A spring-form cake tin is a round cake tin with a flexible side wall that can be tightened around or released from its circular base by a latch mechanism, making it easy to free the baked cake. The cook lines the base, bakes, unlatches the band, and lifts it away, leaving the cake standing cleanly with no wrestling or inversion. It is the essential tin for cheesecakes, tortes, and delicate sponge cakes that would break if turned out. The seal between base and band must be good or batter leaks, so many cooks wrap the outside in foil for water baths. A well-made spring-form tin lasts for years and earns its place in every serious baker’s cupboard.