Baking a cake can be a lot of fun. Not only do you wind up with a delicious treat, but studies show that baking can reduce stress and anxiety levels.
However, your stress levels can skyrocket when you take the cake out of the oven and realize that it’s sticking to the pan. Sometimes, the cake is so sticky that you need to start from scratch and rebake it.
If you’re sick of your cake sticking to the pan, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to discover the top ways to make sure that cake doesn’t stick to the pan.
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Lay Out Parchment Paper
Laying out parchment paper is one of the best ways to ensure that your cake doesn’t stick to the pan. Parchment paper, also known as baking paper, is used in baking and other activities as a disposable, nonstick surface.
When you put a layer of parchment paper on your baking sheet, there’s no need to grease the pan. Not only is this super handy, but this also means you can save yourself a few unwanted calories from greasing the pan.
Plus, this makes the pan way easier to wash afterward, as you simply need to remove the sheet of parchment paper and proceed as normal. If you’re baking multiple cakes, you can even reuse the same sheet of parchment paper.
Many people are wary of buying parchment paper because they don’t like the idea of having to cut the sheet to fit the pan. The good news is, you can buy precut parchment paper from a place like Perfect Parchment that’s already pre-cut to the shape of a cake pan, saving you the time and headache of having to cut the parchment paper yourself.
In addition to using parchment paper for cakes, you can also use it for:
- Layering cookies and candies
- Making a piping cornet for icing
- Covering a work surface
- Cooking en papillote (encasing seasonings when cooking with chicken or fish)
- Funneling ingredients
As you can see, parchment paper has a lot of different uses. When baking with parchment paper, keep in mind that it usually shouldn’t be baked over 450 degrees. However, you should read the label to find the exact temperature limits.
Grease and Flour the Pan
If you don’t have any parchment paper handy, you can also grease and flour the pan to prevent it from sticking. To grease the pan, you can use melted shortening or non-stick vegetable oil spray.
Don’t use butter, as the milk solids in the butter act like glue and make the cake batter to stick to the pan. If you’re using an intricate pan such as a bundt cake pan, you can use a pastry brush to wipe the melted shortening into all of the pan’s nooks and crannies.
Make sure you grease the pan just before adding the batter. If you grease it too far ahead of time, the oil will slide down from the inside and pool into the center.
You can also sprinkle a bit of nut flour or granulated sugar into the pan after greasing it. While you might think sugar is a bad idea because it’s sticky, when it warms up, it becomes semi-liquid. This makes it so your sugar-coated cake can slide right out of the pan.
Use a Nonstick Pan
Using a nonstick pan is another way to ensure that your cake doesn’t stick to the pan. The surface of a nonstick pan is coated with a substance called polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as PTFE.
While most nonstick pans are coated with PTFE, some are also coated with ceramic. While both of these coatings work just fine, PTFE coatings tend to last a little longer.
Most nonstick pans are made from aluminum or stainless steel. Stainless steel pans tend to provide more even heating, but, they’re also heavier and more expensive. Aluminum pans, on the other hand, heat up quicker, but they don’t distribute heat as evenly.
Allow the Cake to Cool Properly
No matter which product you use to ensure the cake doesn’t stick to the pan, you also need to make sure you allow the cake to cool properly. If you don’t allow it to properly cool, you risk it getting stuck to the pan or breaking apart when you move it.
Most recipes tell you exactly how long you need to cool the cake for. While some recipes tell you to cool the cake for 30 minutes or more before doing anything, other recipes call for you to remove the cake from the pan immediately.
If you’re not supposed to remove the cake from the pan immediately, we recommend placing it on a cooling rack. A cooling rack allows air to flow around the pan and through the bottom of the pan where most of the sticking occurs.
If you don’t have a cooling rack or you’re in a bit of a rush to cool the cake, you can also place the cake in the refrigerator. Before placing the cake in the fridge, allow it to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes. This way, it’ll go from warm to cold instead of hot to cold.
Place the cake in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it. Once the cake is done cooling, you can use a knife to loosen it from the pan. You can also place a large plate over the cake pan and then flip it over to remove the cake.
Don’t Let Your Cake Stick to the Pan!
Now that you know what to do to ensure that your cake doesn’t stick to the pan, it’s time to put these tips to use during your next baking venture. With these tips, your cake will come out flawless (and hopefully tasty!).
Be sure to check back in with our blog for more baking tips and tricks.
