Use these guides to help you get the best from your cooking. Remember to stick to either imperial or metric when you’re making a recipe – don’t mix the two.
Sugar temperature guide
| °C | °F | |
|---|---|---|
| Thread | 107 | 225 |
| Softball | 119 | 238 |
| Firm ball | 125 | 256 |
| Hard ball | 138 | 280 |
| Soft crack | 151 | 304 |
| Hard crack | 168 | 336 |
Cake tin sizes
As a rule of thumb, a square tin holds about 25% more than a round tin of the same size. If you’re using a square tin for a round tin recipe, keep the temperature the same, and turn the cake during baking, as the corners tend to cook faster than the middle.
Approximate conversions
| Round tin | Square tin |
|---|---|
| 6 inch (15cm) | 5 inch (13cm) |
| 8 inch (20cm) | 7 inch (18cm) |
| 9 inch (23cm) | 8 inch (20cm) |
| 11 inch (28cm) | 10 inch (25.5cm) |
Oven temperature guide
| Electricity °C | Electricity (fan) °C | Gas Mark | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very cool | 110 | 90 | ¼ |
| 120 | 100 | ½ | |
| Cool | 140 | 120 | 1 |
| 150 | 130 | 2 | |
| Moderate | 160 | 140 | 3 |
| 180 | 160 | 4 | |
| Moderately hot | 190 | 170 | 5 |
| 200 | 180 | 6 | |
| Hot | 220 | 200 | 7 |
| 230 | 210 | 8 | |
| Very hot | 240 | 220 | 9 |