Grease and flour your cake pans in one step using my easy homemade cake release! Made with 3 simple ingredients, this cake goop guarantees your cakes, muffins and breads come out clean and don’t stick every time.
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How to Make Homemade Cake Pan Release
Cake release recipes can vary in ingredients but, for the most part, they include equal parts flour, vegetable oil and shortening (but melt in the microwave so it blends easily). I use a cup of each. If you’d like to make more or less, just adjust the measurements, making sure to maintain the equal ratios.
To make, place all the ingredients in one bowl and mix until incorporated and lump-free.

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Homemade Cake Release
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Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup shortening melted
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It lasts for up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Use
When the oven is preheated and the batter is ready to go, dip a rubber pastry brush into the mixture and brush it onto your pan. I like to go pretty heavy with the release to ensure absolutely no sticking.
Storage
I prefer to store it in a glass jar or container, but plastic will work too. No matter which you use, make sure it’s airtight. Stored at room temperature, it will last for up to 3 months. If in the fridge, it will last for about 6 months.
Can i use butter instead of shortening? I’d store it in the fridge.
Yes you can. Let me know how it works for you.
I just came to sing the praises of this cake release recipe. Made myself a jar of it over a month ago and now I don’t have to fuss with parchment and scissors or worry where I put the cupcake liners. I used to specifically dread the “butter and flour the pan” step because it was always a mess when I just wanted to hurry up and get the pan in the oven. Now I just pull out the cake release and smear it on and everything pops out fine. Before I read this article, I had never even heard of cake release so you have truly shared a baker’s secret with us! Thanks for all your wisdom GBC, but especially for this game changer.
Maybe I’ll make a GF version with rice flour too.
Thank you for this! Question: if I’m making cakelets, would I re-goop after each small cake removal, and before putting more batter in the mold, or would it work for baking two batches before needing to re-apply?
I would definitely re-apply before adding in the next batch to ensure that they come out clean.
Hi there, what’s your take on using butter-flavored Crisco? Great as is, I just thought it would add that additional butter flavor.
Yes you can totally use this for the additional flavor.
This recipe has been a game changer for my Bundt cakes! (Your lemon blueberry pound is my absolute favorite!) Have you tried the cake release with a cheesecake? Just wondering if it would help keep the crust from sticking to the springform.
I’m so so glad this works so well for you. I haven’t tried for cheesecake but I think this is fine.
Wow thanks everyone! I guess I’ll use the goop too! I have been having problems with the cake sticking !
I’m a fam of yours and also a show named “Nailed It” on Netflix. So i was inspired to try your goop for a coke i made for my niece, I called the Busy Mom cake. It’s a red velvet bundt cake with baby cakes cut out with a biscuit cutter topping it off. My cakes came out beautifully thanks to your goop!!
Oh that’s absolutely fantastic!!!
What specifically do you use when you say shortening? CriscoI? Butter? Lard?
Hi Mary, you can use Crisco!
Thank you! My mom had a gorgeous Bundt pan which never gave her anything but problems when trying to remove the pan. I’m happy to report that your cake release worked beautifully on this same fussy pan when I recently used it for a bourbon cake, and I expect it will work equally well for the many other cakes I’m now inspired to bake in it (and my many other pans)!
Goop of the gods! We just tried it out on our fussy Bundt pan, and it is miracle sludge. I’ll never use anything else.
After I spread the cake release in my cake pan, do I also flour it?
No need to. The flour is already in the cake release.