Bite sized or mini christmas cakes - best tins etc?

[bacon]

Have just made my fab christmas cake but friends and family are always asking for cake too. (ideal presents).

From experience, without drying out the sides, what are the best tins for cooking small cakes. I dont mind buying as theyll get used throughout the year.

Will silicon work or best stick to tin?

If tin what are the best to use. Can you buy oblong cake tins with lots of individual inserts?

If a 20cm cake takes 3 hrs I need indication of time for these bites too.

Ta

Not sure about the timings I'm afraid, but you can get Silverwood pans with inserts that allow you to make lots of small cakes - here for example.

You can buy extra inserts to make smaller cakes, or if you go down to the bottom of that page, there's another link to the 16-piece tin. My only word of warning would be that it makes for a lot of washing up, and you need to grease the tins really carefully (or even better, use that special cake-tin spray that Lakeland do).

I'm wondering whether it wouldn't be just as easy to cut up one big cake into smaller pieces, though...especially if you're planning on icing/marzipanning them too?

tuna tins - seriously! buy tins of tuna, eat, wash out and line! works really well if you do only want tiny ones.

I've got the silverwood divider tin too, and that is good for bigger ones

www.lakeland.co.uk/bakingenius-20cm-square-cake-tin/F/C/cooking-baking/C/cooking-baking-baking/C/baking-bakeware/product/12368/pgs/20

individual baked bean tins are fab for this job!

What about making a big cake then using a cookie cutter?

You have made your Christmas cake already. I'd better get my skates on then!

And love the idea of making mini ones for presents

Yes, bigTillyMin, Ive done it, first time ever to be so organised. Next week I'm doing the puddings. Its getting all the ingedients thats the biggest hastle as the making takes no time at all.

Because there are big chunks of almonds - its not tidy to cut and I like the idea of just decorating the top. So cutting isnt ideal from a larger cake.

Ok, thumbs up for the tuna/bb tins then but would like oblong too. ANy one have ideas on cooking times? 1 hour I would imagine?

With reference to the comments posted by EVENKEEL and AMAZINGBOUNCINGFERRET, you should not cut the cake before icing. It is OK if baking sponge cake (although it could dry out) but not for Fruit Cakes. Dried fruit is very much like the knots in timber and will show through the icing like knots will show through paintwork (not straight away, but later). That is why these smaller pans were developed.