How Do I Choose the Best Shaped Cake Pan?

Selecting a shaped cake pan often means considering your occasion and evaluating the type of cake that may suit it. Once you've decided on a shape, your next consideration may be the ease with which you can remove your baked cake from the pan. The level of effort it will take to clean a pan may influence your choice as well.

Choosing a cake pan often starts with considering the occasion. You might choose pans in the shape of numbers for a birthday or those in the shape of cartoon characters for children. There are novelty pans to please people of various tastes and interests, including those shaped like cars, footballs, flowers, hearts, and even houses. If you’d like the ability to create your own cake shapes from your imagination, however, you might consider obtaining pans in square, circular, rectangular, and even triangular shapes. Then, you can mix and match the pans to bake and build the cake you envision.

No matter what shape you settle upon when choosing a cake pan, the surface of the inside of the pan can influence how well your cake turns out and how easily you can clean up. Many cooking experts recommend obtaining a shaped cake pan that has a non-stick surface rather than an untreated glass or metal option. This way, your baked cake will be less likely to stick to the sides and bottom of the pan, ruining the surface of your cake. Additionally, the fact that little-to-no cake sticks to this type of pan often makes for easier cleanup.

Springform pans often result in less sticking and easier washing as well. This type of shaped cake pan allows you to unfasten its sides and remove your dessert without prying it out or turning it upside down. Springform cake pans are available in many shapes and sizes and are often recommended for baking deserts that have to be handled with care. For example, a cheesecake might require more careful handling than a regular cake and may prove especially suited to a springform pan.

You might also consider silicone cake pans, which are non-stick, when striving for ease of use and quick cleanups. When you use a silicone shaped cake pan, you can just push the pan a bit to release a baked cake. These pans are also useful for preparing desserts at various temperatures, as they can easily withstand both hot and cold temperatures. Additionally, they are usually easier to clean than pans made out of glass or metal and do not require scrubbing.