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The Spruce Eats / Amelia Manley
Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail," and this definitely applies to baking cups. Little cakes, muffins, and cupcakes are designed to be detail-driven. We look at them more closely than we might a larger cake or loaf, and many bakers find ways to decorate these treats with precision and finesse.
The idea of a tiny cake feels like a bit of romance at its best, and at its least, it still feels like a special treat. As a tool to create small cakes, the baking cup comes in many forms, and choosing one is full of important details. What style is your cupcake or muffin? Farmhouse kitchen, fun and friendly, or chic and stylish? What color do you want your little cake to be wrapped in? What kind of batter will you use, and will the cakes be easily released from the baking cup? Whatever the situation, there's a baking cup to suit your needs.
Best Overall
Paper Chef Parchment Baking Cups
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Biodegradable and compostable
Affordable
Silicone-coated for easy release
Comes in regular, mini and extra -large sizes
Only safe to 450 degrees
These high-quality parchment baking cups are made by PaperChef, a company whose mission is "the art of cooking with parchment." The baking cups are made from 100 percent eucalyptus fibers, a genuine vegetable parchment from recycled paperboard. It's nonstick, oven safe to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and certified biodegradable and compostable. With a nice weight to the paper, these 1.5 x 2-inch baking cups are sized to fit a standard muffin tin, with 1.25 x 1-inch mini and 3.25 x 3.25-inch extra-large liners available as well.
Material: Silicone-coated parchment | Oven Safe Temperature: 425 degrees | Sizes: Mini, large (standard), extra-large
Best Silicone
Chicago Metallic Silicone Baking Cups
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Comes with three colors
Affordable
Heat resistant to 500 degrees
Only one colorway
Only 12 cupcake liners
Made in the U.S. with the same quality assurance as all other Chicago Metallic kitchenware products, these silicone baking cups are designed for great performance. They're reusable, with 12 silicone cups included for a full set in the colors brown, pink, and orange. You can use these 2.75 x 2.75-inch baking cups without a cupcake pan, and even your gluten-free recipes will bake into a firm shape. These liners are safe in the freezer and microwave, heat resistant up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be cleaned on the top rack of dishwashers.
Material: Silicone | Oven Safe Temperature: 500 degrees | Sizes: Standard
Best Paper
Sur La Table Standard Bake Cups
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Bright colors
Set of 32
Greaseproof paper
Slightly small capacity
Classic paper baking cups are a favorite of many home cooks, and this bakery-quality set of 32 baking cups comes in a variety of beautiful colors you can order: a gorgeous red, a soft light blue, an antique gold, and sweet white ivory. Exclusive to Sur La Table, these baking cups add elegance to the simplest cupcake or muffin. They can be used in muffin tins or lined up on a cookie sheet to bake. The dimensions are 2 x 1.3 inches with the capacity of approximately a third of a cup (or about 2.6 ounces).
Material: Paper | Oven Safe Temperature: Not specified | Sizes: Standard
Best Foil
Gifbera Standard Foil Cupcake Liners
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Festive foil options
Greaseproof and nonstick
Sturdy and holds shape when baking
Only comes in a set of 200
No paper insert
It's safe to say that Gifbera is a cult favorite foil baking cup. Used by professionals and home bakers alike, these foil cupcake liners have a great look and feel, and perform perfectly. The elegant liners come in eight color options and are sturdy enough to hold up when stacked on a pastry stand. Each set includes 200 greaseproof, standard-size paper liners that will easily release from your baked goods.
Material: Aluminum | Oven Safe Temperature: 410 degrees | Sizes: Standard
Best Jumbo
Sur La Table Jumbo Bake Cups
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Greaseproof
Holds a full cup of batter
Nonstick and easy to peel off baked goods
Only comes in a set of 20
Only comes in ivory
Made exclusively for Sur La Table, these jumbo baking cups are made from bakery-quality, heat-resistant, nonstick greaseproof paper. These are for truly jumbo muffins or cupcakes, with a full 1-cup capacity. The paper is a gorgeous ivory color, easy to peel off, and can be used in both standard and jumbo muffin tins or placed on a cookie sheet. Available in sets of 20, each liner is 2 x 2.5 inches, and safe to be used in a microwave, oven, or freezer.
Material: Paper | Oven Safe Temperature: Not specified | Sizes: Jumbo
Best Printed Design
Wilton Pinks and More Mini Baking Cups
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Festive prints and colors
Versatile
Easily removes from baked goods
Only available in mini size
Brightly colored bold designs of flowers, stars, and cupcakes make these paper mini baking cups from well-known brand Wilton a lot of fun to use. Suitable for birthdays or celebrations of any kind, they bring an air of festivity to any occasion, and kids love them. There are 150 baking cups included in the set with a diameter of 1.25 inches.
Material: Paper | Oven Safe Temperature: Not specified | Sizes: Mini
Best Unbleached
If You Care Unbleached Large Baking Cups
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Greaseproof and nonstick paper
Compostable
Widely available
Pricey for cupcake liners
This three-pack set of 60 baking cups are made from If You Care's premium quality, unbleached, chlorine-free paper. Measuring 2.4 inches in diameter and 2.6 inches in height, the baking cups have a nonstick coating of natural silicone and are nontoxic when incinerated. These standard-size liners are oven safe to 425 degrees, and they are available in a mini and jumbo size.
