CAKETIME Silicone Muffin Pans Reviewed: Regular, Mini, Muffin Top

The regular set is what most people picture when they say silicone muffin pan. You get two pans with 12 round cups each. Each cup is 2.75 inches across the top and 1.1 inches deep, a size one buyer calls perfect for regular muffins.

The spec sheet lists each pan at 12.83 inches deep by 9.65 wide and 1.28 high, with an item weight of 413 grams. One buyer set both pans side by side on one large baking sheet and baked small meat loaves in them. That tells you the pair fits a standard sheet.

CAKETIME rates the silicone for the oven, microwave, fridge, freezer and dishwasher, across a range of minus 104 to 446 degrees Fahrenheit. The brand also gives a tip you should follow: set the pan on a metal tray or cookie sheet before you fill it. Six of the twelve reviews we read repeat that advice in their own words.

One buyer writes that the pans could not be used without a support tray. Another warns, with a laughing face, to put a tray underneath before you open the oven door.

Release is what buyers like most. Reviewers say nothing sticks, no grease is needed, and muffins pop out when you press the cup from underneath. Eggs get a lot of mentions, and two Canadian buyers make egg bites in these regularly.

A buyer in the United States says eggs would not leave her metal cupcake tin at all, and they slide out of these cups. Cleanup is a dishwasher job for one reviewer, who uses the top rack. Others call washing easy and say the pans store compactly, since they fold up when empty.

A reviewer in the United Kingdom says the cups are deep enough for cupcakes. Another baked muffins for a social event with paper liners inside, so liners work if you want them. One buyer first thought the pans looked flimsy, then watched them hold up fine.

What it doesn't do is stand up on its own. These are plain silicone pans, and the sag comes with the folding. If you bake alone and hate juggling a second sheet, the framed pan below suits you better.

Neither the spec sheet nor the reviews say how the tops brown, so if you chase a deep golden crown, keep a metal tin nearby. None of the twelve reviews we read gave fewer than four stars, so the negative reviews we could read were few. The star counts still show about 11 percent at three stars or less, and that is the share to keep in mind.

The framed mini pan exists because of the sag. CAKETIME says a hidden stainless steel frame runs around the outer edge, so the pan resists bending and won't spill batter on the trip from counter to oven. Rigid handles on the rim help with hanging and lifting.

The cups are small, 1.8 inches across the top and 0.9 inches deep, in a 24-cup layout. The pan measures 15.3 inches by 9.2 and stands 0.9 inches high, and the spec sheet lists a capacity of 0.6 fluid ounces. Think mini muffins, bite-size cupcakes, egg bites and small tarts, not anything with a dome.

Most of the reviews we read praise the frame. One buyer says silicone pans now come with a frame and are much easier to work with, because they no longer collapse in your hands. Another loves the solid frame and finds the oven trip easier.

A third likes having silicone over metal, which gives the support of a conventional tin and the release of silicone. Others say muffins slide out without grease and that the cups wash with warm soapy water. One reviewer adds that the metal sits inside the silicone, so it will not rust, and the spec list says rust resistant too.

Some details help you decide. The reviews on this product page come from several sizes of the same frame design, including 12-cup regular and 6-cup jumbo, so a few comments describe bigger cups than these. Egg bites work, though one buyer who makes them weekly had to bake a little longer.

A reviewer says the pan's white base is slowly staining, though she doesn't mind on a muffin tin. She also notes that muffin tins in general are a pain to clean. The colored flecks, she adds, hide burn marks.

The criticism that worries me is durability. One one-star reviewer says the cups felt flimsy and had a hole before the first bake. That is one review among the eleven we read, and the star counts show about 8 percent at three stars or less.

It points at thin silicone, and a steel frame can't fix a torn cup. Look the pan over when it arrives and send it back if a cup is damaged.

Care is simple. The spec sheet says dishwasher safe or hand wash, and it lists oven, microwave, freezer and fridge use with the same minus 104 to 446 degree range as the other two pans. If you want regular muffins, look at the 12-cup set instead, since these cups are too small to stand in for them.

The muffin top set is the odd one out, and I mean that kindly. It is three separate molds, each a round cup 3 inches across and 0.7 inches deep. That is shallow by design, and you should read it as a tool for flat things.

The spec sheet lists the set at 11.6 by 6.8 inches and 0.75 inches high, with a weight of 0.33 kilograms. CAKETIME pitches it for whoopie pie halves, English muffin rounds, cornbread, cookies, tarts and egg patties for breakfast sandwiches.

Eggs are what buyers use it for. One reviewer says the molds make the perfect egg sandwich and the eggs don't stick, and she likes them much better than the stainless steel ones she had. Another calls the set great for making egg patties for her breakfast sandwiches.

Others mention easy cleanup, and one says nothing sticks and the molds clean up easily. The brand describes the surface as nonstick and rust resistant, and lists dishwasher safe or hand wash.

The same rule applies here as for the other pans: put the molds on a cookie sheet, as one reviewer does to carry cookies in and out of the oven.

This set gets the least gushing reviews of the three, and the complaints are specific. One four-star reviewer expected thicker pans for easier handling. Another says eggs stuck on the first use and a nonstick spray fixed it, adding that the pan is not as nonstick as she was led to assume, though she calls it no big deal.

Two of the five reviews we read mention a limit, so we can't call the picture complete. If eggs are the plan, a light coat of spray costs little and settles the question.

Three molds means three rounds at a time. A family breakfast of four sandwiches takes a second round, and you will wait for it. Depth is the other limit: at 0.7 inches the cups suit a flat patty or a cookie, not a cupcake with a crown.

If you want deep cups, the regular 12-cup set is the one to buy. Buyers rate the muffin top set well all the same, with about 80 percent of the ratings at five stars and about 9 percent at three stars or less.

For a household that eats egg sandwiches on weekdays, three molds that go in the dishwasher and store flat are a fair trade. If you need a pan for cupcakes, I would send you to the regular set, and I would not buy this one for that job. I would also not pick it if you plan to cook for four every morning, since you will stand by the oven for a second round.