Quite a few months ago I had a post on my facebook page about running out of Bakers Spray. Lots of smart and seasoned bakers chimed in, and almost half of them suggested this weird thing called GOOP or Homemade Pan Release. I use this on all my bundt cakes, such as my award-winning Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Chocolate Pound Cake.
What is Homemade Pan Release?
Or GOOP as grandmas call it. It’s cheap. It’s easy. It works. The recipe is beyond simple. Take equal parts of flour, vegetable oil, and shortening. (Full detailed recipe in the recipe card below.)
Blend them together. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 9 months.
How to Use Homemade Pan Release
To use your ‘goop’, simply grab a pastry brush and spread a generous amount around your cake pan. I re-loaded my brush about 3-4 times for one 8 in cake pan. One thing that I am conscious of is the sides, I do not go all the way up the sides. Try to only put the goop up as high as the batter would be. (about an inch)
If I use it all the way up the sides it tends to coat the cake around the edges as it bakes. Not a problem per say, just a preference on my part. 🙂
Tips for Using Homemade Pan Release
- I whisk my ingredients by hand, but you can certainly use a mixer. If you use a mixer the ingredients will still be creamy but will be slightly fluffier right away.
- I do not allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the pan, I try to remove them from the oven and then invert them to a cooling rack. In my experience, when the cakes were allowed to completely cool to room temperature in the pan they did not release as well.
- Be generous with the goop.
- Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When I left mine on the counter for an extended period of time it seemed to separate faster. If you find the mixture separated at all, simply re-mix.
- You can easily halve (1/2) or even quarter (1/4) this recipe. I used the above recipe for about 5 months.
I have used this with success on all types of cake batter, thick and thin. However, some people suggest using more ‘goop’ with chocolate cakes and runny batter.
Can I Make This Gluten-Free? Or Use Other Oils?
I haven’t tested those, but lots of folks in the comments have. Folks have said that YES!, it will work with gluten-free flour.
LYNNETTE S. says: “I love love love this! We have a home with celiac disease and I used gluten free flour with xanthan gum, butter flavored Crisco and sesame seed oil. I’ve found nirvana! I’ll try it with different GF flour with different binders, but the sesame seed oil and butter flavored Crisco sealed the deal for me.”
Homemade Pan Release {Baking Spray}
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (205 g) shortening
- 1 cup (218 g) oil
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in medium bowl and whisk well by hand. The mixture will be smooth and creamy.
- Place in a sealable jar or container.
- This pan release can be stored at room temperature for 3 months, or in the fridge for 6 months.
To Use
- Dip a pastry brush into the mixture and generously spread over the bottom and sides of the cake pan.
Did you make this recipe?
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We do not have crisco in Germany what do I use instead?
A semi-hard shortening of some sort. What is sold in Germany that meets that criteria?
Lard
Do you have rendered lard?
Lard is rendered pig fat. 🙂
To Martha and Suse: I don’t know about Germany, but in France we have a vegetable shortening that is sold in the refrigerated section close to the pie doughs and, believe it or not, the lardons, sliced salami, and such. Ask at your supermarket.
What is shortening in U.K.
Lard the same stuff for pastry
Biskin! I use it for all recipes for lard or shortening and it works perfectly!
Palmin
Palm oil or coconut oil
Would it work for Baked cheesecakes?
OMG!! Used this over the weekend. I’m in love!!!
Hi i’ve tried ur Ding Dong Cake, its taste super good. Thank you very much for the rcp
It has been successful for everything but my Nordic Ware bundt. Any suggestions?
Hi June. I ran a small town bakery for a few years, and I think there could be a few problems there. Nordic Ware pans are wonderful, but they’re also treated in a way that is supposed to make them cook more evenly and release more easily. Whats more, bundt pans are notorious for their nooks and crannies, but also for their sloping sides. This incarnation of a pan grease recipe “goop” is quite watery/oily,, so as the pan heats up, the mixture can run leaving areas exposed, especially for a bundt pan which has more of a heating area and coverage area because of the middle.
You might try a number of things- if you are set on using “goop”, you might try further flouring the pan in an attempt to keep the grease stuck to that area of the pan. Another tasty alternative to flour can be something like graham cracker crumb, and you you can even create your own flavored crumb mixtures! You definitely want to make sure all those nooks and crannies are a thickly coated.
If you don’t mind trying another pan grease recipe and have a kitchen scale for accuracy, you might try this:
1lb Shortening
1lb Flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
(You can half the ingredients if you want, it makes quite a lot, but it doesn’t have to be refrigerated)
You mix the shortening and flour well, scrape your bowl, and then cream the dickens out of them until it’s a light, fluffy mixture. Scrape, add your oil, and cream again.
The weight ratio and lower oil content but higher air content because of the creaming helps the mixture stick to the pans even at high heats, and it’s great for just about anything, from cakes, to crumb coats for cheesecakes. Works well with or without parchment, and in bundts. I’ve not used it in Nordic Ware because I have a USA Aluminum set of pans that are treated and textured to aid in release, but I’ve used it in a number of different kinds of pans. If all else fails, one thing you can try is to chill the cake in the freezer for an hour (after it’s already cooled in the pan, and you’ve covered the top so as to keep it from drying out) and then stick it in the oven at 350 for a minute before flipping it over and tapping on the backside. It’s possible to melt the grease without heating up the pan or cake significantly, causing the cake to easily release. You just have to be careful with that method, because some pans don’t take kindly to being heated from a cold state, even if it’s for a very short period of time like 45 seconds to a minute and a half. Nordic Ware should be okay, their pans are top notch, but if you choose to try that, you definitely have to keep an eye on it. Hope that helps!
My goodness, Jon…thank you for taking such time to inform us. Bless you and your kind, generous spirit for sharing your knowledge.
I got rid of my Nordic Ware pan years ago because it was just too small for a cake mix, and I got SO tired of it sticking all of the time. My larger very lightweight aluminum Mirro bundt pan works great. It doesn’t have a non-stick coating, but hardly ever sticks if I’ve greased it well. I’ve found that a good thick coat of shortening followed by a coating of sugar, not flour, is ideal for cakes. They won’t need frosting with the light sugary crunch on the outside. They usually release better than a floured pan, and look a lot nicer than with the floury goop stuck to their pretty sides. You can mix some unsweetened cocoa with the sugar if the cake is a chocolate one
Any suggestions for gluten free baking??
I have my husband’s 95 yr old grandmother’s lemon pound cake recipe. She used a two piece angel food cake pan. She had a pattern that she used and cut pieces from brown grocery bags. She would coat the pieces with crisco lard and line the pan with the bags, then pour her batter in. I don’t know how but nothing sticks and it’s perfectly brown every time. I love how I’m able to carry on her tradition of baking her pound cakes.
Thanks a million I have this to be very useful…
.
Dear Amanda,
You are a wonderful baker thank you for all your perfect tips and advices
I have a question about the(goop) if I don’t have shortening is it possible to use butter or oil instead
Many thanks
Nadia
Is there any reason why this GOOP is better than simply buttering and flouring your cake pans as usual? Old traditional method works in all types of cookware and is quick as well. I have never used cooking spray for baking as I find it sometimes doesn’t release. Not sure I understand the advantages of GOOP, especially if it can leave an oily residue on cakes if too high up a pan for one thing!
Am I missing something?
Thanks.
Yes, it works better than buttering and flouring.