Material: Paper | Oven Safe Temperature: 425 degrees | Sizes: Standard
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Vibrant colors
400 mini cups per pack
Also available in standard and jumbo sizes
Not reusable for baking
These colorful mini cupcake liners are another quality offering from the Gifbera brand. Measuring 4.5 centimeters in diameter (or 1.77 inches), these greaseproof paper liners are perfect for your tiniest treats. Each pack contains a whopping 400 liners in eight different colors—red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, light blue, and purple. While you can certainly use these liners to make mini-muffins or cupcakes, they also make fabulous little cups for candies, nuts, small desserts, and even petit fours.
Material: Paper | Oven Safe Temperature: Not specified | Sizes: Mini, standard, jumbo
Best Shapes
LetGoShop Silicone Cupcake Liners
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Comes in a variety of bright colors
Includes four different shapes
Reusable
Some customers report that the cups stain easily
Made of durable and reusable silicone, these charming cupcake liners from LetGoShop let you mold your confections into shapes like hearts, roses, and stars—with no intricate detail work required on your end. The liners come in a variety of vivid colors, including red, pink, purple, yellow, blue, and green, with 24 liners in each pack. They're safe for use in the oven, microwave, and freezer, allowing you to make everything from heart-shaped cupcakes to rose-shaped frozen desserts. Customers say these silicone cups are durable and easy to clean, although they may stain a bit if you're using ingredients like blueberries in your recipes.
Material: Silicone | Oven Safe Temperature: 450 degrees | Sizes: Standard
Best Mini-Loaf
Pantry Elements Rectangular Silicone Cupcake Liners
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Brightly colored
Reusable
Microwave, oven, freezer, and dishwasher safe
Only 12 liners to a pack
Banana bread is delicious in any form. But with these Pantry Elements rectangular cupcake liners, you can bake up a batch in the form of adorable mini-loaves. Each liner measures roughly 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, and they come in an assortment of vivid colors. They're constructed of BPA-free silicone, and they're oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. They're also safe to use in the microwave and freezer, and you can toss them in the dishwasher when you're done. The only catch? There are only 12 liners in each pack, so if you're making a big batch of baked goods, you may need to grab an extra pack or two.
Material: Silicone | Oven Safe Temperature: 500 degrees | Sizes: Standard
Final Verdict
For an upgrade from run-of-the-mill baking cups, the Sur La Table Standard Baking Cups bring a touch of beauty to the table in any or all of the three colors offered. Continuing along on this theme of creating an individual look for your cupcakes or muffins, the LetGoShop Silicone Cupcake Liners give you a whole new level of a cupcake or muffin design without the least bit of extra work.
What to Look for in Baking Cups
Materials
Baking cups are made from a multitude of materials. Consider whether you are serving these mini cakes or cupcakes at a party at your house, or if they need to be transported in a cupcake carrier. You might want something sturdier if transit is part of the plan. You might also look to the formality of the event; a laid-back event is perfect for disposable, biodegradable paper cups, whereas an event that's slightly more formal could call for a fun-shaped cup or a colorful silicone cup.
Size
Baking cups come in mini, standard, and large or jumbo sizes. It's a good idea to have an assortment on hand so you're ready to bake at a moment's notice.
Price
Disposable baking cups, bought in bulk, tend to be the most cost-effective purchase, but you might want to splurge on something reusable if you'd rather something a bit more sturdy and slightly more sophisticated or festive for serving. Consider your budget and how often you're most likely to use baking cups.
FAQs
Are cupcakes the same as baking cups?
Cupcakes can be made in baking cups, which are the liners that you put in the pan—or stand-alone cups such as silicone ones that are sturdy enough to fill and bake. Cupcakes, muffins, and mini cakes are commonly made in baking cups.
Do you need to oil baking cups?
You should not have to oil or grease baking cups unless the recipe explicitly states so. Some batters will benefit from having the cups greased ahead of time if they are exceptionally sticky, but many cups have nonstick coatings on them to help facilitate an easy release.
Do baking cups make cleanup easier?
The answer to this is a resounding yes. Anyone who's run out of baking cups before and had to resort to greasing their 12-cup muffin pan knows that scrubbing a pan clean of cupcake residue can be challenging and time-consuming. Not to mention, using the cups makes extracting the cakes from the pan an absolute snap.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Karen Resta is a writer specializing in food culture and history, cooking, pastries, and restaurants. She's also a former pastry chef and has traveled to Budapest, Kyiv, and Paris during their Fashion Weeks as a photographer and writer, always finding the best authentic pastries along the way. She now spends a lot of her free time baking at home and recommends quality within your given budget. Having the right tools available and knowing how to use them well (it can take practice, like anything else) makes all the difference, and she curated this list with that in mind.
Kayleigh Drake is a writer and editor with several years of previous experience working as a baker at a local restaurant and bakery in Birmingham, Alabama. While she primarily focused on bread, she also whipped up plenty of batches of biscuits, cookies, cakes, bread puddings, and other sweet (and occasionally savory) treats.
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