Whether you’re constantly cooking tasty treats or you only bake occasionally, a good quality cake tin is a kitchen essential. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but are endlessly versatile – they can be used to bake cakes (of course), as well as sweet and savoury breads, cheesecakes or even used as moulds. Baking is a real science. If you have a good recipe, follow it to the letter, including using the correct tin, and success is guaranteed. Read our guide to successful cakes for some tips to help you master the essentials. Then hop over to our guide to classic cakes for a fantastic breakdown of how to bake the perfect traditional Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle cake and much more.
How to choose the best cake tin
It seems obvious, but one of the first questions you need to ask yourself before you buy a cake tin is ‘what am I going to bake in it’? All of our cake recipes will outline the size and type of cake tin you need for the bake, so you’ll know exactly what you need to buy. Whilst we favour versatile tins, like loaf tins, springform cake tins and simple 20cm tins, we’re also big fans of those used to produce showstopping desserts, like bundts.
What can a cake tin be used for?
Like most bakeware, cake tins are pretty versatile. They come in a range of shapes and sizes, but we’ve picked our most popular five to focus on.
Loaf tin: these generally come in two sizes: 1lb and 2lb. They’re ideal for classic loaf cake recipes, like our brilliant banana loaf and easy pound cake. Or make an impact with our snowy coconut loaf cake and lemon curd and blueberry loaf cake. Not just reserved for cake, these tins are – unsurprisingly – ideal for loaves of bread, too. Try our simple seeded wholemeal loaf or our flavoursome honeyed carrot and thyme loaf.
Bundt tin:
These ornate, highly decorative cake tins produce cakes that look fabulous straight out of the tin. Glamorous pans require equally glamorous recipes, like our banana and choc bundt cake with peanut caramel drizzle and our pineapple passion bundt. They also make great jelly moulds, so why not try our fresh raspberry jelly or fruity milk jellies recipe? The layers look really effective in a bundt tin.
Springform cake tin:
Designed to make releasing a cake from a pan easier, springform cake tins have a mechanism that loosens the walls of the cake tin, allowing you to easily unmould the cake. They’re ideal for cakes like our easy caramel cake and chocolate and raspberry birthday layer cake, as well as cheesecakes. Try our no-bake chocolate cheesecake and white chocolate and raspberry baked cheesecake.
20cm cake tin:
Otherwise known as sandwich tins, these cake tins are made from a single piece of stamped out metal. Cakes made in these tins need to be turned out from the mould. They’re ideal for sandwich cakes, like a Victoria sandwich. Riff on a classic with this summer apricot Victoria sponge recipe.
