How long do I bake this for?
Bake time for your tin size, your batter depth and your own oven, with the temperature to set and when to first look.
Free. No signup needed.The short answer
An 8 inch round sponge takes about 29 to 35 minutes at 180 C conventional, which is 160 C fan, gas mark 4 or 350 F. A 6 inch takes about 25 to 29 minutes, a 10 inch about 35 to 41, and a 12 inch about 45 to 55. Deeper batter takes disproportionately longer, and a fan oven takes the same time at 20 C lower. Tell the calculator your tin and your oven and it gives you the time, the temperature and when to check.
How long do I bake this for?
BakerInbox
What you are baking
The chart standard. Light, quick, and it tells you when it is done by springing back.
Your oven
Bake for
29 to 35 min
Set a timer for the low end
Set the oven to
160 C
Fan, already dropped for you
First look at
22 min
Do not open the door before this
Rest in the tin
10 min
Then turn out onto a rack
How to tell it is done. The top springs back when you press it lightly, the edges have pulled away from the tin, and a skewer comes out clean.
The temperature above is already right for your oven, so do not drop it again. A fan oven runs cooler than a conventional one for the same bake, and the two correct ways to handle that are to lower the temperature and keep the time, or keep the temperature and cut the time by about a quarter. Doing both is how a cake comes out raw in the middle.
Timings sorted. BakerInbox tracks the orders those bakes are for.
Start free trialBaking time charts
| Round tin | 1.5 in of batter | 2 in of batter | 3 in of batter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 in (10 cm) | 15 to 19 min | 20 to 24 min | 28 to 34 min |
| 6 in (15 cm) | 19 to 23 min | 25 to 29 min | 35 to 41 min |
| 8 in (20 cm) | 23 to 27 min | 29 to 35 min | 41 to 49 min |
| 9 in (23 cm) | 25 to 29 min | 31 to 37 min | 44 to 52 min |
| 10 in (25 cm) | 27 to 33 min | 35 to 41 min | 49 to 59 min |
| 12 in (30 cm) | 35 to 43 min | 45 to 55 min | 65 to 77 min |
| 14 in (36 cm) | 43 to 51 min | 55 to 65 min | 77 to 93 min |
A plain sponge at 180 C conventional, which is 160 C fan, gas mark 4 or 350 F. Set a fan oven 20 C lower and keep the same time. Deeper batter takes disproportionately longer, because the outside sets while the heat is still travelling to the middle.
Temperature and time by what you are baking
| Cake | Conventional | Fan | Gas | 8 in round | Cupcakes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria or plain sponge | 180 C350 F | 160 C325 F | 4 | 29 min to 35 min | 18 to 22 min |
| Madeira or butter cake | 170 C325 F | 150 C300 F | 3 | 35 min to 41 min | 22 to 26 min |
| Chocolate or mud cake | 160 C320 F | 140 C295 F | 2 | 39 min to 47 min | 25 to 29 min |
| Carrot or banana | 175 C347 F | 155 C322 F | 3 | 34 min to 40 min | 21 to 25 min |
| Rich fruit cake | 140 C275 F | 120 C250 F | 1 | 1 h 33 min to 1 h 51 min | 58 to 70 min |
| Brownie or traybake | 180 C350 F | 160 C325 F | 4 | 22 min to 26 min | 13 to 17 min |
| Baked cheesecake | 150 C300 F | 130 C275 F | 2 | 44 min to 52 min | 27 to 33 min |
Temperature and time move together. A mud cake is slow because it is baked cool, and putting it in at 180 C to save half an hour cracks the top and leaves the middle raw. The fan column is already dropped, so do not take another 20 C off it.
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What actually changes the time
Bake time is set by four things at once: how wide the tin is, how deep the batter sits in it, what kind of cake it is, and what your oven does. A chart can only hold one of them.
Tin size
A wider tin does not just take longer, it takes disproportionately longer
Heat has to reach the middle, and in a bigger tin the middle is further from every surface at once. An 8 inch round takes about 32 minutes, a 12 inch about 50, and a 14 inch about an hour. The times above come from the published trade charts, interpolated for the sizes between the rows, so they match what every other chart says on the common sizes. If you are moving a recipe between tins, work out the new quantities in the tin conversion calculator first, then come back here for the time.
