NewsYou spent so much time looking for the ideal cake recipe to wow your family and friends. You carefully mixed the batter and poured it into the pan, watched as it turned a golden brown in the oven.
Now it’s time to take your cake out of the pan… and it just would not budge! Has all of your baking time resulted in a cake that will come out of the pan torn and in pieces?
Don’t worry, there are a few options for getting the cake out of the pan and onto a platter. And a few things you can do to prevent it from sticking to the pan in the first place (of course, you could always just skip the pan entirely!).
In a similar vein, if you’re baking a bundt cake or cheesecake, check out my postings on removing a stuck bundt cake from a pan and removing cheesecake from a pan.
How to Remove Cake From a Pan After Baking
These are the tactics I use to get my cakes out of the pan every time and have them look flawless.
1 – Cooling the cake
The first step in getting your cake out of the pan, regardless of what cake you’ve cooked or what pan you’ve used, is to let it cool fully, to room temperature.
If you try to remove a warm cake from a pan, you risk the cake coming out with chunks still adhered to the pan.
Let the pan to cool for at least 30 minutes, if not longer for bigger cakes. When completely cool you can get down to the job of removing the cake from the pan.
2 – Use a cooling rack
I strongly suggest using a cooling rack to chill the cake while it is still in the pan. A cooling rack will allow air to flow all around the pan, including the bottom which is where most of the sticking is going to happen.
This specific set appeals to me since it can withstand temperatures of up to 575 F, making it quite adaptable.
3 – Cool in fridge
If you’re in a hurry to get that cake out of the pan, put it in the fridge to speed things up. Let the pan to cool for approximately 15 minutes, or until it is warm-to-cool and no longer heated. Place the pan in the refrigerator for another 10 to 15 minutes.
This cools the cake enough to allow it to be gently removed from the pan. This method of cooling is also great to use in warmer months when your kitchen is warm.
4 – Loosen the cake
To remove the cake from the pan, use a knife. Slide the knife carefully between the cake and the pan, working gently around the edge. Keep the knife against the pan to avoid cutting into the cake.
When the cake is loose, turn the pan upside down and gently ease the cake out and onto the cooling rack or plate. A non-serrated or palette knife is the ideal tool to use. Instead, a thin nylon spatula may be used.
5 – Tapping method
Put a large plate over top of the cake pan, preferably the plate you’re going to be using to serve your cake. Flip the pan over down with the plate on the bottom, holding the plate firmly in place.
Tap and gently jiggle the pan so the cake slowly releases and comes out in one piece.
6 – Leave in pan upside down
Invert your cake upside down on the platter, just as the prior procedure. Let the cake upside down for 10 to 15 minutes instead of tapping and shaking. Then attempt to carefully remove the pan.
This procedure permits the shortening used to oil the pan to sink a bit deeper into the edges of the cake, assisting in its release.
7 – Use a dishcloth
If your cake is obstinate and won’t slide out of the pan onto the platter, a dishcloth will come in handy.
Soak a dishcloth in hot or warm water. Wring out the excess water from the cloth and wrap it around the pan’s bottom. Let the pan to rest in the cloth for approximately 15 minutes.
This procedure allows the pan to warm up and expand somewhat, allowing it to loosen from the edges of the cake.
8 – Microwave method
Do you still have a cake that won’t come out of its pan? This is another technique to steam the cake out of the pan.
Fill a cup halfway with boiling water. Put the mug into the microwave, placing the cake pan on top of the mug. Leave in the microwave for a few minutes without turning it on. The trapped steam should loosen the cake from the pan.
Don’t have a microwave? Any enclosed place, such as a cabinet, will suffice.
9 – Use a warm oven
When the cake is cool, preheat the oven again to about 250°F. Return the cake to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack to cool. The cake should slide nicely out of the pan.
This procedure works particularly well with Bundt pans, which may be more difficult than other pans when it comes to getting the cake out nice and smooth.
10 – Icing out the cake
This method works well with circular, flat pans. Invert the pan onto a plate or cooling rack. Place ice cubes in a dish and set it on the bottom of the pan.
After a few minutes, you should be able to remove the pan without any cake disasters.
