as ‘fresh’.
MaryJane @ KAF
October 6th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
This sounds wonderful! I’ve NEVER had gingerbread, and neither has my husband. We’re not young either! We’ve had spice cakes and gingerbread cookies. Maybe Gingerbread is a regional thing? Thanks for developing and sharing the recipe. I may have to give this a try.
October 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I never have buttermilk on hand, though I do keep buttermilk powder for pie crusts, etc. Can I substitute powder or another milk? If so, what’s the substitution?
Hi Cathy,
You can use powdered buttermilk. The proportions will depend upon the manufacturer, but our’s is 4 parts water to one part powder.
Happy Baking!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 6th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I can’t wait to try this! My gingerbread always seem to sink in the middle, and I have been on a quest for a recipe that is “guaranteed”. I think I will try it with the fresh grated ginger. Thank you!
October 6th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
The gingerbread looks great. And since I haven’t made any in longer than I care to think about, I will have to try this one. I am not a fan of crystallized ginger or apricots cooked in anything, I think I will try pecans. Also, I am wondering about using a loaf pan, since I like to slice my gingerbread about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and put lots of whipped cream (in my case reduced fat whipped topping). I guess I should make it in 2 loaf pans, right?
Hi Sue,
Yes, you can make gingerbread in a loaf pan, but it will take longer to cook, as it is going to be denser. Keep an eye, and tent with tin foil if it gets too brown before it is done. Be sure not to fill the pans more than half full. You could also make ‘cupcakes’ and then frost the whole thing with whipped cream.OOOOHH!
Happy Baking!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 6th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Wow, this looks great-I will definitely give this recipe atry later this week. Could I use my powdered buttermilk in this recipe or would fresh be better?
Thanks!
Hi Deb,
Yes, you can use powdered buttermilk. Just follow the manufacturer’s proportions.
Happy Baking!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Hi - just wondering - is this the same gingerbread recipe from the bulk email that was sent today (without all the dressed up ingredients)? If so, the nutrition info listed on the page has 0g fiber per serving - was that calculated with AP flour or the white whole wheat?
Thanks,
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
The nutritionals were calculated using the AP flour. Sorry, but we don’t have the workup using the white whole wheat.
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
Hi Sharon, This morning, we were able to generate nutritional information for this recipe using white whole wheat flour. It increased the fiber by 2g. You can view the new nutritional panel at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/images/gingerbread-www-nutritionals.gif. Happy baking! Halley @ KAF.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
For TRACEY — buttermilk DOES come in 1/2 pint containers…..but, use the leftovers you may have to make pancakes and waffles from scratch. It’s so easy, and what an amazing difference the buttermilk makes!
October 6th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
That is so ironic what a previous poster (Tracey?) said about buttermilk only coming in quarts, lamenting she would have a lot of leftover buttermilk. I am desperate to find it in half-gallon sizes. I use it all the time. Make a pan of cornbread - that will use up at least 2 cups. And it takes awhile to go bad. I have used it long past the expiration date on the bottle. Obviously you are not from the South where they like to break up crackers into a glass of buttermilk. I personally say “bleecchh” to that, but that’s how my husband likes his buttermilk.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Oh, yum - gingerbread!!!! And who cares that it isn’t “trendy”; we’ve always loved, loved, loved it………AND with lemon sauce (only made with fresh lemon juice, thank you!!) My tried-and-true recipe came from Good Housekeeping magazine many moons ago, before their recipes became so “out there”. Mine’s made with buttermilk as well. Hm-m-m, wonder if I could add the candied ginger to my own recipe, perhaps even the apricots. In any case, looks like I may just be making a batch this weekend…………and so what if I live in Florida where temps are still in the 90’s and the A/C is running continuously!!!
October 6th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Spooky–I just made gingerbread for my book club dinner on Thursday and served each slice with whipped cream and a gingerbread baby! I ordered them from KA when I ordered my sourdough starter last month–they were so cute I thought I’d buy first and figure out what to do with them later.
Gingerbread is one of my favorite things to make this time of year. My recipe is from my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook–it has more molasses than this one, so it’s darker and stickier. My family claims it is the BEST EVER, so I’m not sure I can bring myself to try a new recipe. Of course, I still haven’t used my sourdough, so I’d better get cracking on that.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I have an old recipe for gingerbread it’ for 9×13 and I too like lemon sauce on it with whip cream. I’m wondering if we could use sourdough in it for the recipe, for the 200 year old recipe you had a few weeks ago I make two of the already and love it. I used spelt flour instead of all purpose flour. (Chocolate Fudge Cake) soo moist!
If you want the recipe for my gingerbread it doesn’t call for buttermilk though water it’ so good. Just as if you want it for I’ll let you use it.
I will not make anything out of a box for I want to make it the way they did 200 years ago.
