RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONSStaub Stoneware
Square Baker, 8" x 8"
Model: 7396010
Price: $36.00
Materials: Stoneware with
glass porcelain enamel
fi nish
Construction: Molded
Dishwasher-Safe: Ye sPyrex Easy Grab 8"
Square Baking Dish
Model: 1090950
Price: $9.76
Material: Glass
Construction: Molded
Dishwasher-Safe: Ye sCalphalon Signature
Nonstick Bakeware 8"
Cake Pan
Model: 2000607
Price: $32.95
Materials: Aluminized steel
with hybrid ceramic non-
stick coating
Construction: Folded
Dishwasher-Safe: Ye sHIGHLY RECOMMENDED CRITERIAFat Daddio’s
ProSeries Square Cake Pan
Model: PSQ-882
Price: $13.48
Material: Anodized aluminum
Construction: Molded
Dishwasher-Safe: NoBaked Good Appearance
Durability
Ease of Cleanup+++
++1⁄ 2
+++RECOMMENDEDWilliams Sonoma
Goldtouch Nonstick Square
Cake Pan, 8"
Model: 1983741
Price: $26.95
Materials: Aluminized steel,
Goldtouch ceramic-based coating
Construction: Folded
Dishwasher-Safe: Ye sBaked Good Appearance
Durability
Ease of Cleanup+++
++1⁄ 2
++1⁄2USA Pan
8 Inch Square Cake Pan
Model: 1120BW
Price: $14.99
Materials: Aluminized
steel with silicone coating
Construction: Folded
Dishwasher-Safe: NoBaked Good Appearance
Durability
Ease of Cleanup+++
++1⁄ 2
++1⁄2KitchenAid
Professional-Grade Nonstick
Square Cake Pan, 8" x 8"
Model: KB2NSO08SQWT
Price: $15.00
Materials: Aluminized steel,
multilayer nonstick coating
Construction: Folded
Dishwasher-Safe: Ye sBaked Good Appearance
Durability
Ease of Cleanup+++
++1⁄ 2
++1⁄230 COOK’S COUNTRY • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019
EQUIPMENT REVIEWKEY Good +++ Fair ++ Poor +SQUARE BAKING PANS are handy
for making cakes and brownies, but
that’s not all. We also use them for
recipes such as Chocolate Fudge,
Honey Cornbread, and Nanaimo Bars.
But which of the many pans on the
market is the best? We chose eight
models, ranging in price from about
$10 to about $36: fi ve metal (four of
which had nonstick coatings), one
glass, one silicone, and one stoneware.
To test them, we made yellow cake
and brownies in each, sliced the cooled
baked goods in the pans with a knife,
and then washed the pans repeatedly to
evaluate durability.
The fi rst thing we noted was the
slight diff erences in baking times.
Because metal is generally a better con-
ductor of heat than glass or stoneware
is, the nonmetal pans required more
time in the oven to fi nish baking—5 to
8 minutes longer for yellow cake and
about 5 minutes longer for brownies.
Even with these diff erences, the baking
times with all the pans fell within ac-
ceptable ranges.
Regardless of material, all eight pans
produced appetizing brownies and
cakes with golden-brown tops. Two of
the cakes had slightly darker exteriors
than the others, likely because they
baked in darker-colored pans, but they
were still perfectly acceptable. And all
the baked goods released easily from
their respective pans, even the cakes
and brownies baked in pans without
nonstick coatings. Our recipes called
for either greasing or greasing plus
fl ouring the pans, which was suffi -
cient to prevent sticking. All the pans
performed well, but there were other
factors to consider.
After turning the cakes out onto
wire racks to cool, we examined their
shapes. Two of the eight cakes stood out
because of their slightly sloped sides.
The pans that produced these cakes
had tapered sides, meaning they were
wider at the top than at the bottom. We
much preferred the appearances of the
cakes baked in the remaining six pans;
they were appealingly square and had
well-defi ned edges.
We also looked at how easy the pans
were to maneuver. Four models in our
lineup featured rolled edges with nar-
row lips that were sometimes tricky to
hold securely, especially when removing
the pans from a hot oven or greasing
and fl ouring them. The rest of the pans
featured defi ned handles; these pans
were easier to grab and lift.
To test the durability of the pans, we
used a sharp paring knife to repeat-
edly slice cake and brownies in each,
checking to see if any scratched easily.
All fi ve metal pans showed faint nicks,
but nothing that would aff ect their
performance. One pan, however, was a
total letdown. While slicing brownies in
the silicone pan, we inadvertently sliced
right through the side, leaving a ¾-inch
gash and rendering the pan unusable.
To see how easy the pans were to
clean, we washed each pan fi ve times
according to the manufacturer’s instruc-
tions. Six of the pans we tested were
dishwasher-safe, but two weren’t, so we
washed those by hand. A few of the pans
were harder to clean than others.
The interiors of the glass, stoneware,
and silicone pans were all smooth and
seamless and therefore easy to clean.
Most of the metal models, though, had
seams as a result of the way they were
constructed. One metal pan was mold-
ed, meaning that a hot sheet of metal
was pressed into a mold. The others
were folded, meaning that a metal sheet
was folded into the shape of a pan, cre-
ating seams. The seams of folded pans
sometimes trapped food and required
extra attention to clean. It wasn’t a deal
breaker, but it wasn’t ideal either.
Our new winner, the Fat Daddio’s
ProSeries Square Cake Pan, was the
only molded-metal pan in our lineup.
Its seamless interior didn’t trap food and
was easy to clean (even though it could
be washed only by hand). It produced
nicely shaped baked goods and was
easy to hold and maneuver. This 8-inch
square baking pan excelled at producing
aesthetically pleasing baked goods and
boasted a low-maintenance design.8 Pans
4 Tests
- Bake brownies and cut cooled
brownies in pans into 16 squares - Bake yellow cake and cut cooled
cakes in pans into 16 squares - Line winning pan with aluminum foil
sling and bake brownies - Wash pans 5 times according to
manufacturers’ instructions
8-Inch Square Baking Pans
Four key traits set our winning pan apart from all the others. by Emily Phares
Comments: This pan’s straight
sides produced cakes with
well-defi ned edges, and its
½-inch lip made it easy to hold.
It was also easy to clean. We saw
faint scratches on the bottom of
the pan after repeated passes
with a paring knife.Comments: Our previous
winner still performed well.
Its folded design made it a
little harder to clean than our
winner. It produced beautiful
cakes and brownies.Comments: This pan featured
a ridged bottom and sides,
which left some faint marks
on the fi nished baked goods—
but nothing egregious.
Overall, it was solid.Comments: Another
model that turned out nicely
browned baked goods, this
pan had nearly 90-degree
sides that made for cakes
with straight sides.WINNING TRAITS- Straight sides and well-defi ned edges
- Flattened lip that’s easy to hold
- Smooth, seamless interior
- Durable, exhibiting little to no damage
Web subscribers can see the
complete results chart at
CooksCountry.com/bake8.