baking equipment – Feasting Is Fun

Silicone Baking Mat Review

When baking there is one disposable item that I use very frequently, baking parchment. So when GOLDENSPOON sent me 2 Premium Silicone Non Stick Baking Mats I was interested as to how they would perform. Also, carrying out a Silicone Baking Mat Review was going to be interesting and fun!

Setting Out The Silicone Mat Review

After some research as to how hot Silicone bakeware can be cooked at. Since they are safe to bake up to 250C, I decided to test these vibrant green edged mats in three ways.

First of all, bake at a high temperature – for this I choose to bake a puff pastry tart.
Also, bake my most gooey and sticky recipe – for this I choose my Rolo Chocolate Cookies.
And finally, use in place of baking parchment for setting messy melted chocolate – for this I covered some strawberries in chocolate to decorate a cake.

I received 2 Premium Silicone Non Stick Baking Mats, dimensions 27cm x 40cm. Following a quick wash in warm, soapy water, a quick dry and they were ready to use. And I was very pleased to find that they fitted nicely inside my two biggest, most used, baking trays.

First Test – Baking The Silicone Mat In A Hot Oven

Because puff pastry is baked at a high temperature, I decided to make a quick Asparagus Prosciutto Ham Tart.

Recipe: Asparagus Prosciutto Ham Tart serves 4

320g Ready Rolled Puff Pastry

10-12 Asparagus Spears – washed and trimmed

1 Medium Egg – whisked with a teaspoon of milk fit the egg wash

3 Medium Tomatoes – sliced

6 Slices Prosciutto Ham

Approx 50g Soft Cheese – I used Goddess Cheese from Pong Cheese. Alternatively you could use Brie, or mozzarella cheese.

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper.

1tbsp Olive Oil

Basil leaves to garnish

Assembling and baking the tart:

First of all, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan, gas mark 7, 425F.

Place one Premium Silicone Non Stick Baking Mat on to a baking tray.

Un roll the pastry and place directly on to the mat – removing the paper it is rolled in.

Use a pastry brush to lightly cover the pastry in egg wash.

Place the asparagus and sliced tomatoes on to the pastry and season with salt and pepper.

Place the baking tray in the top of the oven for 15 minutes.

After the baking time has elapsed remove the tray from the oven.

Break off small chunks of the cheese and scatter around the tart. Then lay the Prosciutto ham over the tart, in the same direction as the asparagus. Add a small drizzle of olive oil.

Place the tart back in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the ham and finish baking.

As soon as the tart is baked remove, from the oven and scatter over some whole basil leaves.

Remove the tart from the silicone baking mat before cutting.

The finished result is a delicious tart, that baked beautifully on the non stick silicone baking mat. It slid off the mat easily. The mat had a quick wash in warm soapy water and was as good as new.

Fantastic! These Premium Silicone Non Stick Baking Mats cook at a high temperature with no affect on taste and no change in appearance to the mat 10/10.

Baking Rolo Cookies

Next the gooey, sticky test. I used my Rolo recipe for this test. The cookies were prepared according to the recipe and baked using both mats, instead of baking parchment, as instructed.

This recipe requires the cookies to cool on the baking trays before removing.

Once cooled the cookies removed easily, with only a little of the melted caramel staying on the mat. This is usual with baking parchment too so I had expected it. A quick wash and the mats were clean and ready to use. A firm 9/10.

Finally Test As A Baking Parchment Substitute

Now for the melted chocolate test!

The strawberries were dipped in chocolate and left to set on the silicone baking mat. Once set they removed easily and were used to decorate a beautiful cake. Another quick wash in warm soapy water and again as good as new! A firm 10/10.

In conclusion I am thrilled with these Premium Silicone Non Stick Mats and thoroughly recommend them. Since they are so easy to use for a variety of baking and cooking purposes. Also they take up very little space, I store them flat in the bag they came in on top of some tins in a cupboard.

While also reusable and in my opinion better than baking parchment, these have to be a great choice, not only for our kitchens but also our planet!

If you have enjoyed this Silicone Baking Mat Review you may like these recipes to bake with your mats:

Blackberry Nectarine Tart

Red Onion Sausage Plait

Chocolate Dipped Viennese Fingers

Strawberry Vanilla Chocolate Drip Cake

Having carried out this Silicone Baking Mat Review I am now a complete convert to baking with silicone. I wholeheartedly recommend every kitchen, where baking takes place, to switch to these silicone baking mats. Over time they will pay for themselves and are more environmentally friendly than using baking parchment.

So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchen, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

GOLDENSPOON provided me with the 2 Premium Silicone Non Stick Baking Mats for the purpose of a review. All views and opinions are my own, as are the recipes, photographs and content of this post. I was not paid to review this product. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

British Bakeware Product Review

Hello lovely readers. Today I am so thrilled to share with you my British Bakeware Product Review.

British Bakeware produce a wide range of fantastic bakeware that is all manufactured in the UK. If you need a well made, durable piece of baking kit, British Bakeware stock it.