Thank you for listening.
Nancy Heibel
October 6th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I adore gingerbread! My family must be terribly out of fashion because we have always made it. We typically pair it with a warm caramel sauce. I must try this recipe and see what the family thinks.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
I use the butter milk after it gets real thick to dip my chicken pieces in before I bread them. It makes the breading stay on better. I make up the breading mixture using 1 part corn meal +1 part bisquick and some garlic powder and very little salt and that chicken will be excellant. This is a southern receipe.
I am writing that one down! Thank you for that southern twist. Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 2:04 am
The second I saw this post this morning, I knew it had to be made today! I subbed half the melted butter for vegetable oil, skipped the crystallized ginger and the apricots, added a pinch more sugar (because I was afraid my molasses might have been too overwhelming) and a dash more of buttermilk (to get rid of what was left in the carton). I added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract as well. It baked for about 40 minutes in my rectangular pyrex pan.
The house smells lovely, and I can’t wait to cut into it after it cools! Thanks very much for the recipe.
Hello Jennifer - I love the improvisation! Glad you were met with success. Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 6:11 am
I love ginger bread but with nutmeg sauce my grandmother used to make .It’s good with vanilla sauce too and so very easy to make,I usually make both sauces for holidays.They can keep their whipped cream for pies.I like my pies naked.
Hello Sherrill - All this talk about sauces reminds me of hard sauce. It is usually flavored with brandy, rum or whiskey. Adding a touch of nutmeg would be a great too. You can then chill the sauce and it becomes hard. Cold hard sauce melting on warm gingerbread - double yum! Is your vanilla sauce like a creme anglaise? Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE gingerbread. When I was a small child my grandmother made the best gingerbread ever. She ‘d cooked it in a deep large pan and serve it warm with butter. It was dense, rich and very very dark! OH MY GOODNESS!
Your gingerbread recipe however, is too light in color for my taste. It may as well be spice cake! Gingerbread that is too light pales in comparison to a very dark gingerbread (like my grandmom use to make). The only gingerbread that I’ve had that comes close to nanna’s is that from a company’s called the Dancing Deer (in Boston, MA). They have a deep dark gingerbread (so dark is looks like chocolate cake). It very good.
Bakers’ Hotline: Maybe you can tell me how to achieve that deep dark gingerbread of my childhood : - )
I’m with Carrie, the darker, thicker gingerbread is the BEST EVER The darker the molasses, and the more you use,the darker the gingerbread will be. Blackstrap molasses and lots of spices make for a really dark gingerbread. Mary @ King Arthur Flour
October 7th, 2008 at 8:32 am
I will definitely try this recipe, I LOVE gingerbread. Last week I made the Ginger Bread recipe from the Whole Grains book and it was amazing!
Hello Rita - Thank you for trying the recipe in the Whole Grains book. I wonder if you used the traditional WW flour or the WW pastry flour. I’d go for the brownielike texture and use the WW pastry! Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I love Gingerbread, but never eat it, because it’s never around. I realized I don’t have a recipe in my files, so I’ll have to try this one out.
I must be fortunate, I can get buttermilk in pints here pretty easily, however I never thought about freezing it - the price is better to buy in the larger size - makes sense.
I really like the cupcake idea!
As MaryJane said, freezing buttermilk is absolutely fine. And REALLY shake it. It looks pretty awful as it thaws - almost unusable looking to most who are not the regular buttermilk freezing types. Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Carrie -
Were you using the recipe out of Big Red?? I’ve used that recipe since someone gave me a ‘vintage’ copy of it when I was in college (old cookbooks are my favorite thing!). My only complaint was that the shortening made it rather heavy and a bit greasy if you didn’t let it cool enough.
This recipe rivals that recipe, I think. I didn’t add the candied ginger or pepper, as suggested, but I love a spicy gingerbread, and now that I know it is a nice, tasty gingerbread, I’m gonna spice it up a bit. Give it a try, I think you’d like it!
October 7th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I love gingerbread and agree that recipes are hard to come by. Having had open-heart surgery, I only bake heart-healthy–except at Christmas. I know the taste will not be the same–there is nothing like butter–but can I substitute canola oil and still have a respectable gingerbread? Any other butter suggestions?
Thanks.
