How to Choose Baking Tins and Moulds: A Complete Guide

Most baking failures get blamed on the recipe when the tin was the actual problem. A cake that domes and cracks, a loaf pale on the sides but dark on the base, biscuits that spread into one sheet — usually a mismatch between what you baked and what you baked it in. Tins and moulds are not neutral containers. They conduct heat at wildly different rates, change how fast the outside of a bake sets, and decide whether it comes out in one piece.

This guide covers what differs between materials, how to read tin sizes properly, when silicone is the right answer and when it quietly ruins things, and how to stop bakes sticking.

Material is the whole argument

Thermal conductivity is the number that explains nearly everything. Aluminium conducts heat at roughly 200 watts per metre-kelvin. Carbon and stainless steel sit around 15 to 50. Food-grade silicone sits at about 0.2 — a thousand times less than aluminium. Silicone is, in engineering terms, an insulator that happens to tolerate oven temperatures.

That single fact drives the practical differences. Aluminium moves heat into the batter quickly and evenly, so cakes rise steadily and crusts brown properly. Silicone barely moves heat at all, so the sides and base of a silicone-baked cake stay pale and soft while the top browns from radiant heat above. This is why silicone is excellent for things you want soft and want to release cleanly — mousse cakes, individual portions, set desserts — and mediocre for anything where you want a crisp crust.

Colour matters too. A dark, non-stick-coated tin absorbs more radiant energy than a shiny light one and browns a base noticeably faster. If a recipe was written for light aluminium and you're using dark coated, drop the oven by 10 to 20°C or pull it 5 to 10 minutes early.

For general round cakes, a flexible silicone set in the standard trio of diameters covers most home recipes and removes the release problem.

Round Silicone Cake Mould Set — approx. 10, 15 and 20cm

Rigid tins: where they still win

Anything that needs structure, browning or a defined edge wants metal. Bread is the clearest case — a loaf needs the tin to conduct heat into the dough so the crust sets and the sides don't collapse. A lidded tin also constrains the rise, giving a square-sided sandwich loaf rather than a domed one, and traps steam early, which improves the crumb.

Cast iron holds enormous heat once loaded, which is why it produces the crispest edges on anything shallow, but it takes 8 to 10 minutes of preheating before it performs. If you own metal tins and hate greasing, reusable silicone liners are a fair middle ground: the metal still conducts, the liner handles release.

How to read tin sizes without guessing

Diameter is misleading because area scales with the square of the radius. A 23cm round tin has about 32 per cent more base area than a 20cm one. Pour a 20cm recipe into a 23cm tin and the batter sits shallower, bakes 8 to 12 minutes faster, and comes out flatter — not ruined, but not what the recipe intended either.

Work in volume instead. Fill the tin with water to the depth you'd fill it with batter and measure what comes out. Useful reference points: a standard loaf tin around 21 x 11cm holds roughly 1.5 litres to the brim; a standard muffin cavity holds 60 to 80ml; mini muffin cavities hold about 20ml. As a rule, fill cake tins no more than two-thirds and muffin cavities about three-quarters. Batters with chemical raising agents can expand by half again, and anything above two-thirds is how you get the overflow that welds a tin to its own contents.

Shaped and novelty moulds

Fluted, domed and sculpted moulds are almost always silicone for one reason: you cannot get a set cake out of a rigid tin with undercuts. The flexibility is the entire point. But shape adds a real constraint — the deeper and more detailed the mould, the more the centre lags behind the edges, so drop the oven temperature by about 10°C and extend the time rather than baking hot and fast.

Half-sphere and mousse moulds are a slightly different job again. They're mostly used for setting rather than baking: fill, freeze until solid, then unmould from frozen. A frozen mousse pops out cleanly in one piece; a chilled-only one tears.

Everyday shapes worth owning

Beyond a round tin and a loaf tin, the moulds that earn their storage space make a shape you can't otherwise achieve. Ring cavities give baked doughnuts without a fryer — the batter is closer to cake batter than yeasted dough, and the ring is what stops the centre staying raw. A multi-cavity tray handling both muffins and small toast loaves covers a lot of weekday baking. A channelled baguette mould exists because high-hydration dough spreads sideways on a flat tray; the channel holds the shape while the crust sets.

