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, youāre 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. Iāve been there, and it is sooo frustrating.
But itās been a long time since I shed tears over crumbled cake, and Iām 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.
Honestly, I have tried all these methods (and more) and I even use brand new, non-stick cake pans. They still stick like crazy! And the cake often has to be removed from the pan with a knife.
Now I’m wondering if it has to do with the type of cake that I make, what kind of ingredients are in it and how much, and the oven that I am using.
I’m sorry to hear you’re having so much trouble! You still have issues when you line the bottoms of the pan with parchment paper? When combined with butter + flour or non-stick baking spray, that’s the definite, end-all way to get cakes to come clean out of the pan. And I do not use non-stick pans.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to baking puzzle-pieces-free CAKES!
haha!
Grew up watching Mom use wax paper instead of parchment paper and works great! Has work for decades – she is 95!
I have read your replays, but I,m looking for a answer to why my 7-up cake sticks to the side of the pan. I use spray, butter and flour
on my tube pan. it still sticks. help!!!!!!!!!!!.
Yes, this is the problem that I have. The sides of the cake usually stay in the pan. I thought maybe I didn’t let it cool long enough. But I’m looking forward to using these tips to see which may work best for me. The Homemade Baking Release sounds amazing. Thanks for your “Helpful” comments.
Hi Cheryl! Sounds like maybe you should try greasing the pan more or differently? The sides of the cake should pull away from the pan when it’s fully baked, not stick to the pan. Let me know if I can help troubleshoot some more!
From my personal experience, I have found that different recipes tend to stick while others don’t. My homemade cakes tend to always stick even with the butter/flour method. When I make boxed cakes, I have zero problems. Weird but true.
It is odd how that happens. Which is why I also always line my pans with parchment paper just to be sure.
Same here. No problem with boxed mix cake sticking to pans. Homemade cakes always stick.
I have never used parchment paper either. It’s totally unnecessary.
Good for you.
“Look at me, everything works fine for me so any new method is obviously a waste of time. If it works perfect for me, obviously it will work the same for everyone else and anyone who doesn’t is an idiot!”
Gotta love the mentality of the old. *rolls eyes*
Keep your negative comments to yourself grandma. You’re the type of person that ruins things for people who are just trying to be happy.
And baking IS a science. Might not be rocket science, but it is a science. Be more helpful and not put others down. Our world is bad enough without people like you.
This is news? I’m 62 years old and have been baking cakes FOREVER. I’ve ALWAYS used the butter/flour method and have never had a problem with cakes sticking! My GRANDMOTHER taught me this over 50 years ago. It worked then and it still works together.
Come on people, baking a cake is NOT rocket science. My 16 year old granddaughter regularly bakes cakes and she’s never had a problem. Special baking/cooking spray? Get out of here!!!!!
Why are you people making a mountain out of a molehill?
I meant still works “TODAY”.
I did grease my pan with butter and flour, but it still sticks to the pan.. can you please tell me what else could be wrong?
Have you lined the bottoms with parchment?
I’m happy to hear this trick isn’t news to you! Unfortunately, not all of us have grandmothers who teach us this kind of stuff, so we look to friends and the internet to help us out. Lots of people have problems making cakes (I hear about it all the time), I’m just trying to help out.
Great response. I’m on here looking for tips because my Grandmother taught me how to make pie and amazing cookies, not cake. My cakes always stick so I went to the Internet searching for help. Thank you for taking your time to help those of us amateur cake bakers in need :). I’ll be trying your tips today. Wish me luck and Happy Easter!
Why leave such a Rude comment? Not all of us are baking “experts” like You. And parchment Is a great way to prevent disasters, too. Grow up, Miss Attitude!
Wow! Not everyone was taught by relatives. Be nice
Thanks for the tip. Don’t know if humidity has anything to do with sticking. I’ve used the grease, parchment paper and flour in preparing pans.
I wish I could HUG you! This worked perfectly! I am an old fashioned cook and have never even used parchment paper – I’m a fan now. My cake came out perfectly. Thank you!
So happy to hear this tip was so helpful! Discovering parchment paper is such a life saver!
Another way to prevent your cake from sticking is to make a small batch of homemade pan release. I use it all the time and it is amazing!! Here’s the recipe:
Mix together equal parts of shortening,vegetable oil and regular flour. After mixing well,simply “paint” the sides and bottom of your pan – I use a silicone pastry brush-with a light to moderate coat of the pan release and no more sticking – yay! I keep my leftover mix in a lidded container in the refrigerator.
Thanks for such a great blog and so many wonderful recipes. š
I have heard of homemade baking releases but have yet to give them a try myself, which is why it’s not included in this post. But thank you so much for sharing! I’m sure many of my other readers will find it helpful! š
Hi Sandra!
I just want to say that I was in a bind this morning as i did not have parchment paper and i needed to bake a cake for one of the youth i work with today for her birthday and i tried your homemade pan release and it worked beautifully!! Thank you
Yay! I’m so happy that worked out for you! I’ll have to try Sandra’s method too. š
Your baking tips are always spot-on and so helpful. I’ve been prepping my baking pans like this for several years now and it’s seriously the only way to get the cake out successfully without having a kitchen meltdown.
Thanks for the comment Flavia! Same here. And every time I hear of someone’s cake-sticking-baking-meltdown I want to scream at them “there’s a better way!” Once you know it, you never go back. š
always love you tips!
I used your butter & flour trick back at Easter when I made a layered Easter cake. It worked beautifully & I will definitely be using it again!!
Yay! So happy to hear to that, thanks for the comment!
Love these tips! A failed cake pan removal is always a disaster after putting in the time.
I Am not exactly. Sure what I am doing wrong…but I always use oil and rub it all over the pan ,then sprinkle flour and still it sticks what am I Doing
Wrong..its very frustrating
Have you tried lining the pans with parchment paper? That’s the #1 thing I would recommend! š
I want to marry you for this. I am always SO afraid when my cake comes out of the oven, and I have to take it out – it causes a mini anxiety attack for reals.
You just saved my life. Pinning!
Ha! Oh, Taylor you make me laugh. So happy I could help out! š
All excellent tips! Thank you for sharing!