# Entremet rings vs cake tins



## NotDelia (Jan 9, 2019)

Hi,

I'm fairly new to baking and hope to learn from the book "Bake like a French pastry chef". The first lesson is about making Genoise sponges and it requires an entremet ring. I've never used such a thing before and have always used cake tins to make sponges.

Do I really need to buy entremet rings? Is there any advantage of using one rather than a cake tin? 

Thanks in advance.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Well, yes and no. It is very easy to remove a sponge cake from a ring- you just insert a knife and cut against the ring.

On the other hand, if you place a cut out piece of parchment paper in the cake pan, the sponge is just as easy to remove.

In order for rings to work properly, you need absolutely flat sheet pans. If the pan is not flat, the ring won’t sit flat, and batter will leak out as the cake is baking. 

Most baking trays are aluminum, which have a habit of warping faster than the USS Enterprise, and they will also develop a “belly” or a rounded bottom over time, which makes cake rings not sit flat, and also gives you lop sided cakes.

Hope this helps


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I use pizza tray instead of sheet trays when using cake rings. But more often, I use a regular cake pan.


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## NotDelia (Jan 9, 2019)

Great answer, many thanks.

I'm reluctant to buy entremet rings as I'm already a bit pushed for storage space. Cake tins have always worked fine for me in the past so I'll just use what I already have and follow your advice about parchment paper. I don't usually do much on the cake side anyway. I'm wanting to learn more about baking breads, croissants, etc.

The reason for the question in the first place is that I plan to work methodically through the book, mentioned above, and try to follow every lesson properly rather than my usual scatter-gun approach. 

PS: Thanks also for your USS Enterprise comment. LOL!


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## NotDelia (Jan 9, 2019)

Thanks, Brian. I was writing my previous post as you were answering (and also as a newbie I'm still going through pre-mod, hence the delay).

I'm reassured to read that you just use cake pans. There's a limit to how much stuff one really needs and it doesn't hurt to improvise sometimes.


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