For Christmas, my wife got a set of a cheap knock-off and used it to bake a boxed cake mix. Just over 1 hour and the center was still soupy.
She also got another set from my daughter of the name brand and that worked just fine.

I got a Madeleine pan from IKEA and it works ok but even if you don't get any silicone bakeware, (cake pans, etc), I would highly recommend getting a Silpat silicone sheet liner. These are great for making cookies, rolls, anddropped biscuits. Easy to clean up as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silpat

I'm new to this forum, but have spent many years in other forums on this site so I hope it's okay to jump right in.

I received a Kitchen-Aid silicone muffin tin for Christmas. The directions say it is only non-stick if you spray it first with non-stick spray. Call me confused, but I was under the impression that all bakeware was non-stick if you spray it first. Needless to say, I am back to my old faithful aluminum pans that my grandmother bought 35 years ago and using the muffin liners.

Liners cost 53 cents per 100 at my market. I stocked up with 25 cents off coupons that were doubled... total cost: 3 cents per hundred. Sometimes the old way is the cheapest.

PAM

Hi twobigcanines,

They spray you on these fabulous muffin tins, then, do they?

Oh, no - that's just the stuff in the can - not those who walk around.

ole joyful

Yea, that canned stuff's been mis-named from day one.

PAM

I also received 2 cheap sili pans for christmas and they were terrible, middle didn't cook had to leave it in longer and keep checking. Finally when cooked, when I popped it out the whole TOP was STUCK in the pan. I have a Kitchen Aid sili tube pan and it's great. Not to sound ungreatful but why buy someone cheap "junk" that they wouldn't buy for themselves?????

I was given a kitchenaid set of silicone bakeware. muffin tins, loaf pan, 2 round cake pans.

Things cook fine in them, but I don't see an advantage to using them. You need to put the cake pans on a cookie sheet, or it wobbles too much. The muffin tin came with a wire rack to hold the thing with.

I find them hard to clean because they are so wiggly - you have to support it from the back with one hand and scrub with the other hand... that might not sound annoying, but it is when you have to do that to every single muffin cup where if it was metal you could just set it in the sink and scrub each hole or just hold it in one position and scrub all the holes.

Anyway, I wouldn' buy more and I wouldn't give them as gifts.

i started out with the silpat cookie sheets...all the rage...worth the price considering they were reusable, and i do a high quantity of baking. in my opinion, they left an after-taste that just ruined all the fine ingredients i put into batters. i wouldn't waste cent on the cake pans, although i see them everywhere. my silpats now just sit (somewhat sticky which you can't clean very well) in a closet. cost too much to just throw away.

regards,
maryanne

I never use my Silpat for baking cookies, I prefer parchment paper, but it's GREAT for greasy/gooey things like baked meatballs or sausage balls. I line my jelly roll pan with the Silpat and clean-up is a swipe with a paper towel.

Other uses:

I use a Silpat exclusively for forming loaves/rolls of yeast breads on. No more bench flour and the dough doesn't stick. Just remember to oil/grease/butter your hands before handling the dough.

I also pour out my peanut brittle on a Silpat. After it cools, it peels right off and clean up is just a matter of washing the Silpat off.

As for the silicone bakeware, I didn't get good results using the bundt pan. I was sorry they didn't work better because, like many others, I'd received some as gifts.

-Grainlady

It looks like I'm the exception - but I LOVE the silicone bakeware. The cookie liner is a god-send, especially for fat free cookies. The muffins have never stuck. The loaf pan works great. The only shape that doesn't seem to work well for me is the bundt shape, that one does get stuck.

I can't remember what brand I have for the pans - I bought it a specialty kitchen store. The cookie liner is a Kitchenaid brand.

Cooks Illustrated gives silicone bakeware a poor report as a result of their testing. Poor baking performance, and the flimsy ware makes handling difficult.

Silpat sheets are quite good though for some uses.

Well, I'm glad I read this - I always lusted over the silicone bakeware because I thought it would make clean up easier - but now I see all the problems with it and I'm glad not to have wasted my money.

maryanne, I'm glad you posted about the aftertaste from the silpat. I know most people don't notice one, but I probably would. But more important, if it leaves a detectable (to anyone) aftertaste, that means it's leaving something on the food. Since I have chemical sensitivities, that's something I want to avoid.

Liz

I can'r believe my post is still here..:) I justw ante dto tell everyone that I bought a set and I love it. I use it for everything. It does exactly what it says.

Silpat is also great for roasts, turkeys and such. Under the v rack can be hard to clean without it.

My cheapie set of sil. bakeware from BB&B brand is fantastic. Going back for the square pan. Storage and clean up alone make them fantastic. The only metal bakeware I keep now is a tart pan, spring form, and a large sheet. Fantastic!

