Having discovered HexClad's brilliant range of pans (and knives) last year, our kitchen appliances and cookware editor Molly is a total convert to the brand's hybrid cooking surface that is both non-stick and safe to use with metal utensils.

So when we heard that HexClad was launching a range of new bakeware with the same finish, I put my hand up (well... more like thrust it up repeatedly and excitedly) to test it out.

Available now, the new HexClad hybrid bakeware collection has been four years in the making, each piece boasting a PFAS-free TerraBond ceramic nonstick coating that withstands oven temperatures up to a whopping 480°C.

It comes in a six-piece set, featuring two round cake tins (Dia. 23cm), a rectangular tray bake pan measuring 23 x L33cm, a square cake pan (W20 x L20cm), a medium baking sheet (W25 x L38cm) and a stainless-steel cooling rack that nestles neatly in the baking sheet.

HexClad Cookware UK Hybrid Bakeware Set, 6-Pc

This six-piece set features two round pans, a rectangular traybake tin, a square tin and a two-piece baking tray and cooking rack. All are dishwasher-safe and come with a lifetime warranty.

On first impression, the edges and corners of each piece are smooth and sleek. If you own cake tins with crusty baked-in batter that has crept into the thin edges (which is nigh on impossible to remove), you'll totally love this bakeware set.

The round tins don't have a springform design that would potentially harbour baked-in cake. The non-stick coating on all of them is designed to allow baked goods to pop out without any resistance.

(Image credit: Future / Ginevra Benedetti)

I made a couple of cakes to put the pans through their paces. As our expert reviewer and home economist Helen found in her HexClad 7-piece cookware set review, I, too, loved using the HexClad range.

As Helen says, 'the design really is very clever, and all foods glide across the surface of these pans.' Helen was wowed by the cookware, giving it top marks, and I would be tempted to do the same with the new bakeware collection.

(Image credit: Future / Ginevra Benedetti)

Like the cookware range, each piece of bakeware needs to be seasoned before using it. This is neither difficult nor time-consuming. A quick slick of oil and pop them in the oven for a few minutes, and you're done.

While the bakeware features a non-stick coating, HexClad does recommend that you either butter or oil the surface first before adding the cake mix, or line it with greaseproof paper. In the name of testing, I did both, but I only used strips of paper to see if the areas that weren't lined released the baked cakes as easily as those that were.

(Image credit: Future / Ginevra Benedetti)

I baked a classic school cake in the rectangular pan and an apple cake in the round pan. On both tests, they passed with flying colours. When fully baked, both cakes lifted out without any resistance whatsoever. The entire range is dishwasher safe, too, and if you can't wait to take the cake out of the pan before cutting into it with a knife, you can do so without damaging the coating, as with all HexClad cookware.

Throughout its four-year development, the new bakeware collection was rigorously tested by the brand's product and engineering teams, as well as a host of well-known chefs and restaurateurs including Gordon Ramsay, Massimo Bottura and Clare Smyth. And each piece comes with a lifetime warranty.

The apple cake before and after some oven time...Future / Ginevra BenedettiFuture / Ginevra Benedetti

The obvious caveat is that it's not cheap - the six-piece set will set you back £299. While that may not be what an occasional baker might be keen to shell out for, if you're a regular baker, you might be tempted to stump up the extra for a quality kit like this. Alternatively, they'd make a very generous Christmas gift or excellent wedding present to a close loved one.

On the whole, it's pretty exciting that HexClad has branched out into bakeware, despite the long time it's taken the company to develop it. But hopefully this means that HexClad will have more launches in the pipeline soon that we can share with you...