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?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Fantástico.
Has anyone tried using coconut oil instead of the shortening? Thank you. I am looking forward to trying this.
Hi po.. Question.. How long can i stock the goop? And is it applicable using it to cookie sheet. For cookies? Insted of using wax paper?
Hi! I have not used it for cookies and I don’t think it would be as effective. I have stored mine for about three months successfully.
Hi, I just brush my pans with crisco then sprinkle the pan with flour just enough for the shortening to absorb it then tap the pan gently to remove excess flour. It releases the cake without any hitch.
Hope this helps 🙂
We don’t have shortening here in Finland. What can you use instead? Butter?
LOVE this!!!! I absolutely hate the way sprays smell, so I will be trying this out for sure!
I love this…
I also love that you did not take credit for this, but tried to give credit to who created this.
My grandmother had a goop type solution she put on her pans. I never knew what it was, but I am guessing it was something similar to this…
I am wondering if perhaps the inventor of this awesome goop is someone who came over the Atlantic to America and brought the recipe with her. Many wonderful things were lost after the Love Revolution took place and America became a commercial junky of processed foods.
Just recently, I am seeing old recipes and solutions pop up on the internet from 100+ years ago that are still as fabulous as they were then.
I have a 80 year old cookbook I inherited and am finding that some of those old recipes are resurfacing as people are making a conscious effort to be green and healthy and support local.
Anyway… love this blog… My 12 year old daughter and I are looking to start our own cookie business, using one of those old recipes that has been passed down through the generations. It is a beautiful thing…
keep up the good work!!!
I make this all the time and it works great. Another hint for you: When you take your cakes out of the oven, cover them with a piece of waxed paper and a cardboard. Invert and cool with the pan on. They wiill release from the pan and all the moisture stays in the cake, instead of being released as steam.
Love this!! Saving it and using it for all my future baking!! 😀 Especially when im not in a good mood to cut out parchment paper! 🙂
Does goop work well with a bundt pan?
You will need to be generous, but yes! It works great!
Just made a very small batch, since I didn’t have too much shortening. Weighed everything and used coconut oil. Brushed the bundt thoroughly and baked the cake. Good thing I held on to the cake as I tipped it over, it almost FELL out! So yes, it works with a bundt pan. Where has this stuff been all my baking life!!!