Silicone Bakeware - use it selectively...
Vying to buy kitchen gifts for me I might not have, my sister-in-law has bought me various pieces of silicone bakeware over the past few years. Unlike others, always wanting to try the latest and greatest, silicone wasn’t even that intriguing to me. I’ve found that you have to be selective in what you bake in silicone. Very selective.
I’ve tried baking various homemade cakes in silicone, and was never truly satisfied. Wondering if perhaps I’d messed up my own recipes, today I set out to run a true test. I whipped up a batter for a moist, chocolate cake - enough to make two round, 9-inch desserts. I poured half the batter in my Chicago Metallic, greased & floured pan, and the other in Kitchen Aid silicone bakeware. I set them in the oven and hit the timer.
As usual, my cake in the regular pan was perfectly baked in 31 minutes. The cake in silicone needed an additional 15 minutes (the batter was completely wet inside). But that wasn’t the oddest outcome of this test, and once again I find myself wondering why I didn’t take pictures…
The cake in silicone was more than double the height of the cake in the regular pan. It was filled with so much more air (and it’s height dropped by about an inch after removing it from the oven). My chocolate cake is a bit denser than most, but it’s very moist, boasting immense chocolate flavor. Yet the cake in the silicone pan was airy, dry and nearly void of that terriffic chocolate taste. I had to take breaks, cleansing my palate, and retasting to try to find the slight hint of chocolate that was actually left in there.
Contrary to advertising, I did not find the silicone bakeware to be non-stick. Even after cooling, I had to pry the flexible mold off the cake, only to find a good majority stuck to the bottom (there was great condesation as well). The cake? Well, it looks like I had to dig it out of there with a trowel.
I don’t doubt that silicone bakeware works for some types of breads and cakes. I’ve heard that fruitcake works well, as does quick bread. Though, I’ve got to say, that bread baked on anything other than metal or stone really doesn’t sound that inviting to me.
Now that I’ve tried various cakes in this bakeware many times over, I’m convinced… Greasing and flouring a pan, though more work, will boast a better tasting cake with a more desired texture. I’m willing to work for that flavor!
I’m not sure what I’ll test in these babies next. I’ve got about six different shapes and styles. At the worst, I guess I could throw a flavored gelatin mold party. At any rate, I’m betting that getting anything to a crispy, delicious golden brown is going to be near to impossible.
Posted
Wednesday, January 10th, 2007 at 4:25 pm EST
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