The Best Springform Pans, According to Our Tests

Our Favorite Springform Cake Pan

With its pedestal-style base, sturdy construction, and easy-to-use latch mechanism, the Nordic Ware springform pan would be a solid option in any home kitchen. Whether baking cheesecake, a savory pasta pie, or deep-dish pizza, this pan turned out beautiful baked goods that were easy to serve and required minimal cleanup. Nordic Ware springform pans are also a favorite of cookbook author Samantha Seneviratne and cookbook author and media personality Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes, who particularly loves the brand’s rose gold springform pan.

Factors to Consider 

Material

Springform pans are typically made from sturdy metals such as aluminized steel or stainless steel, which are prized for their even heat conduction. Opt for one of these materials over silicone or glass-bottomed springform pans, which tend to conduct heat less evenly. Silicone pans also have less rigid sides, making it easy to spill batter when transferring to the oven.

“I certainly prefer metal over silicone or glass bottom springform pans,” Delk Adams says. “Though I see the appeal of a glass bottom to go from baking directly to serving, you’re going to get very uneven baking with two different materials, not to mention the possibility of breaking it. As for silicone, I just don’t like how they handle, especially when hot. They can get very flimsy.” 

And since springform pans often bear the weight of heavy batters, look for a sturdy pan with some weight to it.

“You want your pan to not be flimsy,” Delk Adams says. “It’s going to be holding some pretty dense deliciousness, so it should be able to handle the weight. Also, a pan with some heft is a good sign that it will bake more evenly than a thinner pan.”

Keep an eye on color, too. Delk Adams prefers baking pans made with lighter metal —especially those with a gold-colored finish. “Dark metal bakes your goods faster, often resulting in an unevenly baked cake (too dark on the outside and undercooked in the middle), which gives you a gooey or overly thick texture,” she says.

In addition to the material of the pan, Seneviratne also recommends looking for a springform pan with a durable, sturdy clasp that will hold the pan together tightly and not warp over time.  

Size

Springform pans come in many sizes — including some smaller models designed to fit inside an Instant Pot or slow cooker — but 9 inches wide by about 3 inches high is standard. If you plan to bake cheesecakes in a water bath, make sure the pan can fit easily inside a roasting pan or on top of a standard sheet pan. And if you’re planning to use your springform pan to make savory recipes like deep-dish pizza, look for a pan with tall sides and a larger cup capacity.

Leakproof

Ask any baker what they’re looking for in a springform pan, and they’ll likely mention one word: leakproof. Since springform pans feature detachable sides, they’re prone to leaking in the oven.

“Leaking is always the biggest issue with springform pans,” says Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Recipes. “Because you have those two attachments — you’ve got the base, and you have the rim around the edge — they can leak if it’s not totally secure. I do find the cheaper the pan, the more prone they are to leaking. If you’re baking a cheesecake in a water bath and it leaks, water can seep in, and you're going to have a cheesecake with a soggy crust, or if you’re making an ice cream cake, you’re going to have pools of ice cream coming out of it.”

To avoid leaking, look for a springform pan with a ring that tightly seals into the base. 

“The first thing I pay attention to is making sure the seal is tight; this will prevent any leakage,” Delk Adams says. “If the base wobbles even the least bit when latched in, your cheesecake (or whatever you’re baking) will leak.”  

Leaking can also be a sign that your batter isn’t dense enough to use a springform pan, Delk Adams says, or that the pan has warped and it’s time to get a new one.

Not sure how leakproof your springform pan is? Conduct a simple test: Secure the ring on the base and, over a sink, fill the pan with water. Note if water runs out of the sealed pan. If water leaks out, you might want to wrap the pan in foil to prevent any spills in the oven.

Design

Throughout our tests, we found ourselves drawn to springform pans with a pedestal-style base. Compared to pans with a completely flat base and a lip around the edge, springform pans with a raised pedestal base make serving much easier, as there’s no barrier getting in the way of your knife or serving tool and the baked good. 

“Another feature I look for is a springform pan with a flared base,” Delk Adams says. “In my experience, these last longer as well as have more weight to them, a tighter seal, and are easier to handle.”

