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Silicone VS Metal

11 years ago

Good afternoon...I have been asked to make the cake for my granddaughters first birthday. my daughter wants one of the cakes that looks like a large cupcake. Amazon has a metal one from wilton and then there is a silicone one. Can anybody give me some guidance on the best route to go? I was wanting to try this before her party and thought Easter would be a good occassion to practice. Thanks in advance for your help

Jackie

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PRO

Lars/J. Robert Scott

11 years ago

I do not like the silicon baking pans, as they can be flimsy and distort their shapes. Also, the metal pans transfer the heat better. Just make sure that you butter and dust the pan before adding the batter. If it is a white cake, you can dust the pan with flour; if it is chocolate, you can use cocoa powder instead. Some people use some of the dry ingredient mixture to dust the pan, if they dry ingredients are mixed together separately.

I have a silicon Madeleine pan, and because it is small, it works okay for cookies, but I use it mainly for making molded chocolate candy. I have not liked the large silicon pans that I have used - they can be a bit wobbly and have to be put on a baking sheet before putting into the oven.

Do you have a photo of the pans that you are considering?

Lars

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Comments (10)

jsvrn
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago

Here they are Lars
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PRO
Lars/J. Robert Scott
11 years ago
Thanks! I was unaware that there would be two layers, to make the domed top.

If you use the metal pan, you will have to unmold it carefully, with a board or rack placed on top of the cooled cakes before you flip the pan. I would rather have the pans separated, to make it easier to unmold, but the top pan would need a bigger base.

What diameter cakes do these pans make?

Lars
jsvrn thanked Lars/J. Robert Scott
donna_loomis
11 years ago
I have that metal pan. I've used it twice and most likely will never use it again. The bottom portion holds more batter than the top portion. The first time I used it, the bigger portion of cake was not quite done. The second time, I baked longer so that it was done, but then the top portion was quite dry. It made a very cute cake, but I think it would have been better if the pans were separated and baked separately.
jsvrn thanked donna_loomis
sushipup1
11 years ago
I have no experience with these pans but at first glance, I thought it would never bake evenly. Thanks, Donna. for confirming this!
Islay Corbel
11 years ago
I use silicon pans a lot. The good ones have a metal frame so do not move or distort and they cook very evenly.
jsvrn thanked Islay Corbel
jsvrn
Original Author
11 years ago
Lars..from what I have read it sounds like they are both about the same size which is the size of a small round cake (maybe 6 in in diameter) and sits as high as a two layer cake. I went ahead ahead and ordered the silicone one mainly because I was reading a way to make the bottom look like a cupcake paper using melted chocolates. I will let you know how it turns out...will practice on Easter. Thanks to everyone for their comments.
Jackie
fawnridge (Ricky)
11 years ago
My wife brought some silicon bakeware when we first moved in together. I used it once for a meatloaf and threw it away. Metal is manly. Harrumph.
wildchild2x2
11 years ago
Put a metal flower nail in the bottom of the bottom half with the nail pointing up. That will help that side bake more evenly and quickly so it will be done closer to the same time as the top part. Also be sure to bake it at 325 degrees. Do not use the cake mix instructions for baking. This is a heavy pan and dark so it holds the heat. I use 325 degrees for all my shaped cakes, even in lightweight pans. Depending on how your oven bakes you may even go down to 300. Cakes are very forgiving when it comes to baking longer at lower temps.
wildchild2x2
11 years ago
Oh I now see you ordered the silicone one. I'll leave the other post up for others using the Wilton version.

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