Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collection Good Apple and a contributing editor at Southern Living. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Airbnb, and The Kitchn. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives with her husband and three children in New York City.
updated Jun 29, 2023
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We have a favorite sour cream-pecan coffee cake that is made in a loaf pan, as so many breakfast breads and coffee cakes are. It makes two loaf pans, specifically. But we only have one loaf pan, and we needed to bake the whole batch of batter quickly for a crowd.
The solution? A 9×13 baking dish. The batter that fills two loaf pans is perfect for one baking dish.
We didn’t even need to adjust the cooking time that much; since the baking dish is more shallow, it bakes in about the same time as a loaf pan, even though it’s bigger. We kept an eye on it and may have added 5 or 10 minutes max.
Plenty of coffee cakes are made in baking dishes, bundt pans, or round cake pans, but if you have a recipe that specifically calls for loaf pans, you can easily combine them. Definitely helpful if you’re lacking in loaf pans, like we are, or just want one big, bountiful cake you can cut into generous squares.
• The recipe above is Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake from Bon Appétit.
Related: Recipe Review: Sour Cherry Coffee Cake from Lottie + Doof
(Image: Patricia Heal)
