Silicone cake tins - any good?

[Optimism]

That's it really. Does anyone use these? Would you recommend them? Do you need to grease them? Do things stick? Are they okay for making things like flapjacks as well as cakes? Any thoughts/reviews appreciated! Thanks.

No no no. They stink, they aren't rigid enough, nothing crisps up in them. It might just be the stuff I have and I can see how they would be useful for certain 'shapes'. They are very non stick though. Mine makes all my cakes smell and taste funny and they dont have the texture I like.
Sorry!

Have to agree with gaggiagirl. I know some people swear by them but I just don't get it. Nothing I've ever made in them has turned out well, and I'm a pretty experienced baker. I particularly dislike the lack of support they give, especially for more delicate items.

So a big thumbs down here, I'm afraid.

Me too, i actually bought a 6 muffin mould yesterday, not impressed at all, i made my usual mix of choc cake, they took at least 25 mins which my normal cakes takes 18-19mins, then when i took them out some were cooked others nearly raw inside , i was gobsmacked, i cook alot of cakes, celebration cakes and i cook cakes for a local cafe so cant afford to get them wrong or waste ingredients, wont be using it again thats for sure.

I've got some silicon bakeware for making miniature cakes and I've been very pleased as it made making bulk numbers easy - although the sponge doesn't brown in quite the same way.

However I've not been impressed with full size tins, especially the loaf tin, as they sag a bit and the cake ends up with a big belly instead of nice straight sides.

Some are good, some are bad.
The individual cupcake moulds are brilliant but a pita to wash unfortunetly

The giant silicone cupcake mould was pants, attempted making it 6 times and then threw it in the bin as either A: the cake burnt on top and was raw in the middle or it got crumbled taking it out. Even after greasing

My heart shaped one from sainsburys is superb, as is my square shaped one from lakeland.

I love them and have never has problems. You have to use your judgement as to what to bake in them- I use metal tins for cheesecakes and very tall cakes that need to hold their shapes firmly. They are excellent for loaf cakes, Financiers and Friands; little muffins, Madeira and Pound Cakes.

If you buy cheap silicon wear, you'll get bad results. You need the ones that have some rigidity and have a rolled edging. Yes cooking times need adjusting but that is common sense; buying a dark metal tin as after using a light tin will require adjustment of cooking times too. I have never noticed a smell- wash them properly in very hot water prior to use and buy good brands and there'll be no smell.

My DD is a trainee Patissiere, uses them and more traditional bakeware and again, endorses silicon if you learn about its properties and use it appropriately.

You can buy silicon that clips into a wire frame and this prevents any distortion of shape. The expensive brands also do not lose their shape.

the one i bought was a , Jamie Oliver, wasnt partically cheap, and i'm a trained chef too, hey oh each to their own i guess, will stick to my trusty tins i think.

I hated the loaf one I had, rubbish

I'm not a fan of Jamie Olivers range.

I love my silicone muffin trays. They are very non stick and I don't have to grease or use paper cups in them. (I found using disposible paper cups feel really wasteful). I got mine from lakeland, and have both the standard and the mini muffin ones. The mini muffin one is also perfect for freezing sauces (and then storing in freezer bags). I have mini muffin sized lumps of pesto and passata in the freezer for example.

The large sized tins are useless as they don't keep their shape. It's especially bad with the loaf tin. I used it once to bake a loaf and it's shaped like our fat cat - large and bulging in the middle.

The heat transfer rate is very low in silicon, I guess it eliminates burning and crisp surfaces?

I have a square 9 inch one which is great for American recipes for chocolate brownies etc as square pans are hard to find here. Works well, but used to be bright yellow but has been stained brown so now looks nasty. Nice having a pan that doesn't clink noisily when I pile it up in the cupboard though.

They don't seem to burn so fast. Metal tins, especially the ones made of darker metal can cause the sides of cakes to scorch or darken faster. That's why fruit cakes and other cakes that take over an hour to bake need the tins lining.

OneLittle Yes they are excellent for freezing all manner of sauces/stocks/weaning portions. You can pop out the frozen portions like you say and store them in the freezer.

No! I had silicone bakeware & replaced it all with proper tins. Cakes stuck in the pans, they aren't rigid so a loaf tin can be tricky to handle when full & they didn't clean very easily.