The Only Tool You Need To Bake Up Two Cakes On One Sheet Pan

Part of the fun of baking a cake is getting creative with the process. Whether you're using your microwave to help frost your cake, or using toothpicks to cut your cake evenly, there are lots of easy ways to level up your cake making skills using common household items. Our latest discovery? If you're baking multiple cakes but only have one sheet pan, there's no need to go out and buy another. You just need some aluminum foil.

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Split baking pan with aluminum foil to split cake batter into two colors! #cakehack #foryou #bakersoftiktok #layeredcake #holidaybaking

♬ The Great British Bake Off – Tom Howe

This handy foil can act like a barrier, splitting your sheet pan into essentially two smaller pans. Just fold the aluminum foil over itself a few times to make it sturdy and slot it in the middle of your sheet pan as a divider, folding any excess foil inwards to fit the pan. You can then slowly pour each cake batter into its designated space. The aluminum foil might move a little, allowing the edges of the two cakes to blend together, but this can be cut off after baking.

Another way aluminum foil can be used when baking a cake is to make a smaller sheet pan when it's too big for your required dimensions. Once you've measured out how much of the pan you need, add in your folded aluminum foil to create a wall just like you did to split the sheet pan in the first hack we mentioned. You can then line the side you're using with baking paper and pour in some uncooked rice or beans onto the unused side to help support the aluminum barrier. And voila, you've just made yourself a smaller sheet pan.

If you're looking to make a cake into a certain shape like a heart or star, you can even fold the foil to act as a makeshift mold. Just place it in a sheet pan, use the rice for support, and pour your cake batter in. You can also use aluminum foil to stop your cake from overbrowning, a common problem for cakes that need a little longer to bake. Simply cover your cake loosely with some foil about halfway through the cooking time — that will still give it enough time to develop a crust. So, while it's not ideal to use aluminum foil as a baking liner, it sure makes up for it in other ways.