SILICON BIG / JUMBO GIANT TOP CUPCAKE MUFFIN MOULD NEW

This is the first time I have used silicone baking equipment, and the flexibility of it takes a little getting used to. Make sure you put it on a baking tray before filling, or when you try to lift it with liquid batter in, it will flop all over the place.

The silicon smelled a bit funny when it got hot for the first couple of times, but I am told by other people who use silicone bakeware that this is normal, and it didn't taint the cake in any way.

This mould is very easy to use, and gives fairly consistent results. I would recommend using a non-stick baking spray to help your cake not get stuck inside. Also do wait a few minutes before trying to take it out of the mould. My first time I tried to remove it straight away and left half the cake behind in the mould.

The instructions talks about using "1 packet of cake mix, or 2 packets of cake mix". For those of us who actually make our OWN cake mixes, I found an 8oz sponge mix is about the right size (i.e. 8oz flour, 8oz sugar, 8oz butter, 4 eggs). It also says in the instructions to fill both the lid and base with equal amounts, but I found due to the shape that the batter in the lid rose a bit more than the base, so it seemed a bit of a large top for a smaller bottom, so I put slightly more in the bottom one now.

My friends all loved the first cake I made with this, so much that I have had letters from people's daughters begging me to make them a giant cupcake too.

Its very simple to make quite an interesting and fun cake with, and people will be impressed with your cake making skills (now I just need to work more on my piping bag skills!)

I am thinking of making one with green icing on for Christmas and making it like a Christmas Tree - can't wait to try that out!

So much fun to cook with this... very durable & does the job just right. Makes a GIANT CUPCAKE! Just like it says! The insert is cool too, because it gives you the option to leave space to fill your cupcake or don't use it if you want one without filling. Will use this over & over!

Ordered this with the intention of making my mum a fun birthday cake for her 60th. I decided to do a trial run to make sure I had enough cake mix to fill both sections of the mould - and its a good job I did! You actually need quite a lot of mixture to make sure you end up with full size top and bottom sections. I ended up with a great result - using vanilla buttercream, giant chocolate buttons and a ribbon around the base to decorate it looked very cute indeed.

To save you all the trial runs, this is the recipe that worked best for me...

Giant Cupcake Recipe - Chocolate
(Adapted from Hummingbird Bakery chocolate sponge)

* 200g unsalted butter
* 520g caster sugar
* 4 eggs
* ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
* 90g cocoa
* 1.5 tsp baking powder
* 1.5 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
* Pinch of salt
* 340 plain flour
* 320ml whole milk

Method
* Set oven to 170c
* Grease both moulds liberally with `cake release' spray
* Cream butter and sugar together until light & fluffy
* Add eggs one at a time, mixing well around the sides to incorporate everything
* Turn the mixer down to slow speed and add vanilla, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt until well mixed
* Add half the flour and mix
* Add the milk and mix
* And the remaining flour and mix

Fill the base ¾ full and cook for 50-55mins
Fill the top ¾ full and bake for 40-45 mins
Use any leftover mixture to make cupcakes, baking for 20-25 mins

Really surprisingly good - it was well packaged and good value.
we used it on and the cake was brilliant first time!! really pleased with it.

I bought the giant mould to make a cake for my son's engagement party, as his fiancee wanted a giant cupcake as a centre piece. I was a bit sceptical as I had not used a silicone mould before and was worried that it might not come out of the mould without sticking.
So, my daughter and I did a trial run for her friend's 30th Birthday, and it turned out very well. The trick is to make sure you let the cake cool down before turning out of the mould and then there shouldn't be a problem. We did not use any cake release or any other greasing product.
I am now looking forward to making the engagement cake in a couple of weeks time and hope that it turns out as well!

This is the only mould I have, except normal cake and muffin trays

I have used this mould once so far.

Firstly on the plus side ordered on Tuesday 24th Jan 2012, arrived Saturday 28th January - on a Saturday, no drama with sorting offices.

Secondly, read and took the advice of several reviewers, so decided to use the 8oz or 250g recipe version as follows:-
250g self raising flour
250g caster sugar
250g margarine or butter
4 large eggs
50g cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
dash of milk (because of cocoa)

Place on baking tray whilst pouring the batter in, gently shake and tap to level the batter.

45mins at 150 degrees in a fan oven. For first results not bad.

I also sprayed the inside of the mould with spray oil and left to cool for 30mins before turning out. With a wetter mix, I'll take the advice to spray and dust with flour.

Next time I will a try a slightly wetter mix and maybe 350g as the bottom could've been filled a little more and also the top.

What I could improve on, advise not taken, didn't slice and level the top part before putting the cake together. Didn't fix the bottom the cake to cake board before decorating, use a blob of icing mix before you start.

I used half a jar of cherry jam (to make a black forest gateau of sorts) but did find that it was too much but as mentioned by another reviewer a whole pot of jam could be used in the space. I'm hoping with more batter the bottom half will be a little deeper and better able to cope with so much filling.

On the whole a good buy for a good price but makes lots of cake as it's double the height of most.