What is the best store to buy cake pans?

Every step matters toward the ideal cake, from properly creaming butter and sugar to preheating the oven, yet your preparation might be undone by selecting the incorrect pan. Colorful stoneware and Pyrex pans are beautiful, but they aren’t as heat conductive as the solid metal pans seen piled in professional bakeries throughout the globe. Whatever the form, from round to rectangle, loaf to Bundt, using the appropriate pan is essential for consistently attaining a flawless crumb.

Whether you’re new to baking or just refining your recent affinity for snacking cakes, you can benefit from an aluminum pan, according to Roger Rodriguez, owner, pastry chef, and chocolate maker at Vesta Chocolate. “They are perfect for brief, high heat baking, such as cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. It swiftly warms up and cools down, and it encourages even browning,” he explains.

Pros: It is dependable and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Cons: It must be hand washed. These anodized aluminum cake pans regularly produce delicious cakes. Aluminum is valued for baking due to its lightweight nature and great heat conductivity, which results in rapid heating and cooling. Aluminum, on the other hand, may seep into acidic meals and leave a metallic flavor. Unlike many aluminum pans, these are non-reactive to citrus and cocoa powder thanks to the anodization process, which makes a metal surface resistant to corrosion.

Rolled rims make these pans easy to grab with bulky mits while hot, and the straight sides shape a cake that’s easy to work with. Choose from a range of depths and widths ranging from two to four inches. The pans are oven safe up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit and may also be used in a pressure cooker, air fryer, or freezer.

Material: Anodized aluminum
Dimensions: 11.9 x 13 x 5.8 inches
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: It’s inexpensive and reliable.

Cons: It can be unwieldy to handle when hot.

The brilliance of a springform pan is twofold: its capacity to keep crumbly, moist ingredients together and the simplicity with which the pan releases when the cake has set. Consider a flawlessly creamy graham cracker crusted cheesecake or a dough-heavy deep dish pizza. The anodized metal resists corrosion, warms rapidly, and aids in baking equally. The waffled texture on the bottom aids with cake release.

Material: Anodized aluminum
Dimensions: 8.5 x 3.2 inches
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: A detachable bottom component allows the final cake to be readily removed.

Cons: It only comes in one size.

Have you ever wondered why angel food cakes are baked in a tube pan? The incredibly light and airy batter is loaded with whipped egg whites, which may become rubbery if overdone. By reducing the cooking time, a tube pan maintains angel food cake light and bouncy. For speedier cooling, two extended arms are designed to be flipped upside down. This nonstick coated version from Chicago separates into two parts for a smooth transition from cooking dish to serving tool. The pan can accommodate 16 cups of batter or one boxed cake mix.

Material: Alloy steel
Dimensions: 9.5 x 4 inches
Wash: Dishwasher safe

Pros: It’s a well-made pan with a beautiful shape.

Cons: Handle with caution since the finish is readily damaged with a sharp instrument.

You don’t always want texture in your cake, but when you do, a Bundt pan is unbeatable. After the cake has finished cooling, the crags from the pan are ideal for dripping icing over. With a golden exterior, this pretty pan consists of durable cast-aluminum metal with PFOA-free nonstick coating to help the cake release after cooking. (But, be sure to butter or oil all of those little crevices!)

Material: Aluminum
Dimensions: 9 x 3 inches
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: It’s nonstick and dishwasher safe, and it’s available with or without a cover.

Cons: It can scratch easily.

A durable rectangle pan is a must-have for every baker, and this low-cost model from Farberware is a terrific reason to update your collection. It comes with a cover and will be useful for any potluck or dinner party. The heavy-duty structure prevents warping while encourages uniform browning all around. With a temperature range of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, it may also be used for various baking tasks. The curled edges and nonstick alloy steel make it both sturdy and portable. The pan, unlike many other coated types, is dishwasher safe, albeit the lid is not.

Material: Alloy steel
Dimensions: 9 x 13 x 2 inches
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: A ridged surface adds to its non-stick abilities.

Cons: It may not be as helpful for baking as other forms.

