Do you find your empty muffin wells burning when you make a few muffins? Here's how to keep that from happening.

Silicone baking cups have advantages and disadvantages. Anything baked in them, will pop out easily without sticking to the wrapper, as baked goods often do when a paper liner is used. Of course, same result could be achieved simply by greasing the muffin tin itself and not relying on paper liners at all.

One of the other advantages of using silicon cupcake cups is that you don't need the muffin tin to support your wrappers as you bake. You can simply set the cups directly onto a baking sheet, so you can make a batch of eight or fourteen without having to conform to the number of cups your muffin tin offers. This also enables silicone baking cups to take on some shapes that cupcakes don't generally come in. Wilton makes heart, square, triangle, and diamond-shaped baking cups. They hold the same amount of batter as regular baking cups but allow for more creativity when decorating. For example, Wilton suggests using the heart cups to make strawberry-shaped cupcakes.

I have been wondering how well silicone muffin cups work since they first appeared on the market. Designed as a reusable alternative to paper muffin/baking cups, their main advantage is that no muffin or cupcake crumbs will stick to them, so not a single delicious morsel of your favorite baked good will be lost. Not only did I doubt this claim, I found it to be ridiculous. Who cares if a small bit of cake is stuck on your wrapper? Better yet, why don't you simply grease the pan and put your batter directly into the muffin tin?

My friend Joe, at Culinary in the Desert, tested out his set of silicone muffin cups this week. As you can see from the photo above of his Whole Grain Raisin Muffin, they turned out very well. The muffins held their shape and popped easily out of the silicone liners. Joe liked them enough to order a second set, and while I'm glad to know that they work, I still don't see the need to use them. I also find the little ridges on the muffin a bit disconcerting; it's just not natural.