This design can also make things much easier if you choose to transfer the baked good to a platter for serving, as you can simply run an offset spatula underneath, if necessary, to release it from the pan. 

If your springform pan doesn’t have a pedestal-style base, though, don’t despair. In many cases, Seneviratne says, you can simply flip the bottom of the pan upside down so that the lip of the pan is on the bottom before securing the sides on. “Martha Stewart taught me that,” she says. “For most of them, if you flip them over and put the ring on, if it fits nicely, then you have a little bit of lip to get it off.”

How We Tested Cake Pans

After researching the best springform cake pans on the market, we narrowed our tests down to six popular 9-inch springform pans, which we judged against each other based on their performance in a series of tests, playing close attention to factors such as design, durability, nonstick properties, and ease of cleaning.

To evaluate how each pan performed against each other, we baked the same recipes in each pan, including a classic cheesecake, of course, as well as deep-dish pizza and our Cacio e Pepe Pie. Since springform pans are often used for cheesecake, we looked closely at how each pan performed when baking cheesecake, noting any leakage from the pan during baking, if the cheesecake baked thoroughly and evenly in the recipe’s recommended time, and if the recipe released easily from the pan. 

Springform pans are a little more complicated than your average cake pan, so we looked closely at each pan’s design, including its base and latch mechanism, and how that impacted its performance in our tests. Since cheesecakes are often baked in a water bath, we considered how easily the pan would fit on a sheet pan or roasting pan, as well as how easy it was to store. We also tested the pan’s durability, noting any warping or damage sustained during testing, and nonstick properties, noting if any part of the cake stuck to the pan. 

Other Springform Pans We Tested

The springform pans highlighted above are our favorites, but we tested a few other pans that could be worthy of a spot in your kitchen. Although they fell short in a few of our tests, these pans are both affordable, dependable options. Here’s what we liked — and what we didn’t.

Cuisinart 9-Inch Springform Pan ($15 at Amazon)
Cuisinart’s springform pan is a classic, affordable model — it’s made from aluminized steel with a Whitford Xylan nonstick coating and a standard latch mechanism, and is also dishwasher-safe. We didn’t have any issues with leaking when baking cheesecake or spaghetti pie, though the rim around the base of the pan made it difficult to cut clean slices out of the pan. This pan is slightly smaller on the outside than the other models we tested, so it’s easy to store and fit on a sheet pan or roasting pan for water baths, but that meant our baked goods didn’t rise quite as high. 

HIWARE 9-Inch Nonstick Springform Pan ($17 at Amazon)
HIWARE’s springform pan was one of the most lightweight models we tested. While its compact size ensured it easily fit on a roasting pan, we worried it might not be able to stand up to heavier batters. Made from steel, it has a textured surface and nonstick coating with a standard latch mechanism. This pan does not have a pedestal-style base, and the lip that runs around its base sometimes makes serving difficult, and crumbs often found their way into the crevices of the base ring. As a bonus, though, this pan also comes with 50 sheets of pre-cut parchment rounds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a springform pan, and when do you use one?

A springform pan is a round baking pan that consists of two pieces: a flat base and a tall, detachable ring with a locking mechanism that secures into place, ideally forming a tight seam that prevents batter from leaking out of the pan. When it comes time to serve, the latch mechanism is unhooked and removed to release the sides of the pan from the bottom, making it easy to get baked goods out of the pan without inverting or lifting them out.

Springform pans are best known for baking cheesecakes, but Seneviratne recommends using one anytime you’re baking a cake that you don’t want to invert — think Instagram-worthy upside-down cake or tarte tatin. “A lot of times there are cakes that have pretty tops that you don’t want to disturb, so you can just remove the sides without flipping it over,” she says. “For me, it’s more for visuals, so that I don’t have to disturb the top by flipping it.”

In addition to cheesecake, Delk Adams and McKenney recommend using springform pans for ice cream cake, as the pan’s tall sides help the ice cream hold shape as it freezes, and the removable base makes it easy to slice into when ready to serve.

