3" Pans

I bought them in the beginning of cake decorating not knowing what I was doing.   I have never used them...regret buying them.    I use 2" layers and split and fill them.    All cakes (here anyway) and done that way.   I guess if there was a special occasion where I needed 3" layers, I have them.  But, again, regret buying them.  They are just taking up room I could use for other things.

In the uk we don't have 2" pans we only have the 3", dont understand why pp is negative about them... But to be fair I have tried the 2"! Maybe I'm missing out... Anyway I only fill the 3" pans up to 3/4 with batter, it'll then rise over the 3" edge so ill have 3" of cake torted into 1" layers. I can bake more that way cos I'm only using 1 pan for the whole cake.

The advantage is that you can bake a 2" cake or a 3" cake in 3" pans. 

 

The 3" cake can be sliced into three layers and give you almost 4" of height from one baking (saving time and utility bills).

 

3" deep pans are also the best size to use for fruitcakes because those tiers are not normally more than one cake deep.

 

And nesting all the 3" deep pans really doesn't take all that much space, does it?  If it does, well, there is always your next garage sale...

In the beginning I bought a few 3" pans because I thought, hey I can bake both a 2" and a 3" in these.  It didn't work out well for me,  The 3" deep pans just didn't bake "right".  I gave them all away.  Waste of my money.

Pay attention to Leah_s' words of 'wisdom, you won't regreat it. Thank you Leah_s!!

I prefer baking my 2" layers in my 3" pans.  I put in a bit more batter than a 2" pan requires and once I level the layer, I get a nice full 2". 

 

I am slowly replacing all of my 2" pans with 3" pans, usually ordering "odd" sizes from lloydpans.com because they even carry sheet pans in 3" tall.

 

I bake at 325F with parchment on the bottom, pan prep on the sides, and inverted flower nail(s) for heating cores. 

 

Rae

When I want a nice tall cake, instead of collaring my 2" pans, I'll use my 3" pans.  Definitely have to use a metal rose nail in them, and they can take longer to bake.  But they can come in handy.

I like 3" pans because you can get a taller layer. A lot of 2" pans aren't really 2" tall, so when you put the tier together it isn't as tall as you think it will be.

 

I also like them because it's less likely that my red velvet cakes will overflow when I bake in them

I agree that some 2" pans aren't actually 2" deep. That's a characteristic if Wilton, and thats just another in a list of reasons not to buy W pans. They are inferior.

It's not only wilton...I have lots of 2" pans of different makes and not all of them are actually 2". I'm not a Wilton fan, but the Wilton pans that I do have don't bake any differently from any of the other ones that I have, so I wouldn't call them inferior.

I too purchased some 3" in the beginning and was disappointed.  Took too long to bake a thicker cake.  Now I go with 2" pans and fill them a bit more than I should.  This causes a higher center and I just use the edge of the cake pan and a long knife to level it.

I also bought a bunch of Wilton 3" pans when i first got into cake decorating. I wish I never wasted the money. I only use my 2" pans now.

Exactly this.  I refuse to buy anymore 2" pans!

And you should really make a trip to Honest Ed's because they sell Crown Cookware locally made aluminum pans, and they have some 3" deep.  Half the price of anywhere else.