Liners, greasing and why things stick

Sticking is almost always one of three things: an under-greased seam, a bake pulled too late, or sugar. Sugar is the underrated culprit — high-sugar batters caramelise against the tin wall and glue themselves there, which is why a lemon drizzle sticks when a plain sponge doesn't.

The reliable method for rigid tins is a thin layer of softened butter brushed into every corner, then a dusting of flour tipped out — or for fluted shapes, a paste of equal parts soft butter, flour and neutral oil painted in. Baking paper is better still for flat-sided tins. For cupcakes, greaseproof tulip cases hold their shape without a tray to support them and release cleanly even from sticky batters.

Tulip Oilproof Paper Cupcake Cases — 50 Pack

Timing matters as much as greasing. Most cakes should sit in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out — long enough for the structure to firm, short enough that trapped steam hasn't condensed into a wet, sticky layer. Biscuits are the reverse: 3 to 5 minutes on the tray, then straight onto a rack.

The prep gear that changes results

A non-stick mat gives you a consistent, lightly grippy surface for rolling and stops pastry welding to the bench. A heavier rolling pin does more of the work for you — mass means fewer passes, which means less gluten development and more tender pastry. And sifting is not fussiness: it breaks up flour agglomerates that otherwise survive mixing and show up as dry pockets, and it aerates flour that has compacted in storage by as much as 20 per cent in density.

Filling small cavities evenly is where most trays go wrong — uneven fill means uneven bake times in the same tray, and a dispenser with a trigger valve solves it in a way a spoon never will. Once the cake is out, a long offset palette knife smooths icing without your knuckles landing in it, and small chocolate moulds make decorations you would otherwise buy ready-made.

Care that keeps tins usable

Non-stick coatings die from three things: metal utensils, abrasive scourers and dishwashers. Dishwasher detergent is strongly alkaline and strips coatings far faster than hand washing — it also pits bare aluminium, leaving a dull grey film that transfers to food. Hand wash coated tins in warm water with a soft sponge. Our guide to choosing the right sponge or scourer for each job covers which ones are safe on coated surfaces.

Silicone needs different care. It attracts grease films that build up invisibly and eventually make it sticky rather than non-stick — a soak in hot water with bicarb, or a run through a hot wash without other greasy items, resets it. Check quality with the pinch test: twist a corner hard, and if a white streak appears, the silicone contains filler and will degrade faster. Food-grade silicone is generally rated to around 220 to 230°C, which is the same territory as silicone utensils — the same heat limits that apply to spatulas and turners apply here.

Finally, never lift a hot silicone mould by the rim alone. It has no rigidity, and full moulds fold. Always bake and carry them on a rigid tray, and use proper protection — a decent pair of oven mitts matters more with floppy moulds than with metal tins.

Cake Mould and Decorating Set — Piping and Smoothing Tools

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to grease silicone moulds?

Not for most bakes, but a very light wipe of neutral oil on the first three or four uses helps season the surface and makes release more reliable afterwards. Always grease high-sugar batters and anything with a deep fluted pattern, regardless of material.

Why does my silicone-baked cake have a soggy bottom?

Because silicone barely conducts heat, the base never gets hot enough to drive off moisture. Fix it by placing the mould on a preheated metal tray, moving the rack one position lower, and unmoulding within 10 minutes so steam doesn't condense underneath.

Can silicone moulds go from freezer to oven?

Yes. Food-grade silicone stays flexible down to around minus 40°C and tolerates about 220°C, so the swing is within range. Avoid direct contact with a naked flame, a grill element or the oven floor, where localised temperatures exceed the rating.

What tin should I buy first?

A 20cm round and a standard loaf tin cover the overwhelming majority of home recipes. Add a multi-cavity muffin tray third, since it doubles for individual portions, and only then start collecting shapes.

Can I substitute a different size tin?

Yes, if you adjust. Match the volume rather than the diameter, keep the batter depth similar, and expect a shallower fill to bake faster and a deeper one slower. A rough guide is 8 to 12 minutes less for a step up in diameter, checked with a skewer rather than a timer.

The short version

Metal conducts and browns; silicone insulates and releases. Read tins by volume rather than diameter, fill to two-thirds, grease seams and corners properly, and give a cake its 10 minutes in the tin before turning out. Get those four right and most of the problems people blame on recipes stop happening.

You can browse the full Ease & Co range to see what else fits your kitchen.