How to line a tin

A round tin

The most common, and the base is the part that matters.

1. Grease the tin lightly with butter or oil. This is to hold the paper, not to stop the sticking.
2. Stand the tin on baking parchment and draw round the base. Cut just inside the line so the disc sits flat rather than curling up the sides.
3. Press the disc into the base.
4. Cut a strip of parchment a little longer than the circumference and a couple of centimetres taller than the tin.
5. For a straight-sided tin, fold a 2cm cuff along the bottom edge of the strip and snip into it at intervals. The snipped tabs sit flat on the base and the strip stands upright.
6. Press the strip round the inside and grease the paper too for a rich or fruity cake.

Square tins and loaf tins

A single sheet with cut corners does both.

1. Cut a rectangle of parchment larger than the tin — enough to line the base and come up all four sides with an overhang.
2. Sit the tin on it and press the paper into the base so the fold lines mark themselves.
3. Cut in from each corner of the paper to the corner of the marked base.
4. Drop it into the tin. The cut corners overlap neatly and the overhang becomes handles.
5. For a loaf tin, a simple strip running the length of the tin with an overhang at each end is enough — the short ends usually release without paper.
6. Leave the overhang long. Lifting a tray bake out on the paper is far easier than turning it out.

When each treatment is enough

Grease only

A plain sponge in a good non-stick tin, eaten the same day.

Grease and flour

A plain cake in a plain tin. Dust with flour and tip out the excess; cocoa for a chocolate cake.

Base-lined only

Most sponges. The base is where cakes stick.

Fully lined

Anything with fruit, jam, syrup or a long bake. Christmas cake, sticky toffee, brownies.

Double-lined, plus a paper collar outside

A rich fruit cake baked for hours, to stop the outside over-browning.

Grease, flour, no paper

Fluted and Bundt tins, where paper cannot follow the shape.

The awkward cases

• Bundt and fluted tins. Brush softened butter into every crevice with a pastry brush, then dust with flour and tip out the excess. Cake release spray works well here if you have it.
• Springform tins. Base-line, and put a strip round the side. Wrap the outside in foil if there is any chance of leaking.
• Swiss roll tins. Line fully with an overhang, so the sponge can be lifted out and rolled in the paper.
• Muffin tins. Cases, or squares of parchment pressed in for a rustic look. Greasing alone works for a plain muffin.
• Silicone moulds. Nothing needed, and a light grease helps the first few times.
• Loose-bottomed tart tins. Do not line the sides — pastry needs to grip them. Grease only.

Common questions