I like my silicone loaf pan (I can cut my banana bread while it's still hot without worrying about scratching my pan with a knife), but it's not that easy to clean. The Pam caramelizes or something on the top edges and stays brown and gross. I can scratch it off with my nail, but my scrubbie doesn't get it off. But I suppose it does that on regular muffin tins, too, but again, you can soak them better, somehow.

I have been craving and making Popovers lately. I love the taste, but the mess/crust they left in my regular metal pans were AWFUL, no matter how much Pam I sprayed. I even used liners, but the result was stuck to the paper, so I bought the Silicone cupcake pan. I was very happy with the result, except my Popovers didn't "pop". They did, however, come easily out of the holders and clean up was minor! So I love it for that reason. I did notice the longer I cooked them the better they turned out.

I'm curious to try a cake mix in them.

Well, I guess I'm in the minority, also. I got the bundt pan from Crate & Barrel and I think it's fabulous. The girl at the checkout told me how to use it - you do NOT have to spray it with PAM - but you DO have to let it cool completely - and I mean completely! Also, it took my pound cake an extra 10-15 minutes to cook than the recipe called for. I did not use PAM and I did let it cool completely and it popped right out. The clean-up was a breeze - I threw it in the top basket of my dishwasher! Between using this cookware and my KitchenAid stand mixer, baking a cake has never been easier. I have already recommended this stuff to friends!

twobigdogs: "I received a Kitchen-Aid silicone muffin tin for Christmas. The directions say it is only non-stick if you spray it first with non-stick spray. Call me confused, but I was under the impression that all bakeware was non-stick if you spray it first. Needless to say, I am back to my old faithful aluminum pans that my grandmother bought 35 years ago and using the muffin liners."

What brand did you get? I've heard that you need to spray/oil/seal the silicone baking unit the first time you use it, but I thought there was no need to do that after the FIRST time you use it? *goes off to do more research*

I use them and I love them. I have wearever aluminum mini muffin tins that I use mini muffin cups with because bite size is the right size for my family. But I disposed of a baker's secret nonstick mini loaves tin because it stuck horribly and pieces of the nonstick came off with my bread. I got the silicone cake pans on sale from Amazon for $9 and a chocolate cake flipped out beautifully for me so I bought some more molds. I used to see the molds on sale in all the Williams Sonoma family's catalogues and thought they sounded like a bad idea because it sounded unnatural. My experience has converted me. I have all my baking molds in one plastic box now. Storage and clean up are a dream. I use a matfer mat for cookies and have never experienced an after taste either.

Got a couple of the muffin pans (expensive brand) as a gift.

According to the directions you should NEVER spray them with cooking spray. And you should NEVER put them on a cookie sheet.

Tried the pan once. They're difficult to pick up and transport to the oven because they're flimsy. You don't get a crust on the outside of your muffins. I've never had muffins stick so badly--EVER--and you aren't supposed to use anything sharp (knife) in the pans, so there's no way to remove stuck muffins. Biggest waste of $$$ I've ever seen.

Although, I did come up with one use for the pans. I line them with paper muffin cup liners, and use them to microwave individual cheesecakes (4-5 minutes to cook a cheesecake at high power does it). Pretty expensive microwave cookware, though, isn't it?

My recommendation for anyone who thinks they want some of that stuff is to find someone who already has it, and borrow it to try before you actually put out money for it.

I'm surprised by the problems people have had with theirs, mine have worked very well so far. Everything pops out perfectly, although a moment to cool helps. Even spilt jam that has been baked peels off easily. I guess it depends on the brand.

I love mine! I got the from the HSN. I have the muffin shaped, loaf, and brownie pan. They are awsome and nothing sticks to them. I don't think they are hard to clean at all

I also have a Kitchen Aid silicone version of the "slip mat" and it works great with my fat free molassas cookies taht even stick to parchment paper.

I read all of these and have had the opposite experience with Demarle (it is Fiberglass not silicone). I love it and it has been FANTASTIC not to mention it can be used for more than just baking.

I have a couple of the cookie tray liners...and so far they work fine. I also like to use them when rolling out pie crust it makes clean up a breeze and the crust comes off it very nicely.

Kaiserware is coming out with a new line of silicon bakeware. It's aluminum lined with silicon, so you don't have the "floppiness" problem. Just read a publicity blurb on it in one of my cooking magazines.

I read about that. Not only will it end the 'floppy factor' but the aluminum will distribute the heat more evenly. Silicone bakeware has the reputation for uneven heating and failed results especially with cakes.

I thought silicone was considered medical safe? They put it inside the body. I thought it does not leach and is stable under higher temps.

Posting useful links actually helps us new forum users. I came here to get information, whether through links or just reading opions.
The forums is more unappealing to new people when we read a stack of complaints.

I purchased the Wilton cupcake silicone bakeware and it did not work unless you wiped a vegetable shortening. Then they almost work. I agree with the other post about cupcake liners and coupons. I also buy them on clearance at the craft stores in town and target. They do not accept the coupons BUT you can get them for a .25 for 50 liners or less.