Tin for Chocolate Sheet Cake

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Sheet Cake (on the Nigella website) is usually baked in a 23x33cm/13x9-inch tin. In the US this size is known also as a quarter sheet pan (hance the name of the cake). You can also use a slightly smaller pan of 30x20cm/12x8-inch.

A 27x21cm/11x81/2-inch tin is slightly small for the amount of cake batter, so the tin will need to be on the deeper side, so that the cake does not rise out ofver the top of the tin. However if it is a roasting tin or cake pan of 5cm/2 inches or more then tat should suffice. The baking time is likely to be slightly longer than 20 minutes, due to the depth of the cake, but as ovens vary we would suggest checking the cake at 20 minutes and then checking every 5 minutes after that if it is not done. The cake should be risen, feel firm to the touch on top and a cake tester inserted into the centre should come out clean.