Buzz
There are times when I’ve needed two identical cake pans but only had one shallow pan at hand, and other times when I simply needed a deeper pan, like for a large Basque cheesecake. Rather than baking one layer at a time or sacrificing a deep dish apple crisp in favor of multiple shallow ones, just grab some parchment paper. You can easily add height to your cake pan with a simple cake collar.
A cake collar can be a piece of parchment or foil that extends the walls of your cake pan vertically, or it could be a clear plastic or edible wrap that surrounds a finished cake. Here, we’re focusing on the type that temporarily increases the height of your cake pan’s walls. Making your cake pan taller opens the door to baking taller items such as cake, thicker brownies, Basque burnt cheesecake, lasagna, or eggplant parmesan. It also helps contain overflow from batters or bubbling sauces and gravies.
How to Create a Cake Pan Collar
Here’s what you’ll need:
Parchment paper (sheet or roll)
Butter
Round cake pan
For most cake pans, buttering them is essential to ensure the cake doesn’t stick. (Unless you're making angel food cake, which is better suited to a bundt pan anyway.) Be generous with the butter, especially along the sides. Unroll about 16 inches of parchment and cut it in half, aiming your scissors perpendicular to the paper's rolling direction, as shown in the image.
You want the natural curve of the parchment to align with the curve of the pan, or else you’ll struggle while lining it. You could unroll 28 1/2 inches of parchment, but that would be excessive, since a 12-inch cake collar isn’t necessary. It’s also simpler to manage in two pieces when it’s time to remove the parchment after baking.
Line the cake pan with two pieces of parchment. Start by placing one strip inside, ensuring its edge touches the bottom and pressing it against the buttered sides. Make sure the paper fits snugly along the sides to maintain the round shape and support the parchment.
Next, place the second strip of parchment on the other side, aligning it with the bottom and pressing it against the side, just like the first piece. Trim any excess paper or butter the underside of the overlapping section to make it stick.
Trim the parchment to a reasonable height. You’ll likely only need to extend the pan by two or three inches. This makes it easier to pour in the batter or layer ingredients, and too much excess paper can interfere with the top of your oven. Once your cake, apple crisp, biscuits, or scalloped potato cake is done, let the pan cool slightly on a wire rack before gently peeling away the parchment.