“I use one anytime I’m making a cheesecake or anything that is dense and/or delicate,” Delk Adams says. “I use my springform pan not only for cheesecakes, but for ice cream cakes, my flourless chocolate cake, and my pecan pie upside-down cake — basically anything that is dense and wouldn’t flip out with ease.” 

But don’t just limit springform pans to desserts. The pan’s tall, straight sides also make for a showstopping presentation when baking savory recipes, including savory pies such as Italian Easter pie, Spinach-and-Grape-Leaf Pie, or our dramatic Mushroom, Lentil, and Chestnut Mince Pie. Follow chef Thomas Keller’s lead and use a springform pan to bake an over-the-top deep-dish quiche, or pull yours out to make individual Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas.

How do you line a springform pan?

Unlike a regular cake pan, it’s often not necessary to line a springform pan when baking recipes like classic cheesecake.

“I don't often line a springform pan,” Seneviratne says. “For a cheesecake, the crust should release pretty easily. Because you can release the sides of a springform pan and run a knife under the bottom, lining it is not the most essential thing, like a cake pan.”

That said, Seneviratne notes that you should plan to line a springform pan when making something like a Basque cheesecake; since there’s no crust, the cake is more likely to stick to the pan. In this case, she recommends scrunching the parchment paper up in your hands to make it more malleable, then lining the pan in strips. 

Springform pans can be slightly more difficult to line given their tall sides. Delk Adams recommends doing so in two steps, starting with the base. 

“Take a sheet of parchment paper and fold it in half, then in half again so you have a small rectangle,” she says. “Then flip your pan over, place the point of your paper in the center of the pan’s base, and use a pencil to trace the edge of the pan. Cut on the curved line and unfold so you have a circle that fits inside the base. Then, you need a liner for the collar (or sides) of your pan. Take a sheet of parchment and cut a 10x3 inch strip (a long rectangle). Form it into a round and place it just on the inside of the collar of your springform pan.” 

Do you need a springform pan for cheesecake?

Most, if not all, cheesecake recipes will call for a springform pan, and Delk Adams, McKenney, and Seneviratne all recommend investing in one if you plan to bake the classic dessert. The pan’s tall, removable sides make it ideal for baking impressively tall cheesecakes that won’t spill in the oven or be damaged when it comes time to serve.

“Cheesecakes are big and tall,” McKenney says. “There’s a lot of batter, and they rise so much in the oven that you want to make sure you’re using a pan with straight, tall sides so they can rise straight up. To make cutting easier, you've got those sides that can easily be removed, so it's easy to just get them out of the equation and slice into it.”

Do you need to wrap a springform pan in foil so it doesn’t leak? 

Springform pans are notorious for leaking, and many recipes will recommend wrapping the pan in aluminum foil to prevent any spills in the oven. If you plan to bake a cheesecake in a water bath, a technique that helps ensure it cooks evenly, a layer of foil around the bottom and sides of the pan is always a good idea. 

“When I wrap my springform pan in foil, it’s because I’m baking my cheesecakes in a water bath and don’t want the water to seep into the cheesecake,” Delk Adams says.

Seneviratne, who says she only uses foil if she’s using a water bath, recommends investing in heavy-duty aluminum foil from your favorite kitchen supply store. “It’s heavy-duty, and the sheets are much longer,” she says. “Then you can wrap the whole bottom of the pan with one solid piece versus using two little pieces put together because that will create little ways that the water can sneak in.” 

Our Expertise

• Heather Riske is a St. Louis-based writer and editor with over a decade of experience in food and lifestyle content. For nearly eight years, she worked as an editor at Feast Magazine, a regional culinary publication covering the state of Missouri, southern Illinois, and eastern Kansas, where she was honored with a “Top Women in Media” award by Folio. She has dedicated much of her career to highlighting local chefs and restaurants and sharing helpful cooking knowledge for publications such as Better Homes & Gardens, Men’s Health, Feast Magazine, and St. Louis Magazine. For this piece, she tested six of the best springform pans in side-by-side testing.
• She also spoke with Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Recipes,  baker, cookbook author, and television host Samantha Seneviratne, and cookbook author and media personality Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes.