Baking Tins

[Wic Profile]

Specifically mince pie tins. I’ve just made three dozen mince pies, (mostly for a Christmas Committee Meeting tonight), and I’ve decided that it should be my current tins' last outing. They are really, really old, and now the pies are sticking to the bottoms of the 'cups'. I had to do some pretty nippy knifework to get them all out in one piece. I think the tins were Prestige, but I can’t remember.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a good mince pie tin? It’s so long since I bought anything like that I’m not sure where to start.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Lakeland's baking tin range is excellent.

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/in-the-kitch ... cake-tins/

I use the minis to make mincepies for parties

[Wic Profile]

Thank you, Joan. I’m going to Chester at the weekend, I’ll go to Lakeland and sort myself out.

I'm still amazed that I’ve had my old ones for so long and seeed to have stopped actually 'seeing' them. Now I have noticed them I realise what a tatty collection they actually are!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Lakeland always a good bet
I’m also a fan of Stellar bakeware, it has an odd enamel finish that stuff doesn’t stick to, but seems tougher than ordinary non-stick
I have bought some of mine from TK Max, they often seem to have it

[cherrytree Profile]

For my mince pies and for deeper pastry tarts as well I've got silicone ones. I've got 2 of each. I like the way I can ease the contents out. I've also got a 24 mini tart tin that I bought in Wilkinsons which works beautifully

[Wic Profile]

Sue - Thanks. I’ll look those up. Enamel sounds stronger than whatever coating gets put on most of them, and the ones I’ve got are a mass of scratches now


Cherrytree - I have a silicone one, too, they are brilliant, aren’t they. I really wish I’d got another at the time, because I’ve not seen one that size since. When I make mince pies it’s never less than 24 at a time, any less makes me feel it’s not worth the effort, so only having one is a bit limiting.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Well I was going to recommend Mermaid.
My roasting tin is fantastic, not a blemish or a buckle.

But I cannot find mince pie/ muffin tins.

[Joanbunting Profile]

I have never got away with cooking pastry in silicone moulds. I think pastry need base heat to avoid the dreaded soggy bottoms. They are great for other baking though.

[jeral Profile]

I'm not keen on silicon for pastry personally preferring the thinnest tin to transfer heat quicker. Prestige tins were brilliant - I had a whole set of the gold-coloured ones for years till gradually they "went" *sob*

Logically speaking, pastry has fat in it and pastry should shrink away from the tin anyway as it loses moisture, as was relied upon with greased tins for centuries before non-stick came about. It does therefore make me wonder why pastry things stick even in non-stick pans (assuming no sugary syrup spilling out).

I have found that veg margarine is good for greasing incidentally.

[Wic Profile]

Weird, isn’t it. Way back in school they always said you never needed to grease tins for pastry, (I must have been listening that day), but I find smaller things often stick. My mother would have laughed at that. Apparently I used to go home from school and instruct her in the laws of cookery as pronounced by Mrs Spinks. As she was a terrific cook herself, she must have felt like sticking pins into poor Mrs Spinks' image.

I use a little square of baking paper in the bottoms of the patty tins, sometimes, but life's too short and that’s a bit of a faff. I love my silicone pan because sticking isn’t a problem, and the mince pies seem fine - I haven’t really noticed any soggy bottoms, or, so far no-one has complained ...

When I get my new mince pie tins I’ll report back. I am, of course, hoping for miracles.

[cherrytree Profile]

I don't get soggy bottoms but I have an Aga and putting the 'tins' on the floor of the roasting oven works very well.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

In bigger pie tins I use those precutbcircles of parchment underneath

I do wipe my ancient tin plate “bun tins” with a piece of kitchen paper with just a touch of neutral oil - not sure it makes it any easier to release the pastry, but it’s a lot easier to remove any filling that bubbles out

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I had a soggy bottom when I used a terracotta dish for a beef pie.
I shall stick with my traditional tin pie dish (white with blue line round the rim).