I was sent a Large Baking Tray, 3lb Loaf Tin and 12 Cup Muffin Tray to review. I had so much fun developing recipes and testing each product and am excited to share the final results and my thoughts on their products with you.

Large Baking Tray dimensions 33cm length x 24cm wide x 2.5cm deep

British Bakeware Product Review — **Large Baking Tray** with a non-stick finish.

This Large Baking Tray has a double non-stick coating and is oven, freezer and dishwasher safe.

Oh, did I mention it comes with a 5 year guarantee – yep a whole 5 years.

I really put this baking tray through it’s paces. From baking sausage rolls, on Christmas Eve, to roasting chicken, making biscuits and baking rolls. This baking tray performed time and time again.

Food cooked evenly and the baking tray was a dream to clean. Although it is non stick I gave it a very light coating of oil prior to using it. Doing so prolongs the life any non stick bakeware.

During my British Bakeware Product Review I developed new recipes. Using this Large Baking Tray I made Roast Chicken Noodle Soup that is very low in fat and these Cherry Bakewell Cookies for a little treat!

Cherry Bakewell Cookies cooling on the baking tray.

I deliberately did not grease the baking tray, or line with parchment paper. These cookies were very easy to remove, using a palette knife. That for me was the ultimate non-stick test and this large baking tray passed with flying colours.

In future I would line with baking parchment, as it is a great baking tray and I don’t want to scratch it!

Overall I was very impressed with the quality, durability and versatility of this Large Baking Tray.

12 Cup Muffin Tray dimensions 36cm length x 26cm wide x 3cm deep

This Muffin Tray has a double non-stick coating and is oven, freezer and dishwasher safe.

Yes this Muffin Tray also has a whopping 5 year guarantee.

Although this is a Muffin Tray I wanted to bake deep cupcakes in it, to see how it performed.

With the 12 Cup Muffin Tray I baked a batch of these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes. The cupcakes baked evenly across the tray and were easy to remove.

What I particularly like about this Muffin Tray is the lip it has, that runs around the outside, on the top of the tray. This is a fantastic feature when baking any muffin or cupcake with a streusel topping. Inevitably some of the crumbly streusel gets knocked off the top of the muffin whilst moving the tray, this little addition ensures the sticky, crumbly mixture, doesn’t end up on your oven floor!

I do not know anyone who enjoys having to clean the oven!!!

So top marks for that British Bakeware.

This 12 Cup Muffin Tray was easy to clean, baked evenly and can be used for muffins and cupcakes. It is a complete winner all round.

3lb Loaf Pan dimensions 21cm long x 13cm wide x 12cm deep.

The 3lb Loaf Tin has a non-stick coating and is also oven, freezer and dishwasher safe.

Those of you who know me, know I love baking all sorts of delicious cakes, cookies, pies……

Did you know that I bake almost ALL of our bread?

This 3lb Loaf Tin has been used almost every day, since just before Christmas. I have baked our regular variety of loaves and created 2 new recipes in honour of this loaf tin – if it is possible to love an item of baking equipment, well, let’s just say, don’t try and come between me and this loaf tin. Are we clear???

Time after time it produced fantastic loaves. If you bake bread you NEED this tin. If you don’t and want to start get THIS tin.

I have been baking bread for the best part of 40 years (I started very young!!) and this is, without question, the best non-stick loaf tin I have ever used.

I created a recipe for a Wholemeal Loaf and a Spiced Fruit Loaf.

The fruit loaf has a very, very sticky dough, yet it baked perfectly in this Loaf Tin.

The 100% Wholemeal Loaf also baked beautifully in this 3lb Loaf Tin.

Have I convinced you to start making your own bread yet?

I have thoroughly enjoyed carrying out this British Bakeware Product Review, not least because the products I reviewed were of excellent quality. They withstood the rigours of a normal household kitchen, although, it is probable that I bake more than most.

Whether you are a frequent baker, or not I can thoroughly recommend British Bakeware products. They are very reasonably priced, especially when you consider all three items I reviewed come with a 5 year guarantee and they are made right here in the UK.

Following this British Bakeware Product Review they will now be the first place I turn to when I need baking equipment – in fact I already have a few items on my list!!

As you know I frequently mention sharing on here. First home, wedding, birthday – how about giving a baking gift from British Bakeware? Maybe go one step further, pick a recipe (from feastingisfun of course 😉) buy the ingredients and the bakeware to bake it in and give it as a present?

Here are the links to get you started!

Large Baking Tray

12 Cup Muffin Tray

3lb Deep Farmhouse Loaf Tin

Do you enjoy baking?

Would you like to start baking?

Please let me know. I really enjoy reading your comments. I am not an expert but will always aim to give helpful advice.

Have fun baking, I’m off to do some online shopping at British Bakeware

Sammie xx

British Bakeware provided me with the 3lb loaf pan, large baking tray and 12 cup muffin tray, for me to review. All opinions and content are my own. I did not receive any payment for carrying out this review.