Hello Lucy - Since the butter is melted, not creamed for leavening and structure development, a liquid fat is a suitable substitution. And canola is a good choice. And maybe a light olive oil. You don’t want to choose an oil that is too flavorful. Are yolks a concern? You could substitute 2 egg whites for 1 whole egg. Good luck to you! Elisabeth @ The Baker’s Hotline
October 7th, 2008 at 10:34 am
This looks terrific — I’m going to make it today. Two quick questions, though: first, how does the crystallized ginger differ from your soft diced ginger (which I already have in my fridge)? And second, the ginger babies — are they like a little ginger gummy? I’m thinking they would be a cute decoration on gingerbread cookies, as long as they weren’t too strong tasting for the kids. Thanks! (p.s. Thanks so much for the freezing buttermilk tip. Whenever I buy it in quarts, I usually run out, and when I buy it in half-gallons, I usually end up pitching some. So now I know!) The crystallized ginger is a little drier than the soft diced ginger, but still not dry and hard. The taste would be similar. If eaten by themselves the ginger babies are quite ginger-y with a sweet hot taste, but if they were eaten with the frosting and cake, I don’t think they would be too overpowering, even for most kids. Mary @ King Arthur Flour
October 7th, 2008 at 10:42 am
This looks wonderful - can’t wait to try it. I am wondering if you can tell me exactly what “white whole wheat flour” is? I have never baked with this flour and wonder if one can substituted it as you would for whole wheat flour or for white all purpose flour? Also, is there a way to mix whole wheat and all-purpose flours in this recipe to approximate this and still get the benefit of some whole grain without making the bread heavy? White Whole Wheat flour is a 100% whole wheat flour. It is ground from a different strain of wheat, one that is lighter in color and milder in flavor than traditional red wheat. It can be substituted for whole wheat flour in any recipe. If you substitute it for all-purpose flour, the resulting product will be a little heavier and denser due to the bran. You may also find that you need to add a little extra liquid, usually 1 to 2 tablespoons, also due to the bran, as the bran absorbs more liquid. Mary @ King Arthru Flour
October 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
This looks absolutely delicious! We are currently living in the tropics (active duty military family) and miss the fall weather. I think baking a pan of this will be perfect to remind of us of home and fall. I am thinking of trying it in a bundt pan as it seems it would look so nice and slice easily.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:50 am
This recipe looks delicious! I have a question- I can eat butter, but not milk. Can I substitute soy milk for the buttermilk? Should I use less? How will it change the texture and baking time?
Thanks! Yes you could use soymilk in this recipe in place of the buttermilk. I would add 1 teaspoon of vinegar to the soy milk and stir it up before you add it to the batter. That would keep roughly the same acid level. I would use a 1:1 substitution. The texture, taste and baking time would all stay the same. Enjoy! Mary @ King Arthur Flour
October 7th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I love, love, love gingerbread! I usually make a pan when the weather gets cooler and eat the whole thing by myself (over a couple of days). I can’t wait to try this recipe.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Ahh, what memories!! My mom always made us gingerbread every Fall along with molasses crinkle cookies and apple dumplings. She loves to tell the story about making gingerbread for company. I was 5 years old and sitting on the counter as I always “helped” her bake. I reached up into the cupboard to get an ingredient and knocked over on open bag of unpopped popcorn kernels into the mixing bowl! We tried to pick out all the kernels. My mom was worried that any leftover kernels would pop during the baking. That didn’t happen, but the only person who ended up with kernels in their gingerbread was the company! What a great memory! Mary @ King Arthur Flour
Also, we always ate our gingerbread slathered with butter. I never cared for the whipped cream but the caramel sauce or vanilla sauce sounds really good. YUM!
October 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Well, I LOVE ginger in ANYTHING so I’m another gingerbread fan…love it with any and all of the toppings listed in this thread. But no one yet has mentioned slicing it (works best when a little stale) and toasting it in the toaster before buttering it…Oh yum!
October 7th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Andrea: I don’t know which Betty Crocker it was–I just remember that above the recipe, it said, “Couldn’t be easier, except with our mix!” I just checked my cookbook shelf and I guess I didn’t hang onto that one when my my mom died. But here is the recipe as I have it written down–it’s possible Mom made some changes. No shortening, though–definitely butter.
Cream 1/2 c butter and 1/3 cu sugar.
Beat in 1 egg, then 1 c dark (unsulfured) molasses (not blackstrap–that’s too hardcore even for me), then 3/4 c very hot water.
Mix in separate bowl:
2 1/4 c flour
1 t bkg soda
3/4 t salt
1 t ginger
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves (I always make the 3 spices “heaping” teaspoons)
Add dry ingredients to wet ones and beat until smooth. Bake approx 40 min at 350 (325 for a glass pan). Toothpick test.
This is dark and sticky and spicy. Keeps well. I have substituted yogurt for half the butter and it’s been fine. I will have to try the white wheat flour now.
SOrry to horn in on a recipe thread with a recipe. Is that kosher? I’m sort of new to the blog. But my husband and I both love this stuff, and have just converted my 3-year-old, too. And the book club.
Of course, Carrie - Recipes are the language of bakers. Here at King Arthur we play nicely in the sandbox with EVERYONE - even Betty!
