Patty Pan: What Is It and How to Use It?

When following a recipe, it is vital to get the right ingredients. However, it doesn’t stop there. You would also want to get the proper tools for the job. Now, you might be here precisely because of that!

Did you see a recipe you want to try out but run into some trouble? To be specific, did the recipe call for a patty pan?

Now, what is a patty pan? You may ask.

Well, you don’t have to worry! Let us help you with that. Allow us to introduce the patty pan to you!

What is a Patty Pan?

The patty pan is a type of bakeware used for baking all sorts of goods. It goes by different names. You might even hear someone address it as queen cake tins, as it is often mentioned along with queen cakes. (We will also talk a little about this treat later!)

We did say you might also hear it called queen cake tins, but tins are not the only materials used for this bakeware. Patty pans could also be glass or stone.

Patty pans come in different shapes and sizes. You might find small patty pans more often, but they could be small or large. They can have patterns or be plain.

Generally, patty pans look a lot like baking cups. So, don’t be surprised if you hear someone call baking cups patty pans!

An interesting fact about patty pans is their long history, dating back to earlier centuries. You might be surprised, but patty pans might have already existed in the 1720s!  It might not often be mentioned in recipes or among bakeware in general, but it seems it was once a popular tool in royal kitchens.

Information about the patty pan might be a little scarce, but you do not have to worry. You can still easily find them in stores if you are interested in getting one.

How Do You Use a Patty Pan?

You can use a patty pan as you would use any other pan.

Before you use them, you want to prepare them too. Depending on the recipe, you might want to grease your patty pan, flour it, or even use parchment paper or something similar. There are other ways to prepare a pan. The important thing is you prepare it before use.

Whatever baked good you made, it seems you can serve it in a patty pan. Similar to how you can directly present dishes you made in your cast-iron skillet! However, this would depend on the recipe you are following again. If the recipe suggests against it, you might want to follow through with that.

Another interesting thing to note about patty pans is how you can handle them after use. Again, you might want to care for your patty pan similarly to how you treat your cast-iron skillet. Well, maybe the patty pan is a little more dangerous, though!

Once you are done using your patty pan, you don’t want to wash them. The suggestion is to only wipe them clean. Now, you might be asking where or what is the danger there? Well, usually, we would suggest you let the pan cool down before you even dig in your meal. However, the suggestion is that you wipe the patty pan before it even cools down!

On the other hand, some suggest waiting for the patty pan to cool down before washing it. If you don’t feel like risking being burnt, you might want to go with this method instead. With this method, you can clean your pan as you would most pans.

You can wash it. You might like to give the pan some time to cool down before doing anything, especially if you’re dealing with some burnt edges. Don’t try to scrape off the burnt parts until you are sure your patty pan has cooled down.

Patty Pans Replacements

Okay, so you might have found a recipe that calls for a patty pan. However, this might be the first time you have heard of the bakeware. With that, you might not have one readily available. Well, don’t you worry! Here are some patty pan replacements you can use as an alternative.

Muffin Tins

Muffin tins or sometimes called muffin pans, are probably one of the best options if you are looking for a patty pan replacement.

As you might already know, muffin tins or pans are one of the best go-to’s when you’re looking for an alternative. For one, you might have even seen muffin tins as replacements for donut pans.

Don’t have a muffin pan? Don’t worry! We have another option for you. However, we highly suggest getting a muffin pan if you do not have one. As you can see, it is flexible and could help you with many things in the kitchen.

Teacups

You don’t see teacups get used in a recipe every day. However, you could. Just check this strawberry teacup recipe out for one. So, if the instruction allows, you can use teacups as an alternative for patty pans. Some descriptions of patty pans, after all, resemble china teacups.

If you plan on using teacups, make sure the ones you’re going to use can handle the cooking process.

These are only two of the alternatives you can use. However, depending on the recipe you are following, there are other things you could probably use in place of patty pans. The recipe might even give a suggestion.

What are Queen Cakes?

Okay, so now, let us talk about queen cakes.

As we have said earlier, queen cakes are usually discussed along with patty pans. So, what is it exactly?

Queen cakes are a variation of pound cakes. It is usually talked about along with patty pans because, at some point, it practically owned patty pans. It was the most popular treat made with patty pans.

Like patty pans, this treat has a long history, potentially gracing kitchens as early as the early 1700s.

How to Make Queen Cakes?

Do you want to try to make some queen cakes? Well, you could! It’s easy to make, and we think many would enjoy this treat!

Some Things to Keep in Mind

Now you know what a patty pan is and how to use it. You also saw some kitchenware that you can use as an alternative if you can’t find a patty pan. Finally, we also talked about queen cakes.

Before you go, here are some things you might want to keep in mind.

1.  An Old Recipe

Today, there are not many recipes that will ask you to use patty pans. If there are, many of them might not even be pertaining to the patty pan tins but the baking cups.

If you found a recipe asking you to use the patty pan tins, you might likely have found an old recipe. If so, make sure you consider the different advancements. The advancements that took place since the recipe was made, that is.

Now, what do we mean by that? Remember that baking before and baking now is different. You might have to make some adjustments if you’re following an old recipe. For one, you might not even find the patty pan stated in the recipe. There were supposedly stone patty pans before. Today, you might have a hard time finding a stone patty pan. You would have to make do with a tin patty pan, and as we have said before when you change bakeware, there are usually some adjustments you would have to make.

2. Double Check the Recipe

As we have said earlier, patty pans could refer to the tins or even baking cups today. Make sure to check which one it is before you start to save yourself the trouble of looking for a patty pan tin or a replacement for it if you only need some baking cups.

Summary

So, what is a patty pan?

The patty pan is a bakeware that dates way, way back. It was used to bake all sorts of baked goods, but the queen cakes might be the most popular treat made with it.

You can treat it like most pans, which means you would want to prepare it before using it. However, you can use and clean it up similarly to a cast-iron skillet. The treat can be served in it, and when it comes to cleaning up, you can choose to wash or not wash it, it seems.

It could be a little challenging to acquire a patty pan tin today, so we also listed some alternatives such as muffin pans and teacups that you can use. There are several alternatives that you can use. However, you always have to make sure that it will work with the recipe you are trying out and that it can withstand the heat you’re going to put it through.

If you have any other concerns like this one, don’t hesitate to check our past discussions. We might have the thing for your question or concern. We hope to see you around!