Cake Pans

Cake pans. © CooksInfo / 2013

A cake pan is a pan designed to bake a cake in, in an oven.  It can be made of metal, enamelled metal, silicone, heat-proof glass, ceramic or terracotta. Most metal ones made now have non-stick surfaces.

Cake pans can also be used for casseroles, squares, no-bake desserts, layered party dips, etc.

Cake pan shapes

Typically, a cake pan will be square, round, or rectangular.

There are also specialty shaped ones, such as fire trucks, space ships, etc, though you may be hard pressed to use these more than once before the novelty wears off. Some shops will rent these special shapes to you for just this reason. Seasonal ones such as Christmas-tree cake pans, etc, may find use year after year and so may be worth purchasing.

Other specialty cake pans that may get repeated use are Bundt Pans, tube pans, and springform pans.

History Notes

In the 1600s, hoop baking moulds made of tin or iron started to appear. There were also wooden hoops.

They were called “garths” by Elizabeth Raffald in the 1700s, who preferred them to the cake pans that were emerging.

To use these hoops, the sides were buttered, then they were put on a metal sheet, and floured paper put at the bottom of them.

Baking Cups

Baking cups (aka muffin cups) are used to line muffin and cupcake tins when making cupcakes, muffins or fairy cakes. Their use generally replaces greasing or greasing and flouring the cups.

Bundt Pans

Bundt® pans started off in 1946 as a patented version of fluted cake pans with a hole in the middle. They took off in 1966 when they were used for one of the winning recipes in the Pillsbury Bake-off contest that year.

Cheesecake Pans

Cheesecake pans are special pans for making cheesecake in. They can be round or rectangular. They have a "false bottom" on them which allows easy removal of the cake in an intact state.

Flan Pans

A flan pan is a round, shallow cake pan. The bottoms may be flat or raised, fixed or false bottoms that detach. The edges are frequently but not always fluted.

Fluted Tube Pans

A fluted tube pan is a pan for baking cakes in. It has fluted sides, and a hollow tube coming up through the middle. You can buy them in various sizes.

Jelly Roll Pans

Jelly roll pans are about the size of a large rimmed baking tray, except the edges are higher. They are used to make a big, shallow sponge cake that is then rolled up to make a jelly roll (aka Swiss roll.)

Kugelhopf Pans

Kugelhopf pans are essentially the same as fluted tube pans. The tube in the middle allows heat to penetrate cake from the centre in. They are used to make kugelhopf cakes.

Mary Ann Pans

A Mary Ann pan is a cake pan with a raised flat centre area. Its purpose is to create a light cake shell. A cake baked in one, when turned out, has a raised edge all around it. The pan will usually be 20 cm wide by 10 cm tall (8 inches by 4 inches)....

Muffin Tins

A muffin tin is a series of metal cups connected by a flat metal surface. The cups connect to the metal surface at the lip of each cup. It is used to make cupcakes, and American-style muffins.

Springform Pans

With a springform cake pan, you don't remove the cake from the pan: you remove the pan from the cake.

Tassie Cups

Tassie cups is a term that means "small cups" in baking. It can mean small tart shells made of pastry or foil, or, it can refer to a muffin pan with smaller than usual sized cups in it.

Tube Pans

A tube pan is a deep, ring-shaped pan with a tall tube in the centre. The tube is hollow, with no bottom on it, to allow hot air to pass through it like a chimney. It is used for sponge and angel food cakes.