11 – Using the freezer
Let the cake to cool completely in the pan. Run a non-serrated knife or a nylon spatula along the pan’s edges. After that, put the pan in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours.
Take the pan from the freezer and run the knife around the edges one more time. Turn the pan upside down, gently tapping on the top and sides.
Your cake should slide out nicely in one piece.
How to Prevent Cake From Sticking to the Pan
You may do a few things to prevent your cakes from sticking to the pan in the first place.
These are some of the methods I use to avoid my baking creations from sticking to the pan, making it simpler to remove a cake after baking.
Greasing the pan
Use a paper towel or a pastry brush to cover the bottom and sides of the pan with shortening. Be certain to reach all four corners of the pan so that the whole surface of the pan is coated
coated with shortening.
Sprinkle with flour
Sprinkle a teaspoon or two of flour into the bottom of the pan once it has been well coated with shortening.
While holding one side of the pan, tap the other side to spread the flour and produce a thin coating over the shortening.
Be careful to get flour all the way into the corners and up the sides of the pan. You’ll have some excess flour that didn’t stick to the shortening – just turn the pan over and tap out the extra flour.
Lining with parchment paper
Putting a lining of parchment paper (or an alternative) into the pan is another preventive measure so you can easily get your cake out of the pan after baking. Always use parchment paper in pans with a level bottom and straight edges.
On top of the parchment paper, place the pan. Trace the edges of the pan onto the paper using a pencil. Trim the paper to fit the pan, pushing it into the corners.
Smooth the paper evenly over the bottom and edges of the pan, making sure there are no bubbles or wrinkles.
Grease and flour parchment paper
An extra step you can take so that your .It is necessary to butter and flour the pan if the cake just slides away from it. parchment paper. Just follow the steps outlined above.
Baking spray
Baking sprays are less untidy and time consuming than using shortening and flour to oil cake pans.
Instead of Pam, check for a professional baking spray at specialist baking and culinary supply shops or online.
A word on non-stick pans
Nonstick bakeware is available these days. My own personal preference is to treat non-stick pans the same way you would a traditional pan, at the very least greasing and flouring the pan.
Some cakes can cling even in nonstick pans. And that one time you really need your cake to look perfect is the day the sticking is going to happen!
Another word…on Bundt pans
Bundt pans have their own set of issues when it comes to getting your cake out in one piece with no missing portions.
Even when you carefully grease and prepare Bundt pans, they have a tendency, more than any other pans, to keep cake from easily sliding out. This is due to the complex design of certain Bundt pans, which have so many little ridges and corners.
One technique I’ve tried that works well is to create a barrier that’s more than just flour. Sprinkle almond flour over the whole surface of the oiled Bundt pan.
This added barrier will aid in carefully removing your cake from the pan without it crumbling.
Tip: If you’re baking a chocolate-based Bundt cake, use cocoa powder. Sugar is another alternative – sugar not only helps to ease the cake out of the pan, it can add a nice sugary crust on your baked cake.
There will be no more stressful and tragic occasions when your cake is destroyed because it refused to come out of the pan now that you know how!
Your delectable cakes will come out of the pan flawlessly each and every time you bake using not one, but numerous approaches.
Related Questions
-
When cake won’t come out of pan?
Let the cake to cool completely in the pan. Run a non-serrated knife or a nylon spatula along the pan’s edges. After that, put the pan in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and run the knife around the edges of the pan one more time.
-
Is it better to remove cake from pan hot or cold?
It’s important to pay attention to the specifics called for in a recipe, but in general, most cakes are best removed from the pan after cooling for 10 to 20 minutes. If you try it too soon, it may come apart. If you wait too long, it can stay.
-
How long should a cake rest before removing from pan?
Some cake recipes call for placing the pans on a cooling rack and cooling the cake in the pans for a short period of time (typically 10 minutes) before removing the cake. Set a timer in the kitchen for this stage. If you leave the cake in the pan for too long, it may become difficult to remove.
-
How long will you allow a baked cake cool inside a pan before removing it?
After you’ve baked a cake, you need to let it cool before removing it from the pan. It may come apart if you attempt to remove it too quickly. So, how long should you hold out? The general rule is to wait about 10 minutes for an 8-inch cake, 15 minutes for a 9-inch cake, and 20 minutes for a 10-inch cake.
