Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsHard to clean, hard to get the donuts out
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020
This seems like it would make really cute baked goods, and I usually prefer to use a metal or glass pan than a silicone one. However, these donuts are just too small, so they're hard to remove. That's assuming that you were able to put in a small enough amount of batter to each one that they would actually bake into donuts, and not into dented muffins.
Filling these donut molds is also medium-impossible to do with a spoon, unless you want to spill batter everywhere. Each mini donut requires so little batter that I used a medicine dosing syringe to portion it into the molds (it must have been <5ml each).
I suppose I should have greased the mold like other reviewers, but the whole point of baking donuts instead of getting them from a bakery was to avoid extra fat, so I used this pan without butter or spray. The first batch I baked was completely stuck and went in the trash. The second was more successful, in that I got the donuts to release by sliding a toothpick in between the cake and the side, then pinching them out with my fingers (yes, they ended up squished). But even then the inside ("baked" side) was hard, smooth and glassy, and brown, while the top was spongy and light in color. I wasn't planning to frost them, so the contrast between the top and bottom made them look a bit weird.
Finally, even though the nonstick coating helps with cleaning off the stuck-on crumbs or batter spills, it's tough to clean out these tiny rings. Batter likes to collect and bake on in the seams and around the ring. This isn't as bad as those mini bundt cakes because at least the mold is smooth, but it's still relatively hard to clean without a special brush.
Overall, I imagine these would probably work okay as a candy mold, but for baking, after a couple of work-intensive batches I can't say I'm inclined to use this pan again.
