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If you’ve landed here, chances are that you just devoted at least a couple of hours to perfecting a delicious bundt cake recipe only to spiral into a panic because you can’t get the thing to release from the pan. Bundt pans are infamous for being difficult to use. Even after spraying the pan with cooking spray, it seems that the cake would not budge after baking. So don’t give up on your cake just yet! There is a simple method for getting the cake out of the pan in one piece.
Before continue with the tips and techniques below, make sure your cake has totally cooled or it may collapse.
The Best Trick For Releasing a Cake From a Bundt Pan
To begin, carefully remove the sides of the cake from the pan using the back of a butter knife or a straight edge spatula. Run the knife or spatula along the full edge of the pan, then along the tube of the pan where your cake’s hole is. This alone will sometimes suffice. Typically, the cake wants to cling to the tube in the center, so pushing it free there may suffice. Following that, gently turn the bundt pan over and shake it softly. But, if the cake still refuses to budge, it is time to use my secret method.
How to release a stuck cake from a bundt pan
- Flip your bundt pan over. Place your bundt pan on a clean surface so that the bottom of the cake comes into contact with the counter.
- Wet a dish towel. Run a dish towel or cloth napkin under hot water. Ring it out just a little bit so that it isn’t dripping wet.
- Place the wet dish towel over the bundt pan. Drape the hot cloth over the bundt pan and let it there for approximately five minutes to cool entirely.
- Gently shake the bundt pan. Wipe any excess water off of your counter, then pick up the bundt pan and gently shake the cake out of it. Just holding it in the air for a few seconds may enough.
- Repeat if necessary. If the cake still won’t budge, repeat the previous procedures.
Voilà! The heat and steam from the cloth helps the cake to stop clinging to the sides of the pan. Your cake is now completely free.
Avoiding a Stuck Bundt in the Future
There are a few things to remember in order to prevent the entire problem in the future:
Use a non-stick pan!
Do you know whether or not your bundt pan qualifies as nonstick? Metal bundt pans with a nonstick coating are the best. Food & Wine conducted a comprehensive investigation to determine the finest bundt pans, which you can read about here. Essentially, it’s crucial to invest in a good bundt pan if you want to ensure that your cakes not only release from the pan but also bake well. Even if you have a nonstick pan, you should still oil your bundt pan!
Grease the pan, a lot.
There are a few different ways that you can grease a bundt pan. The majority of individuals use a nonstick cooking spray, such as PAM. But, if you’re worried about your cake sticking to the pan, this isn’t the greatest option. Instead, consider greasing your pan with butter or shortening.
Greasing a bundt pan with butter: To grease the pan with butter, simply take a stick of butter that is at room temperature and rub it along the inside of your bundt pan. To ensure that all of the pan’s nooks and crannies are lubricated, use a pastry brush to get the butter into all of the nooks and crannies. One thing to keep in mind is that the butter will affect the taste of your bundt, but likely in a good way. The bundt will have a beautiful, rich exterior.
Greasing a bundt pan with shortening: To oil the pan with shortening, which should be kept at room temperature, just scoop it up with a paper towel and massage it all over the bundt pan. If you have shortening sticks on hand rather of a tub, you may just brush the stick down the inside of the pan, like you would a stick of butter. If you want to utilize shortening but still get that buttery flavor, use butter-flavored shortening, such as the one made by Crisco.
Greasing a bundt pan with vegetable oil: Lastly, you may grease your bundt pan with vegetable oil. Simply pour the oil into the pan and swirl it around to ensure that all parts of the pan are coated.
Should you coat your bundt pan with flour or sugar?
Some bakers believe that flour can help keep your cake from sticking to the bundt pan when it is done baking. The idea is that, as the cake bakes, it will cling on to the flour rather than the pan. I’ve also read that sugar may be used in place of wheat for the similar reason. But, I tried this and was dissatisfied with the outcomes.
In the image below, I greased my bundt pan with butter and then sprinkled one half of it with cake flour, a quarter with granulated sugar, and a quarter with powdered sugar. I wasn’t pleased with the results of any of these coatings.
The problem with the flour was that it left a thick residue on the cake that drastically changed its taste (and not in a good way.) Furthermore, it made the top of the cake mushy. Please, no!
The issue with both the powdered sugar and granulated sugar is that it ripped the top of the cake right off! When it comes to preparing a bundt cake, this is literally my worst nightmare. You want the top to be beautiful and in good condition.
The unfortunate outcome of covering your bundt pan with flour and sugar.
End result: do not coat your pan with flour or sugar. The grease will enough on its own. Just grease the pan well if you want to ensure that the bundt does not cling.
No more ruined bundts!