Every baking dish form has a certain function, and nothing screams brownies, cornbread, or cobbler like a square pan with extra chewy, crispy edges. Made of aluminized steel and wire and designed to be extra heat efficient, this commercial-quality pan has a nonstick silicone glaze, plus a unique ridged surface that helps batter cook more evenly by encouraging minute amounts of air circulation. Keep a watch on cooking times and adapt accordingly for the first few usage, then make recipe modifications as needed. Use only nonstick utensils to preserve the nonstick coating’s integrity.

Material: Aluminized steel and wire
Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 2.5 inches
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: A wire rod prevents the rim from warping, and the pan is dishwasher safe.

Cons: It only comes in one size.

Are you going to make banana bread? This pan from Chicago is the ideal shape and size for any denser batters and can take longer, hotter cooking times. Heavy-weight aluminized steel conducts heat evenly and efficiently for a crumbly, browned topping and a moist, even crumb for that perfect bite. Moreover, the pan retains its shape: a wire rod prevents warping and reinforces the folded rim.

Material: Alloy steel
Dimensions: 4.5 x 8.5 x 2.8 inches
Wash: Dishwasher safe

Pros: It’s created in the United States, and you can use it for more than just little cakes.

Cons: It only makes six mini cakes per batch.

Get your next party started with mini cakes baked in this six-well pan, which also lends itself well to cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, mini tartes, and more. It includes a rapid release and a nonstick silicone covering that is BPA-free and simple to clean. Wash it with hot water with light soap and a gently scrape.

Material: Alloy steel
Dimensions: 4.3 x 1.5 inches (per well)
Wash: Hand wash

Pros: The tiniest tiny Bundt cakes, ideal for drizzled frosting.

Cons: Non-stick coating can easily be scratched.

For its 65th anniversary, Minneapolis-based Nordic Ware developed limited-edition items like this bundlette pan, and we love that it bakes the company’s signature fluted Bundt cakes in smaller size. Just like the traditional pan, this cast aluminum version is nonstick with an extra-large center tube and a specific attention to crisp detail, from the alternate vertical flutings to handles that make unmolding and lifting easy breezy.

Material: Aluminum
Dimensions: 3.6 x 2 inches (per well)
Wash: Hand wash

Factors to Consider

Care and Cleaning

Unless otherwise specified, most pans have a nonstick coating. Avoid using most dishwashing detergents and abrasive soaps to preserve your pans in good condition. Metal spatulas or knives, as well as coarse sponges, may scratch the surface of treated bakeware. Soak cake pans in warm, soapy water and hand wash as required for cleaning. Let pans to dry completely before storing them. If discolorations do occur, you can season your pan just like you would cast iron: rub a few drops of your favorite baking oil into the pan with a cloth and let it sit in a warm oven around 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 10 minutes, then wipe thoroughly with a warm cloth.

Material and Heat Conductivity

Prepare ahead of time to ensure you have the appropriate pans for the desired cake product. Various cakes perform better based on a variety of criteria, including temperature, location in the oven, and depth of the cooking vessel. Pans vary in uniformity due to tiny changes such as ridges or steel vs aluminum. Always examine baked items throughout the cooking process, looking for symptoms such as uneven borders and gooey centers, which might indicate an overdone cake. Anodized aluminum is nonreactive, which means that acidic ingredients in your batter like buttermilk, natural cocoa powder, and citrus can’t leach metal from the pan into the baked good.

Pan Depth and Shape

A pan with straight edges is ideal for baking cakes because it creates a clear line that is simple to decorate and stack. Such tilted pans should be reserved for pies. Shallow pans might overcook the top of the cake while leaving the bottom and middle sticky. If this is the case, experiment with alternative oven locations and cake pan depths. Check your oven temperature using a thermometer on a regular basis for any unsolved difficulties. In general, new bakers may get by with only a few parts, such as a rectangle pan and a circular pan, and develop from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The heat from convection can or can’t get to surface depending on how deep or shallow baking pan is. Shallow pans, for example, will brown the top more,” Rodriguez explains.
Slanted edges of a cake pan allow it to nest with other pans in storage. A round cake pan with a slanted edge, however, is likely meant for pies, according to Rodriguez. Instead of a pan with slanted edges, opt for a “straight edge aluminum cake pan with removable bottom,” he says. “It makes removing the cake from the pan much simpler.”