The Ultimate Tube Pan: Baking's Best Friend

A tube pan is a round baking pan with a hollow tube in the centre, which helps large, deep cakes bake faster and more evenly. Tube pans are used for light and delicate cakes such as angel food cakes, chiffons, and sponge cakes, which rely on whipped egg whites for leavening and contain very little flour. The tube in the centre of the pan provides more surface area for the cake to cling to as it rises and bakes, preventing it from collapsing in the centre. Tube pans can be made from a variety of materials, including metal, silicone, glass, and non-stick coatings, and often feature a removable bottom to make it easier to remove the cake after baking.

Tube pans are used for baking cakes such as angel food and sponge cake

Tube pans are used for baking cakes, especially angel food and sponge cakes. They are also used for chiffon cakes and other light and delicate cakes. Tube pans are round baking pans with a hollow tube in the centre, which helps to evenly bake the centre of the cake. The tube conducts heat, helping cakes bake faster and release more easily from the pan.

Angel food cakes are designed to allow the batter to expand. The batter is loaded with egg whites and holds a lot of air. The tube in the centre of the pan provides more surface area for the cake to cling to as it rises and bakes, preventing the delicate cake from collapsing in the centre.

Tube pans often have straight sides and an uncoated finish. They usually have a removable bottom and "feet" to prevent the cake from collapsing and make it easier to remove the cake from the pan. The "feet" also allow for airflow while the cake cools upside down.

When using a tube pan, the batter is typically evenly distributed around the centre tube. The pan is then baked and turned upside down to cool. This process helps to keep the delicate cake from falling and ensures it bakes and cools uniformly.

Tube pans can be made from various materials, including metal, silicone, glass, aluminium, and non-stick coatings. They come in different sizes and can be purchased as a single-piece or two-piece model with a removable tube and bottom.

Tube pans have a hollow tube in the centre to allow for more uniform baking

A tube pan is a round baking pan with a hollow tube in the centre. The tube helps to conduct heat, allowing large, deep cakes to bake faster and more evenly. This is because the tube allows for more uniform baking, ensuring the centre of the cake cooks at the same rate as the rest of the batter.

Tube pans are ideal for light and delicate cakes with a fluffy, airy batter, such as angel food cakes, chiffon cakes, and sponge cakes. These cakes often rely on whipped egg whites for leavening and contain very little flour and chemical leaveners, so they don't develop a sturdy gluten structure as they rise. The tube in the centre of the pan allows the batter to cling to a larger surface area as it rises, preventing the delicate cake from collapsing in on itself.

Tube pans often have straight sides and an uncoated finish, which also helps the batter to cling to the sides of the pan as it expands. Most tube pans also have a removable bottom and "feet" to prevent the cake from collapsing and make it easier to remove the cake from the pan after it has cooled.

When using a tube pan, it is important to ensure that the centre tube is as tall as the sides of the pan. This will prevent your batter from expanding through the centre and dripping onto your oven.

Tube pans are made of metal, silicone or glass

Tube pans are a type of round baking pan with a hollow tube in the centre. They are made of metal, silicone or glass and come in a variety of widths, depths, weights, capacities, densities and colours.

Metal tube pans are typically made from heavy-weight carbon steel or aluminium, and can also be non-stick. Metal conducts heat well, so metal pans are good for achieving a deep brown crust. However, darker metal pans can conduct too much heat, which may cause your cake to burn.

Glass pans are another option, but these also need to be monitored for over-browning.

Silicone pans are a more recent innovation, and are flexible, non-stick, and easy to clean.

Tube pans are useful for light and delicate cakes

The hollow tube in the centre of a tube pan helps to conduct heat, allowing large, deep cakes to bake faster and more evenly. The tube also provides a larger surface area for the cake to cling to as it rises, preventing it from collapsing in the centre. Additionally, the removable bottom and ""feet" of a tube pan make it easier to remove the delicate cake without damaging it.

When using a tube pan, it is important to ensure that the centre tube is as tall as the sides of the pan. This will prevent the batter from expanding through the centre and making a mess. After baking, the cake is turned upside down onto the "feet" to cool, which helps to prevent collapsing.

While tube pans are ideal for light and delicate cakes, they can also be used for dense and moist cakes such as pound cakes. The simple shape of the tube pan creates a utilitarian cake shape that may appear greasy when used for these types of cakes. Therefore, tube pans are not as well-suited for decorative purposes as other types of pans, such as Bundt pans.

Tube pans are not suitable for dense cakes with toppings

Tube pans are round baking pans with a hollow tube in the centre. The tube helps conduct heat, which is useful for baking large, deep cakes quickly and easily. Tube pans are ideal for light, delicate cakes with an airy crumb, such as angel food cakes, chiffon cakes, and sponge cakes. These cakes have a large number of beaten egg whites and very little flour and chemical leaveners, resulting in a batter that is fluffy and airy.

Due to the nature of these cakes, it is important that they are baked in a pan that allows them to rise by clinging to the sides as they bake. If the batter cannot cling to the sides, the cake will sink in the middle and collapse. Therefore, tube pans with straight sides that are uncoated and ungreased are best for these cakes.

Dense cakes with toppings, on the other hand, are not suitable for tube pans. Dense cakes, such as pound cakes, butter cakes, and coffee cakes, are better suited for Bundt pans, which are a type of tube pan with fluted sides. The fluted sides give these cakes a decorative sculpted shape and more surface area, resulting in a unique-looking cake with more crust.

Additionally, the toppings for dense cakes would need to be added to the bottom of the tube pan, as the cake needs to be removed from the pan and turned upside down. This is not ideal, as it can be difficult to ensure that the toppings stay in place during the baking and removal process.

Furthermore, a two-piece tube pan with a removable inner core has the potential to leak, which is not suitable for cakes with toppings. For heavy batters or cakes with toppings, a solid, one-piece tube pan is recommended. Therefore, it is clear that tube pans are not the best choice for dense cakes with toppings.

Frequently asked questions