Your baking pan may say “nonstick,” but don’t believe it. When it comes to bundt pans, intricate cake pans, and cookie molds with nooks and crannies, even nonstick coatings need a little help. And cooking oil sprays won’t do it. Use our easy and cheap homemade Cake Goop and your lovely cake will slide easily out of the pan, keeping a showstopper from turning into a heartbreaker.
Recipephany’s Cake Release Technology Consultant, Leah Greenwald, recommends Baker’s Joy spray to keep bundt cakes beautifully whole when turned out of the pan. But wouldn’t you know, our Stop and Shop stopped carrying it. Apparently, their target market no longer includes joyful bakers.
Fortunately, baking friend Kathy Hough introduced us to Cake Goop, a brush-on paste she mixes up and keeps in a plastic container for greasing mini-muffin tins or unusual cake pans. So we tried it with Dick’s Brilliant Blueberry Bundt Coffee Cake and it worked like magic.
Cake Goop contains just three ingredients in equal proportions by volume: vegetable oil, all-purpose flour, and vegetable shortening. You can whip up as little or as much as you need. Have a container on hand in your pantry or store it in the fridge.
So paint some Cake Goop into those little crevices for easy cake release. But (as Kathy suggests) don’t stop lining your regular pans with parchment paper. You want to make sure your cakes come out the best they can—to keep your baking life as joyful as possible.
Cake Goop
Adjust quantities to suit your baking needs
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- ½ cup all-purpose flour
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- ½ cup vegetable shortening
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- ½ cup vegetable oil
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- Mix all ingredients until smooth. Brush an even coat onto all interior pan surfaces. Optional: for chocolate cakes, dust greased pan with cocoa powder.
- Store Cake Goop in a covered container at room temperature for about 3 months or refrigerate for about 6 months. If oil separates, stir before use.
