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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Hi dear, i am sorry i am from Mexico and i dont know what is shortening. its kinda like CRISCO? can you please tell me a brand or show me a picture of it.? thank you.
Yes Crisco is shortening. The solid Crisco in a can.
Yes same thing Crisco is shortening
Shortening is like “Manteca vegetal” in Mexico.
The one that is very similar to Crisco is Lirio and Crystal, I have used Liriot and it works perfectly!!
I was first introduced to “Pan Goop” as we called it about 7 years ago when I worked for a direct sales company called Cake ‘n Crumbs. We handed that recipe out to everyone. I love the stuff! It has a long shelf life and we’d tell people if it has fuzzies growing on it or smells bad, don’t use it. 🙂
Thank you Amanda, this is wonderful! I have a lot of friends that could use this as they are always baking. Do you know the shelf life of “GOOP”? What size of jars do you use I’m in Canada so please use metric.
I found this post on Facebook so I pinned it to Pinterest so I wouldn’t lose it. 🙂
I’m in Canada too. 250 ml is = to 1 cup
Hi ladies – was just curious, have any of you used goop for any other sort of cooking? I spray my pans (as well as crock pots) when I put them in the oven with say a casserole or something and I’m wondering if goop would work for that as wel or is this strictly for cakes and such?
I’ve used this for years & yes any baking you don’t want to stick so crockpot should work too!
Not sure if you found out the source of this yet or not… I was watching some YouTube videos from Monkeysee.com and a lady named Sandy Sheppard, Lorton’s Master cake decorator (How to prepare your cake pan for baking is the name of the segment), she said it was her recipe. So, she could be the original source for this.
Got my recipe for goop from yummy arts.com love that site
Wonderful, thank you! I need to make a dark chocolate cake that will be unfrosted – one of those Williams Sonoma Oreo cookie cakes. Will this mixture show on the baked cake’s face?
I’ve been using this since the 70’s & learned it for a Wilton decorating teacher! Make chocolate Pan Free or also called Cake Release by substituting cocoa powder for the flour.
I was worried about the same thing, but I just tried this and it didn’t leave any marks on my chocolate cake at all. (I used the recipe as shown here–with flour, not cocoa.) My only suggestion is, I wouldn’t call my using of it as ‘generous’ but rather ‘sparingly’ and it worked just great. I used a paper towel to spread it, not a pastry brush, for what it’s worth, and left a rather thin coating on the pans.
I found the same formula in 2005, baking911.com, as Professional Baker’s Grease. For chocolate baked goods, substitute about 2/3 of the flour with unsweetened baking chocolate (I prefer Dutch-processed). Baking chocolate tends to clump so I always sift it with the flour (I use a 7-inch diameter wire strainer) before adding cooking oil and solid shortening. My own preferences are canola oil and butter-flavored Crisco. I also use it for rich yeast breads, especially if cheese is one of the ingredients.
Daamn, I mad mine 3-4 weeks ago, and it got mold! Maybe was it because I often dipped my finger in it while applying it to pans? 🙁
I need to make me some of this. Question though, could you substitute the veggie oils for coconut oil?