4 Ways To Grease A Cake Pan

The sweetest gift you can give to your loved ones is baking them a cake. However, the cake sticking onto the pan is one of the common problems you may encounter as you bake. Therefore, make sure you know how to grease a cake pan for a quick release.

Why do you need to grease your cake pan?

In the world of pastry and baking, greasing is essential. It is a process you should never forget after mixing all the necessary ingredients needed for your cake recipe.

Regardless of what type of cake pan you use, whether it’s a round, square, or loaf pan, it still needs to be greased. Greasing your cake pan helps prevent the baked goods from sticking onto the bottom and sides of the baking pan.

The greasing process makes the life of a baker easier when we talk about getting the cake or baked goods out of the baking pan.

You can try to come up with your own greasing method, but there are long-time greasing methods that are recommended which you may want to consider testing and find out which is more feasible and simpler for you.

The greasing method varies depending on the recipe you are following.

Greasing is important in baking but what if you do not have an available cake pan? Learn how to make your own cake pan:

What is a cake release?

A cake release, commonly known as a pan release, is often a mixture of three baking ingredients: flour, oil, and a shortening. These ingredients are blended well in order to make grease for a hassle-free cake release.

4 Different Methods to grease a cake pan

Every pastry chef and self-taught baker has their own way of greasing a cake pan. It all varies according to which method they find easier to do or are more comfortable doing so.

Depending on the recipe you are about to bake, you can try all the different methods to grease a cake pan. Or, if you are a beginner to the baking world, at least try all the various techniques and find which way is perfect for you.

Below are the different methods on how to grease a cake pan that you need to learn to have that hassle-free and stress-free cake release:

Grease a cake pan using the Butter and Flour Method

Butter and flour are two of the common ingredients in baking. These two are almost always inseparable when we talk about baking. Thus, you will not have a challenging time making grease with the butter and flour method.

This method is one of the oldest ways to grease a cake pan. Therefore, it is considered to be traditional yet still practical. You may opt not to use a pastry brush, but of course, good baking habits and proper hygiene should be a priority, especially if you bake pastry goods for a living. Ensure that you avoid bad baking habits and practice the good ones instead.

The steps in doing the butter and flour method are so easy that even a kindergartener can do it:

1. Wipe an ample amount of butter all over the surface of the cake pan. This includes both the sides and the bottom of the cake pan.
2. Get at least a pinch of flour and sprinkle it onto the cake pan. Consider shaking the cake pan to spread the sprinkled flour evenly.
3. After shaking the cake pan and you no longer see any gaps or uncovered butter, take out all the excess flour from the pan.
4. After clearing out the excess flour, you are now ready to place the cake mixture.

Moreover, you may choose kitchen paper instead if there is no available pastry brush in your household. The results are similar as they help you spread out the butter onto the surface fairly.

If you are a visual learner, you may watch the tutorial below on how to grease a cake pan with flour and butter:

Grease a cake pan using the Butter and Sugar Method

The butter and sugar method steps are the same as the butter and flour method. The only difference is that you scatter a significant amount of sugar on the butter instead of flour.

However, make sure to double-check the recipe you are following if this is the best option for you to grease your cake pan. Sugarcoating tends to make the crust of your cake a little bit crunchy. Thus, this method is not recommended whenever you try to make a layered cake.

Grease a cake pan using the Vegetable and Shortening Oil and Flour Method

Another method to grease a cake pan is to use vegetable oil or shortening oil. Vegetable oils are often made out of either soybean oil or palm oil, and they are believed to be stable even at room temperatures. Vegetable oils also have a natural neutral flavor.

If you wish to use a vegetable or a shortening oil as your cake pan greaser, make sure that you apply the grease on the surface of the cake pan, considering the bottom and all sides. Make use of kitchen paper to spread it out evenly.

Lastly, spread ample flour onto the cake pan until you no longer see uncovered areas. Shake the pan off to get rid of the excess flour.

However, always remember that this method is not suitable for all cakes. Thus, always ensure to double-check the recipe.

Grease a cake pan using the Oil Spray Method

The modern way to grease a cake pan is by doing the oil spray method. One of the reasons it is also recommended is that it makes the work done quickly. It does not matter, even if you are new in the world of baking. The oil spray method is easy that even a seven-year-old kid can effortlessly ace.

The first invention of the oil spray used in baking still needs to be sprinkled with flour. But lately, more varieties of oil spray have been invented. These oil sprays are available at a local grocery store near you, so you do not need to worry if you run out of them.

Some oil sprays have an upgraded type of oil made out of coconut, avocado, olive, and canola which you can use depending on what kind of cake you will bake and what type of cake pan you will use.

Moreover, some oil sprays already contain flour, thus giving them non-stick properties.

Just have it sprayed all over the surface of the cake pan. You do not even need to worry if there are uncovered spots. But, rest assured that by doing the oil spray method, you are greasing the entire surface of the pan evenly.

In case you do not have time to go to a local grocery store near you, you can make your own non-stick cooking spray instead by watching the tutorial below:

Do-it-yourself Pan Grease

Apart from the readily available oil spray pan grease found in most pastry stores and grocery stores, you can also opt to make your own using common kitchen ingredients.

To make a homemade cake release, you only need three common ingredients and a few baking tools to blend these ingredients well. These ingredients include flour, a shortening, and vegetable oil.

The quantity varies depending on the number of cakes you will bake, but all of these ingredients should be in a ratio of equal proportion to create a perfect mixture.

Follow the steps below as your simple guide for a do-it-yourself pan grease:

1. Gather all the ingredients and baking utensils needed and place them near you for faster preparation.
2. Prepare a mixing bowl and a whisk, then place all measured ingredients into the bowl and mix them well.
3. Typically, it will look a little rough as you start mixing at first. Hence, continue mixing until you come up with a paste or a fluffy mixture. You can combine these ingredients by hand using a whisk, or you may opt to use an electric stand mixer for faster preparation.
4. Once you have achieved a fluffy texture, you are good to go. You are now ready to grease your cake pan with the help of a pastry brush.

Release the cake off the pan using the Parchment or Baking Paper Method

Another way to release a cake off the pan is lining a parchment or baking paper on your baking pan. This is a silicone-coated type of paper with non-sticking properties that come in either a sheet or a roll.

Parchment paper is often used for baking and is one of the easiest ways to grease a cake pan. Thus, making it easier to release a cake for pastry chefs and novices.

1. Prepare parchment paper or baking paper. You can either use the rolled version or have it custom cut according to the shape and size of your cake pan. Or you can opt to use the pre-cut parchment paper instead.
2. Though sometimes, lining a cake pan with parchment paper is enough already, but there are a few recipes that will require you to add grease onto the parchment paper.

Summary

Now that you know how to grease a cake pan, you can expect that releasing the cake from the pan will not give you a headache. Though, it does not necessarily mean that the cake you will be giving to your special loved ones has to be perfect. Effort alone makes it more special.