Bakeware

Bakeware

baking tin set
I must confess, I have drawers and cupboards overflowing with bakeware. From the essential square and round cake tins, cupcake tins and bread tins; right through to more unusual mini muffin tins, funny shaped tins and the used-once-a-year novelty bundt tins (hello Christmassy ‘Holiday Tree’, giant cupcake, beehive, rose etc). I have a tin for most occasions. But, having said all of that, I can’t stand a cookbook that specifies ten different sizes of cake tins. Most people just don’t have that many, nor the inclination to spend money on more. I wanted this site to be accessible as possible, even to those on the smallest budget and the tiniest kitchen. So, I’ve made a real effort to use the same tins throughout this blog. I will probably add to this list as I create new recipes, but here are the tins I have used up until now.

Pie tin: After having my daughter, and experiencing the chaos of her randomly pulling breakable bakeware out of cupboards, I began replacing my Pyrex dishes and ceramic dishes with stress-free enamelware. For this, I adore Falcon products. They are lightweight, hardwearing (i.e. unbreakable), easy to clean – and they naturally have that traditional, vintage look that has never really gone out of style. My mother has been using the same Falcon tin for over twenty years, and it shows no sign of giving up the ghost just yet! Best of all, it is cheap to buy. I have a full set of Falcon tins, but really don’t use that many. For my pies, on this website, I use this: Falcon 22cm Pie Tin From this size, you can cut four generous slices of pie for a main meal, or about six slightly smaller (dessert) slices.

Tart tin: For pretty tarts, both sweet and savoury, you can’t beat a 23cm fluted, non-stick tin. Get one that feels heavy and substantial, and make sure it’s completely non-stick – this goes for all the tins below, too.

Brownie pan: I use a 23cm x 23cm (9″ x 9″) tin for all my brownies and blondies.

Cake tin(s): For sheer versatility, I can’t recommend highly enough PushPans, the clever loose-bottomed tin with a watertight seal. This means it is absolutely perfect for making cheesecakes (i.e. baking in a water bath) as well as general cake making. If you intend to make layer cakes, it is best to have two tins the same size. I usually use a 20cm tin when I am creating recipes.

Loaf tins: The most readily available is a 2lb loaf tin. But be aware, there is frequently a huge difference between 2lb tins. I have two ‘2lb’ loaf tins, both from Sainsbury’s. One is significantly larger than the other. I use the larger tin for bread making, and the smaller tin for loaf cakes.

Cupcake/Muffin tin All my muffins and cupcakes are ‘large’, that is, they are baked in muffin-sized cases. So a standard muffin tin, or a large cupcake tin, will work for all the encased bakes on this blog. Anything smaller is a fairy cake, and as I have fallen hook, line and sinker for the outrageously over-sized, over-frosted and over-decorated American cupcakes, I’m afraid I haven’t bothered with fairy cakes since.

Traybake tin: A classic tin suitable for tray bakes is usually about 12″ x 9″. I love this one from the Mary Berry range at Lakeland (also sold on Amazon). It has straight sides, so all your slices are the same depth, with no funny sloping edges.

Baking sheet: I’ve managed for YEARS without a proper, shelf-sized baking sheet to make cookies etc. I always used a large, shallow roasting tin, as that is all I could fit in our old gas oven in our previous home. So if that works for you, then you can just stick with that. What frustrated me, however, was the wasted space as the tin did not make full use of the size of the oven shelf. I finally got an inexpensive baking sheet when I got my new, normal sized oven in our new home – what a difference! Get one that fits your oven shelves neatly – making full use of the space available means you can bake more cookies etc on one level at the same time. This is the one I use: Ikea Drömmar Baking Sheet

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