DIY Pan Release (Baking Spray)

Hey everyone. How are you all doing this week? For some reason it feels to me like it should already be Thursday or Friday, but unfortunately it's only Tuesday night. I guess I should be thankful since there are still quite a few things on my to do list before the weekend gets here. We're having what is *hopefully* the last cold snap of the spring here in KC. They're predicting some snow tomorrow, but it isn't supposed to stick. Then by this weekend it should be warm, so I'm thankful for that. Joe and I are ready to get our garden plants in the ground! Joe went around and took some pictures of our plants so I'll share a post on our garden plans soon. I know that I've also promised to show y'all the updated dining room, but the window frame STILL hasn't been painted. I'm waiting for some nice weather so I can have the window open while doing it since I have to paint the window sashes as well. Oh well, it will get done eventually. 

Our half marathon was last weekend and we both survived! Joe finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes and I came in at 2 hours and 18 minutes. I think we both felt pretty good during the race and definitely  had that running "high" when we were done. Then the pain set in. haha. Overall it was a good race and we both said that we'd like to run more half marathons in the future. If anyone is thinking about training for a race, I would definitely recommend a half marathon, but maybe try a 5k first :) They're fun and fast. 

I guess I should get to the point of this post now. As I'm sure you know, I bake a lot of cakes. (Just call me Captain Obvious). One of the most important things for me when I'm baking cakes is that the cakes turn out of the pans with out getting stuck. I've had several cakes get stuck and it can be very frustrating. For a while, I would use Crisco to grease the pan then line the bottom with wax paper. Then I'd grease the wax paper with Crisco and dust flour over the whole pan. That was a little tedious but it did the job. Then my Grandma told me about some baking spray sold only at the Dollar Tree that worked great so I decided to try that out. The spray was awesome and gave perfect results, but then they stopped selling it! I've checked several Dollar Trees but haven't had any luck. So I went back to the Crisco, wax paper, flour method. 

 

Just before making the elephant baby shower cake I saw a post on a blog called I am Baker talking about some homemade pan release "goop" that promised perfect cake turn outs every time. The process sounded simple enough so I gave it a try. The recipe is pretty simple:

Mix equal parts of the following:

- Vegetable shortening (Crisco)

- All purpose flour (you may want to sift it, but it isn't necessary)

- Vegetable or Canola Oil

Whisk them together until smooth. Done! Keep in an airtight container. 

I used this on the baby shower cake and it worked great! It was very simple to "paint" it into the cake pans with a pastry brush. I actually just used one of those silicon bristle brushes. In my rush to get the cake made, I didn't take any pictures to show how the pan release goop worked, so that mean I HAD to make another cake this weekend to show you :) Instead of using a simple square or round pan, I thought I would test it in a bundt pan. If the goop works on an intricate pan like that then it will be good in just about anything. 

Bundt pan, pre-"goop".

Ready for cake batter!

The turn-out off the bundt cake from the pan wasn't absolutely perfect, but it was way better than most other bundt cakes I've made. Here are some pics.

I just had to include a picture of my pretty vintage bundt pan :)

This was right after turning the cake out of the pan after letting it cool in the pan for 30 minutes as instructed by the recipe. Like I said, it wasn't perfect, but I think it's pretty good. 

I think the white spots are where there was a little too much goop, but the cake got covered in glaze, so they got covered. 

The cake I baked was delicious too so I'll be sure to post about it separately. I know that this goop probably isn't something that is practical for everyone to have around, but if you do bake often, it might be worth it. Using a good baking spray will obviously be easier, but sometimes it just isn't enough for some of the larger cake pans. If you do try it, let me know if you like it! Maybe start with a small batch like 1/4 cup of each part or something. 

I guess that's it for now. Have a great night! Or day depending on when you're reading this :)