Batter depth
Depth matters more than width, and nobody asks for it
Every published chart assumes two inches of batter and none of them says so. Pour three inches into the same tin and the bake takes about 40 percent longer, because the heat has half again as far to travel and the outside sets while it does. This is why the same 8 inch recipe can take 30 minutes in one kitchen and 50 in another. Check how much batter your tin takes if you are not sure how deep yours is sitting.
Fan ovens
Drop the temperature or cut the time, never both
A fan oven runs about 20 C below a conventional one, and a US convection oven runs 25 F below. There are two correct ways to handle that: lower the temperature by 20 C and keep the recipe time, which is safer for anything that rises, or keep the temperature and cut the time by about a quarter, which suits roasting. Doing both is the classic mistake and it is how a cake comes out raw in the middle. The temperature shown above is already right for the oven you picked, so do not drop it again. The oven temperature converter has the full chart if you need to convert a recipe first.
What you are baking
Temperature and time move together
A mud cake is slow because it is baked cool, at about 160 C, and putting it in at 180 C to save half an hour cracks the top and leaves the middle raw. A rich fruit cake goes in at 140 C for hours. A brownie is meant to come out underdone. That is why this asks what the cake is rather than assuming a sponge, and why each one carries its own temperature as well as its own time.
Opening the door
Do not look before it has set
Cold air hitting a sponge that has not set is the single most common cause of a sunken middle. Leave it alone for the first two thirds, which is what the check time above is. After that, look through the glass rather than opening the door if you can. If the top is browning long before the middle is done, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it. A deep tin that keeps doing this wants a lower oven and a longer bake, or a heating core down the centre, and it is worth checking how you have lined the tin too.
FAQ
Common questions
How long do you bake an 8 inch cake?
About 29 to 35 minutes at 180 C conventional, which is 160 C fan, gas mark 4 or 350 F, with two inches of batter in the tin. A 9 inch takes about 31 to 37 minutes and a 10 inch about 35 to 41. Deeper batter takes longer: three inches in the same 8 inch tin is nearer 45 minutes.
How long does a 12 inch cake take to bake?
About 45 to 55 minutes at 180 C conventional with two inches of batter. A 12 inch is not simply a bigger 8 inch: the centre is further from every heated surface, so it takes roughly half again as long. Start checking at about 35 minutes and cover the top with foil if it is browning early.
How do I adjust baking time for a different tin size?
Work out the batter depth in the new tin first, because that changes the time more than the width does. A wider, shallower tin bakes faster; a narrower, deeper one bakes slower. As a rough guide, going from an 8 inch to a 9 inch round adds about 5 minutes, and going from a 9 inch to a 6 inch takes about 7 minutes off. The calculator does both at once.
How long to bake a cake in a fan oven instead of a conventional one?
The same time, if you drop the temperature by 20 C. A recipe that says 180 C for 30 minutes becomes 160 C fan for 30 minutes. If you would rather keep the temperature at 180 C in the fan oven, cut the time to about 22 minutes instead. Pick one of the two. Doing both leaves the middle raw.
How long do cupcakes take at 180 fan?
About 18 to 22 minutes. 180 C fan is a hot oven for cupcakes, since it is 200 C conventional, so they will be closer to 16 to 18 minutes and will dome hard. For a flatter top, drop to 160 C fan and give them 20 to 22 minutes.
How long does a fruit cake take to bake?
Hours, at a very low temperature. An 8 inch round with three inches of batter takes roughly 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes at 140 C conventional. Line the tin twice and tie brown paper round the outside, or the fruit at the edge burns long before the middle is cooked.
How do I know when a cake is done?
The top springs back when you press it lightly, the edges have pulled away from the tin, and a skewer into the centre comes out clean. A brownie is the exception: a skewer should come out with moist crumbs, because clean means it is already overbaked. A baked cheesecake should still wobble in the middle.
Why is my cake raw in the middle but burnt on top?
The oven is too hot for the depth of batter. The outside sets and colours before the heat reaches the centre. Drop the temperature by 10 to 20 C and add time, lay foil over the top once it has coloured, and for anything over three inches deep use a heating core or bake it in two shallower tins instead.
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