I think it is made of some sort of high temp silicone or something like that, but I have seen some cupcake pans that were pliable. Basically, you just pop the cupcake out. Has anyone used these? They look like they would be very helpful.

I have not used these, but I have seen them at places like Crate & Barrel and was intrigued.

I'll be interested to see if anyone has good experiences with them.

I also wonder if they're harder to clean.

I just purchased a couple fancy cake molds - but I haven't used them yet. They make it look real simple on TV - I'll let you know!

Aren't they like really expensive?

I didn't think so - I really liked the designs and I figured I would get a lot of use out of them. I'll find out when I try to remove my first cake from the mold! Then I may change my mind and say they were too expensive and a waste of time money and energy!
:p