How to Keep Cake from Sticking to the Pan
No more crumbly cakes! I’ll show you how to keep cake from sticking to the pan so your cakes come out easily every single time.
There are few baking disasters worse than a cake that sticks to the pan. You put in the time and effort, you’re excited as you pull it from the oven, but when you go to remove it from the pan it sticks and comes out in pieces. I’ve been there, and it is sooo frustrating.
But it’s been a long time since I shed tears over crumbled cake, and I’m here to pass my knowledge on to you! Here’s how to make sure your cakes come out clean and in one piece every time.
Table of Contents
- How to keep cake from sticking to the pan
- Always line cake pans with parchment paper
- Two ways to grease and flour cake pans
- Tips for removing cakes from the pan
- What about bundt cakes?
- More cake help
How to keep cake from sticking to the pan
These 2 steps are an absolute MUST to guarantee your cakes won’t stick (skip one or both and you’re just asking for trouble):
- Always line cake pans with parchment paper
- Grease well with butter and flour OR non-stick baking spray
Let’s break down these musts a bit more, shall we?
Always line cake pans with parchment paper
Once you find the magic of parchment paper, all of your bakes go so much more smoothly! Lining your cake pans with parchment ensures that the bottom of the cake cannot stick to the pan, and that it will all come out in one piece. I never bake a cake without parchment paper!
Tip: You can buy parchment rounds that will fit inside your pan, or you can trace around the outside of your pan onto a sheet of parchment paper with a pencil and cut it out. As you line your pan, place them pencil side-down.
Two ways to grease and flour cake pans
You need grease and flour to form a barrier between the pan and your cake. Grease alone won’t cut it! Here are 2 suggestions:
- Grease pan with butter and flour (works also with margarine or shortening). Rub soft butter over the entire surface of the pan with leftover butter paper liners or a paper towel. Sprinkle the pan with a bit of flour and shake and rotate the pan until it’s completely dusted. Then dump out the excess.
- Use a non-stick baking spray that includes flour. Look for brands like Baker’s Joy (sold in all grocery stores) or White Cap (sold at specialty stores or online and lasts forever).
I used butter+ flour in all of my cake pans for years and it worked beautifully. Then I discovered that nonstick baking spray works just as well and is even easier!
Tips for removing cakes from the pan
- Let baked cakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes to let the structure finish setting up.
- If any of the edges of the cake appear stuck, run a knife around the cake to loosen.
- Flip it carefully out of the pan. I usually flip the cake out onto my hand and then quickly flip it back down onto a wire rack so that it cools parchment side-down, but that’s just my preference.
What about bundt cakes?
My biggest piece of advice is to start with a bundt pan you trust, you can even use a quality nonstick bundt pan! Then make sure you grease and flour the bundt pan just as instructed above, greasing every nook and cranny all the way to the top.
After it’s baked and you’ve let it cool for a few minutes, give the pan and gentle shake up and down and see that it bounces lightly inside the pan. That way you know it’ll come out clean when you flip it out of the pan.
More cake help
- My Favorite Cake Tools
- How to Bake Flat Cake Layers
- How to Store and Freeze Cake Layers
- How to Build a Layer Cake
- How to Frost a Cake
This post was originally published June 2014.
I’m thinking of trying your strawberries and cream 3 layered cake for a homemade wedding cake. It looks beautiful and delicious. Any tips you have on storing it for a day or when to bake it before the wedding or anything rose would be so helpful. Our wedding is in 4 weeks and I’m a nervous wreck.
Thanks,
Celisa
Have you seen my post how to build a layer cake? This article has pretty much everything you need to know about baking and assembling layer cakes, including how to to store layer cakes. It is possible to bake layer cakes ahead of time and freeze or refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the cake. I highly recommend baking and freezing several weeks ahead of time! I’d also recommend practicing the cake recipe just to make sure you like the recipe and know how to execute it successfully. Don’t let your wedding cake be the first time you make a the cake. Good luck and congratulations! 🙂
If you have a very delicate cake can you leave it in the cake pan over night in the refrigerate to be easier to handle?
You can leave it in the pan if you want, but I’d make sure it’s loose in the pan and not at all sticking, or chilling it that way will only make the sticking worse. You definitely need to be more careful with delicate cakes, and chilling them in the fridge before assembling a layer cake will help a lot.
Thanks for your tips! Appreciate it very much!
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW IDEAS TO HELP ME MAKE THINGS EASIER. I HAD TO LEARN EVERYTHING MYSELF AND WILL TAKE ALL THE HELPI CAN GET. IF DONT KNOW I LOOK ON GOOGLE FOR HELP FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS AN WILLING TO HELP OTHERS .THANK YOU.
Your method is really effective, it helped me to make beautiful and delicious cakes. Thank you very much
Your method is really effective, it helped me to make beautiful and delicious cakes. Thank you for sharing
I have a christmas tree cake pan with all kinds of designs in it it is so hard to get every little detail buttered and floured any tips
Maybe don’t use that pan? I’m sorry, but pans with lots of nooks and crannies will be harder to use!
Thanks for sharing a nice post. From: https://www.yourkitchenist.com
Thank you for your info on how to keep cake from sticking to pan I recently started making pound cake can you offer a really good recipe
Outstanding recipe and one of my all time favorites!
But what about sponge cakes. I don’t have any problems cleaning up pans from other cakes, but I didn’t think you were supposed to grease a sponge cake pan. Doesn’t it need to stick to the sides in order to stay up?
I know this may sound like a silly question, but at what point do you remove the parchment paper from the done cake? Do I wait until it has cooled completely or while it’s still warm?
Thank you.
I wait until assembly. So I’ll cool and chill, and even freeze with the paper on, then peel it off as I stack the cake.
I make a certain chocolate cake that I’ve been making for years! Its very moist- but sometimes I wonder if its too moist? Its cooked all the way though.
I have been using the shortening and flour technique for quite a while, but my cake still sticks and falls to peices!! I’m looking forward to trying your parchemnt paper trick and finally having a great cake!!! 😀
I bake for my family, so they dont mind a mess- as long as its good- but I want it to be my best 🙂
Definitely try parchment paper rounds on the bottom – I bet that fixes it!