The Cook’s Kitchen

For years of course the prevalence and popularity of silicone baking ingredients has been steadily increasing. I have been paying attention, but never really felt compelled to pick through the offerings and give the new tools a try. I bought my first Silpat last year and fell in love, wondering why it took me so long to buy them. Was it because they reminded me of the non-chef food television personalities? Maybe. But, I did start with them and loved the results.

During my Christmas shopping this past season, I picked up 24 silicone mini-baking cups on a whim, liking their bright red color and making a quick impulse purchase. They sat in my cupboard drawer for two months until this past weekend. Why did I ignore them so long??

These silicone cups are convenient, easy and turn out excellent muffins. They are dishwasher-safe, freezer-safe and oven-safe to at least 450˚Farenheit. They are non-stick, you don’t need to grease them and if you let the filling within cool completely before removing them, they release the food very cleanly. For the mini-cups I baked muffins and the best removal technique is to pinch the bottom gently and pull from the bottom. You can also peel from the top-down but that didn’t work as easily for me since I overfilled the cups slightly.

They also hold the food’s form very well and I know I’ll use them many times now for parties and cocktail hours. I can imagine making peanut-chocolate cups, mini-tarts with fruit, fun ice cubes and so much more.

After removing the muffins, there were only a few crumbs but they were greasy from the butter in my recipe. I knew I’d never wash those little guys by hand so I placed them upside-down on the top shelf in my dishwasher. They came out pristinely clean and nearly dry except for the few that had flipped over and filled up with water. Given them a try, they’re fantastic!