Silicone muffin 'papers' - yay or nay?

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

Does anyone have silicone muffin 'papers'? Do you like them? Find them hard to wash? Easy to use?

We have a silicone baking tray, with which I have a love/hate relationship. Easy to use, food never sticks, but stained beyond help and hard to get clean, even in the dishwasher.

I am tempted to buy a stock of the silicone muffin cases I have seen in a shop nearby as regular papers are hard to find around here (in the UK) and I like the idea of not having to cut out squares of parchment paper every time I want to make muffins (which, with my child, is a lot!).

Any feedback welcome.

[jgale]

Such a drag to clean! Now I just spray the muffin pan with canola oil and don't use any paper or liners...

[mommajb]

I haven't been able to get muffins to bake right (brown?) in the silicone pan. They seem mushy and not right to me.

[serenbat]

HATE- got them as a gift after first use, I tossed-SUPER hard to clean, felt "greasy".

[sunnysandiegan]

Depends on which ones you mean....

We have a six-muffin cupcake "pan" that is silicone (traditional round cups) and I love it! Granted, I mostly use it to freeze things, but we have found the trick to baking in it is to use butter or oil to grease them. The spray stuff never worked and was a big mess and a pain to clean. Now, the dishwasher cleans it right up (top rack, cup openings facing down towards spray arm). I also wash it up in dishwater, if I need it quickly, just fine. Ours has a few stains right now because I washed it by hand quickly last night between muffins (baked) and freezing bone broth. It was clean, but the dishwasher gets the stains out better than hand-washing.

That said, I wouldn't want the buy individual silicone "papers". Those usually have crinkled sides and those would be a royal pain in the tushie to grease up properly and to clean properly.

We have a "flower basket" pull-apart cupcake/cake silicone pan and some of those sides have too many creases for ease of use. They are smooth enough for the dishwasher to clean it well, but not smooth enough for me to wash by hand unless I am feeling particularly patient. I have yet to actually get the cupcakes to come out in one piece (each), though. Oh, the miracle of frosting!

[mamadelbosque]

I don't have silicon muffin papers nor do I use the paper ones. Instead I have cast iron muffin pans and just grease well with butter or shortening or coconut oil... which is what I did when I had cheapo aluminum pans too.

[lil_earthmomma]

I also never use papers, I just grease the pans! I've heard the silicone muffin holders are horrible.

[elanorh]

ummm.... I love mine. They are the individual crinkled-side types. My cupcakes pop right out of them with no issues, they wash up quickly in the sink without residue or anything, they are lovely! We bought a set for dh's grandmother, who has arthritis and a difficult time with the paper muffin liners, she commented on ours and liked them.

I don't like greasing the pan for our cupcakes or muffins -- since we make egg-free ones, especially, I think sometimes they are more likely to stick or be crumbly. Our silicone cups solve that issue.

My aunt has the pan-type, smooth-sided ones, and she doesn't like them, has a hard time getting them out of the 'pan.'

[LaLaLaLa]

Hate 'em. They are a pain to grease properly so the stuff won't stick, and a pain to clean up afterward. And I find that the cupcakes and muffins don't puff up right when I use them; they don't crown as well and look pretty sad when they are done. I've reluctantly gone back to the regular papers.

[Thalia the Muse]

Loathe the individual ruffled cups. They're hard to wash, the cake doesn't brown properly, and it's hard to get the cupcake out when you're eating it. Cupcake FAIL.

I just make muffins in a nonstick muffin tin, well-greased, without any paper.

[griffin2004]

I hate them. I find I have to spray anyway to have a hope of removing the muffin in 1 piece. And they're a pain to clean. Back to paper for me.

[cristeen]

I love them.

I will say though that not every brand is the same... some of them are horrible.

I have a silicone muffin pan (2 of them actually) from an Italian company I can't remember the name of. Everything comes out cleanly, and they just need a light washing after use. I also have the individual Wilton ruffled cups. I'm not as fond of those - they work just fine, but they're a bit more difficult to clean.

I will say that most silicone is not meant to go into the dishwasher. I still put them in there, but they last longer and better if you hand wash them.

And food does not brown in silicone like it does in metal, period. If you set your silicone on a sheet pan (like you're supposed to with most of them), anything in contact with the pan will brown nicely, but the rest will not. It's just the nature of silicone.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

love them! my housemate bought me heart shaped ones with crinkled sides (i think they were on sale) and I love them!

[orangefoot]

I have six which I use when I've run out of muffin pans and still have mixture left over! I mostly make banana or oatmeal muffins on a regular basis. if I am making cup cakes for something show-y with icing and all then I will use paper cases.

I don't grease them. I just pop the muffins straight out of the case when they are cool. They wash up quite easily in the sink if you pop them inside out.

[Dar]

Originally Posted by elanorh

ummm.... I love mine. They are the individual crinkled-side types. My cupcakes pop right out of them with no issues, they wash up quickly in the sink without residue or anything, they are lovely! We bought a set for dh's grandmother, who has arthritis and a difficult time with the paper muffin liners, she commented on ours and liked them.

I don't like greasing the pan for our cupcakes or muffins -- since we make egg-free ones, especially, I think sometimes they are more likely to stick or be crumbly. Our silicone cups solve that issue.

My aunt has the pan-type, smooth-sided ones, and she doesn't like them, has a hard time getting them out of the 'pan.'

Yes! All of this - I love mine. I make muffins in them most weeks and I usually grab one (in the silicone wrapper) on my way out the door... so then I don't need to have a plate or anything, it just stays in the wrapper until I eat it.

They wash up easily and things pop out without grease of any kind... they're the Wilton brand.

[mommy2maya]

Originally Posted by jgale

Such a drag to clean! Now I just spray the muffin pan with canola oil and don't use any paper or liners...

this.

[TCMoulton]

I have the Wilton brand and love them! If I do need to grease them I use a quick spray of pam and the cupcakes or muffins pop right out!!

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

What a huge range of opinion!!!

When you use the individual muffin 'papers' do you put them in the metal muffin pan or just use them straight on the rack in the oven?

[Equuskia]

if you use butter, save the wrappers in the fridge, then use them to grease the muffin tins (metal). The muffins slide right out, are browned, the tin is easy to clean, and you didn't waste the butter on the wrapper.

[Dar]

Originally Posted by CrunchyMamaToBe

When you use the individual muffin 'papers' do you put them in the metal muffin pan or just use them straight on the rack in the oven?

Usually I put them in a metal muffin pan just because it's easier to transport them that way.... but sometimes I've had a small amount of batter or dough and wanted to make just a couple of cupcakes or rolls or muffins, and then I fill them up and put them straight on the rack.