Thanks for sharing. PJH
October 7th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
That gingerbread looks AMAZING! One question though: we have some lactose intolerants in my family…is there any way to replace the butter/make it with oil instead? (I’m not a huge fan of margarine.) I can make “soy buttermilk” but how about oil substitutions?
Thanks!
P.S. I love how the recipe website now lists nutrition facts! So handy…though sometimes it’s better not to know…
Merav, You can substitute oil for the butter. I suggest using a soybean oil or blend. Frank from KAF.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:40 am
My grandmother baked hers in muffin cups for individual servings and sometimes opened them and put a marshmallow inside and put it back in the oven to melt. She also served her gingerbread crumbled in a cereal bowl with hot fudge sauce. We ate this with a spoon.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I have tried a number of gingerbread recipes over the years, trying to approximate a recipe used in Holland. This loaf cake can be found commercially in the U.S. around the holidays in specialty shops catering to people of Dutch ancestry. It uses both ground and candied (?) ginger and I suspect, perhaps, anise. If you have any ideas, I would love your comments. I have never used apricots, sounds interesting, next on the “TRY” list. Try cold gingerbread with a slice of cheddar cheese, I like it.
Julie T.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I made this yesterday afternoon using the whole wheat flour. My kids came off the school bus, stepped into the house, took one sniff of the gingerbread and fell on the floor in ecstasy. What remained after snacking went into lunch boxes this morning and everyone is very happy. I will make this again and again!
October 8th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
we LOVE this gingerbread!! I make it with blackstrap molasses and sprinkle it with just a touch of powdered sugar. My son (8yo) woke up the day after I made it the first time and said “mom, since this is called gingerBREAD, not gingerCAKE that means we can have a piece for breakfast, right?” With logic like that, we all had gingerbread for breakfast
Thanks for the great recipe!
October 8th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Yum! Yum! I really need to catch up with my baking very soon - the Challah , this Gingerbread cake and trying a chocolate chiffon cake (just found this here a few minutes ago)! I am in trouble…… One question, can I subsitute freshly minced ginger for the ground ginger. I have used fresh ginger in cookies and the flavor is intense. Should I try this :)?
Sure, Marj, go for it. Sounds perfectly yummy… PJH
October 9th, 2008 at 4:08 am
I’m debating whether to try this recipe, a sourdough gingerbread, or study a bunch of recipes and come up with something of my own. I’d really like to approximate one I had at King’s Landing in Canada many long years ago, but it wasn’t at all the same the next time I had it there. First time it had a bite, so would say they must have used fresh ginger and possibly pepper; the second time was very good, but just regular gingerbread. As someone who grew up with home cooking & baking, gingerbread was about the only thing that always came from a mix, so don’t have any “Mom’s recipe” for it and was disappointed with the one I did try.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
This recipe is WONDERFUL!! Payday’s not till tomorrow, so I substituted sour milk for the buttermilk (put a teaspoon or so of vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to the one-cup mark with milk; let sit a few minutes) and left out the apricots and diced ginger. I also used regular whole wheat flour and blackstrap molasses.
The gingerbread baked in 35 minutes in my electric oven in an 8×8 glass dish and was darker than chocolate cake, with a molasses flavor that was surprisingly addictive. Next time (tonight, lol!) I’m going to increase the spices to balance the molasses… and I fully expect it to disappear just as fast if not faster!
I love that description, “a hug on a plate.” That about covers it!
I also love it that molasses is high in iron; I’m anemic and getting my iron in gingerbread tickles me pink. *grins*
Thank you for this recipe!! Now… how about a soft but non-sticky gingerbread cookie?
October 12th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Susan how about slicing gingerbread, butter both sides and brown it in a skillet or griddle, poundcake is soooo good this way.
Cathie you could say in your case gingerbread is medicinal.
I love this blog and we do all play nicely in the sandbox.
Keep on baking!!!!
October 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
The recipe for gingerbread is superb. Not too strong. Moist. Easy to make.
Excellent recipe. A real keeper.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
CAN YOU FREEZE THIS?
Yes this is a perfect candidate for freezing. Joan@thebakershotline
November 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Mum, mum. MIne’s still in the pan just out of the oven and i’m picking pieces off to taste. I put dried mangoes instead of the apricots. Also wish i’d seen this blog before i cooked it because i decided that was too much crystallized ginger and didn’t put it all in. Will do so next time. My kids don’t like ginger but i do and mine (with 1/2 the crystallized ginger missing) isn’t too strong at all. I cooked it in a silicone pan with snowflakes on it. Will see if i can see them when i get it out. Also made snowflake muffins too because the larger snowflake pan wasn’t nearly as big as a 9″ pan. Another way to account for different pan sizes is to fill them with water and see how much difference there is and then adjust the recipe or add muffin pans as i did. Thanks for the recipe!