Silicone Molds for Baking

[Caroline1]

Ever used one? There are some very attractive silicone molds coming out just in time for holiday baking. I especially like the shapes of some of the silicone bundt pans, and they are a LOT cheaper than their cast metal counterparts. BUT... Do they work well? I'm wondering whether they're so much cheaper because they're only good for one or two bakings. I'm also wondering if the large (12 cup) molds hold their shape once they're filled with batter. I'm also assuming that the way to go for baking is to set them on a cookie sheet, or even inside a layer cake pan, then fill them, move them into the oven and bake. Do those of you who have used them love them or hate them? A curious mind here, and all that jazz... Thanks!

[foodieX2]

My mom went thru a phase where she gave us all a bunch at Christmas. These are quality ones, I don't remember the name but they are french. I really like the muffin pan and the bundt pan the most. Popovers, all types of muffins just slide right out. My coffee cake, monkey bread and other cakes hold their shape and come right out too. Would I have bought them? No, but I am happy to own them.

And my silpat matts? I couldn't live without those!

[freemind1]

Cheap? Don't know where everyone is shopping but quality silicone molds and baking sheets are not cheap. Buy a good brand like de Buyer, Moulinex or Sur la Table and you won't go wrong. It is a substantial investment. Don't buy China, you get what you pay for. French or Italian made silicone mats and molds are best.

[Querencia]

I have never used a silicone pan but as a devotee of thrift shops and yard sales I have noticed that a terrific number of them seem to be discarded to these venues. People seem not to be clinging to them.

[MsMaryMc]

I'll stick to my metal pans for baking, but I love my square silicone pans for making caramels. I pour up the cooked caramel in the silicone pans and after it's cooled and set, I can easily pop the whole slab out and cut it up on a cutting board. The results are considerable better for gifting than gobs of caramel dug and scraped out with a spoon, one at a time, from a metal pan!

[sparky401]

I have both; I have been seduced, as have many of us, by the newness and shapeliness of the silicone molds for baking. I find them difficult to maneuver when you have to remove the baked substance, difficult to clean, and I'm concerned about plastic in general. What turned me completely was going to antique shows and yard sales: you see a million OLD, USED metal bakeware things, you buy them, and they work GREAT. I doubt if in years to come we will be saying the same thing about the silicone molds.

[sunshine842]

I will never own another metal cupcake/muffin tin as long as I live.

I was skeptical about silicon, until someone gave me a box of cupcake molds for Christmas -- and they're GREAT. Muffins and cupcakes pop right out, no sticking, no rusting, and no scouring that stupid damned tin. Not enough batter to fill all the cups? No biggie -- use only what you need.

They weigh nothing, don't rust, take up only a tiny bit of space in my cupboard, and I toss them in the top rack of my dishwasher.

I've now added a tart pan and two cake pans to my collection. I use them often, and haven't given even a passing thought to needing metal ones.

Only caution -- do not, as a friend of mine did, let your teenager cut brownies....the kid used a sharp knife to cut brownies and managed to put a huge gash in her new baking pan. Mom was *not* amused.

[Toni6921]

I use my metal ones for muffins and breads. But I have baking sheets that I do use often when baking cookies. They're great because they cool quickly, and cookies don't spread. They do stain, so they don't look new, but that has nothing to do with how they perform.

[minijen]

I don't use them for baking, but they are a lifesaver for freezing liquids in 1/4 cup portions. Broth, stock, puppy dog ice cream, dashi, etc. Easy to portion, then pop out the 'pucks' when frozen and store in a gallon-sized bag.

[RhonelyInsanediego]

Exactly. I use mine for freezing pesto

[Caroline1]

Thank you all for the information. I think I'll just stay with the good old fashioned kind of metal pans that I KNOW will work well! Why buy grief when you can stick with trouble free? '-)

[Claudette]

There's a huge range in quality - some work great, others are awful. Cleaning them varies greatly, also: some are easy to clean, others are very tough.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I have passed on them for a few reasons; Possible chemical leaching, durability over time, and every one I have seen is made in China.

[featheronawire]

I love them but have found you get what you pay for. The better ones have some sort of metal frame built into them so they don't flop about. I use the muffin ones for Yorkshire puddings and nothing beats it.

[kseiverd]

Bought a whole set at a yard sale... cuz VERY clean, still in box, and cheap. First mistake I made was to pour batter into a loaf or bundt pan and THEN try to put it on a baking sheet to go into the oven... not easy. Was fulling expecting finished products to almost jump outta pan on their own... didn't happen. I donated set to a thrift shop.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I don't have one, but there are several previous threads on this. Some people who own them like them, but most people dislike them.