Recipe Scaling Calculator

Ingredients scale. Temperature never does.

Ingredients scale. Temperature never does. Enter what the recipe serves and what you need, with tin sizes if you are baking.

Written and maintained by Mohit PatelLast checked August 4, 2026How we build these

Recipe serves

You want to serve

Original tin diameter

Optional — for baking, tin size changes the timing more than quantity does.

Your tin diameter

Multiply every ingredient by this

× 1.5

4 → 6 servings · temperature unchanged

Ingredient multiplier× 1.5

Oven temperatureUnchanged — never scale temperature

Tin area ratio— enter both tin sizes

Suggested time multiplier× 1.145

Ingredients scale linearly and nothing else does. Temperature never changes — raising the heat for a bigger cake burns the outside before the centre sets, which is the single commonest scaling mistake. Without tin sizes this assumes the same tin, so a larger quantity means a deeper bake and a longer time. Enter both diameters for a better estimate. Treat the time multiplier as a starting point and test for doneness rather than trusting the clock. Salt, spice and raising agents also scale sub-linearly in practice — doubling chilli or baking powder rarely tastes right.

How the Recipe Scaling Calculator works

Enter what the recipe serves and what you need, with tin sizes if you are baking. Ingredients scale linearly, timing scales with depth rather than volume, and temperature does not scale at all.

Also known as: how to double a recipe · recipe converter by servings · cake tin size conversion · halve a recipe calculator

Where to go next

The Recipe Scaling question rarely arrives on its own. These are the ones that usually come with it:

Oven Temperature Converter — °C, °F, gas mark and fan — all four at once.
Cooking Conversion Calculator — Kitchen volumes, and weight only when you give a density.
Ratio Calculator — Simplify a ratio, and see it as shares of the whole.
Percentage Calculator — Every common percentage question in one place.

Frequently asked questions

How do I double a recipe?

Multiply every ingredient by two, keep the oven temperature exactly the same, and expect a longer bake if you are using the same tin. Raising the heat to compensate burns the outside before the middle sets.

Do I need a bigger tin?

For baking, usually yes. Tin area scales with the square of the diameter, so a 20 cm tin needs a 28 cm one to hold double at the same depth. Same tin means a deeper bake and noticeably more time.

Does everything scale linearly?

Ingredients mostly do, with practical exceptions. Salt, chilli and strong spices often taste over-scaled at double, and raising agents can behave differently in a much deeper mixture. Scale, then taste.

How much longer will it take?

Time tracks depth far more than quantity. Doubling in the same tin might add 30-50%; doubling into a proportionally larger tin barely changes it. Test for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

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The one-line version

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