Homemade Cake Release

I fully intended to head to Michael's to buy some cake release for my pans, but  laziness got the better of me. Rather than driving to Michael's, I walked downstairs to the grocery store and picked up the ingredients to make my own.

Cake release is a mixture of flour, oil, and shortening to coat your baking pans. I like it because it's a one step process (slap it on with a pastry brush and you're set) rather than the old, messy butter/flour process. It also leaves my cakes flour residue-free, which was especially important for my last cake project.

Homemade cake release consists of a simple ratio of equal parts flour, vegetable oil, and shortening (I used 1 cup of each). Put it all in a bowl and whisk it together. The mixture will look lumpy at first, so you really need to whip it to get all those lumps out, but it turns out perfect.

Just dip your pastry brush into the mixture and slather your pans. I was pretty generous with the stuff, as the last time I baked this kind of cake I had trouble with it sticking to the side of the pans. I didn't want to risk it, so I applied it liberally.

I like that if I make the cake release myself, I know all of the ingredients and there aren't any yucky additional preservatives. It's also more cost effective!

On that note...one thing that is not at all cost effective (but I am happy to pay for) is pre-cut parchment liners for my pans.

I didn't even know these existed until I stumbled across them at a culinary supply store. I may have gasped at the sight of them. My only hesitation was whether to buy multiple packs. I hate cutting out parchment! It never lies flat, and is awkward to cut. Bleh. I'm happy to pay for the extra convenience.

Ahhh, perfect fit :).

The cake release worked perfectly. The cakes slid right out of the pans! I will definitely continue to make my own.