Copper cake and similar molds??

I just came back from the thrift store, where they had a few dozen smallish, copper pans. Rather like the mini-bundt pans, but far more ornate. They've been there a while, and seem to not be selling.

What are they? What are they safe to use with? Any ideas?

Pcat

on how heavy they are to hold up for baking, but you could use them for cold item molds: Jello, terrine, etc. perhaps you could use them in a water bath for cheese cakes etc.

I found a copper mold a while back, but it is tinned copper and is quite heavy.

if just plain old copper, they're probably just decorative. (If decorative, they're probably also quite thin) If they're tinned inside (and seem somewhat heavy) they may well be aspic molds. If so, they're useful if you're into that sort of thing. They could work for jello ... maybe even some tarts or baked goods that you would bake in a mold and then turn out onto a plate for serving.

Copper in high concentrations is toxic. A little is harmless. Raw copper is used for things with sugar or eggs in them. The copper ions bond (or don't bond ... I can't remember my chemistry right now) and allow the sugar to form a caramel properly and they allow egg whites to rise more fully and more quickly. Zabaglione (that Italian dessert that uses nearly raw eggs) is classically made in unlined copper. So its not a worry, but most molds would have been lined with tin. Unlined is usually a sign they're not intended to be used.

Could I use those in the oven?

We don't each much, seeing that there are only two of us, but baking in the little tins would be a good way to bake one cake and put away the other in the freezer, and not have them both go stale before we could eat them (the current problem.)

Thanks!

at 450 degrees!

Also, getting a baked cake out of a fussy shaped mold may be more trouble than its worth.