Same thing with the Ovenex mini I have. They're like cupcake/miffin pans with 8 Bundt pan bottoms. I saw them in the Goodwill store and couldn't resist. No matter how I grease and flour them, my baked goods always get stuck! The pans look so cute; what a pity! Al

Eileen, I wrote about Pan Coating on my blog, some years ago, and I'm too lazy to link to it here, but it's not really necessary.

All it is, is equal amounts of flour and vegetable shortening combined with a few drops of neutral oil to make the mixture easier to brush onto a cake pan. I've never had any trouble using this old cake decorator's pan release.

I should add, some cakes are notorious for sticking, e.g., some chocolate cakes, as well as cakes which contain a high sugar content.

Another thing you could do is line the pan with cheap aluminum foil, that's been greased with the above glop, or other pan release.

Sol

Sorry that happened to you! There is not much that is more frustrating than having a cake stick after putting all that work into it. After discovering baker's joy, after too many sticking cakes, I don't think I'll ever be without it. I was a hold out for a while thinking it was just an expensive convenience product. I changed my tune the first time I used it. If I were to ever run out (not likely, I keep an emergency supply of ketchup and Bake's Joy... it would be a disaster if I ran out of either of those), I'd go across the street and buy it!

If I was stuck at home and couldn't get out to buy Baker's Joy, I'd melt butter and brush it on with a pastry brush, then flour the pan. Not sure why the lard allowed the cake to stick though...

My mom used to make wedding cakes and she always used something she bought from the local supply store called Cake-Ease (sic). Pretty sure it's what Sol is describing. She swore by it.

Wilton also makes something called Pan Release which is something along those same lines.

Tamara

I've never tried to grease a pan with lard, so I'm no help there either. I find butter or oil can produce some sticking too, so I go for the ever maligned vegetable shortening, usually, and a liberal dusting of flour.

Tamara, I've used the Wilton stuff on my castle shaped bundt pan, because it was thin enough to brush on and into all those little fancy crevices. It worked great but the stuff was expensive. I still have some, does it ever spoil?

Sol, I think your homemade stuff is about the same. Does it keep forever or does it get stale?

Annie

I haven't had an opportunity to really challenge it but this is the recipe I have been using lately. I'm sure it's the same as Sol and Annie are referring to. I keep it in a glass jar that has a brush in the lid.

Homemade Pan Release:
 1/4 cup corn oil or canola oil or vegetable oil
 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer beat until mixture has increased in volume slightly and resembles marshmallow cream.
3. Place in a container with a lid and store on the counter or in a cupboard (in hot weather it may be refrigerated).
4. The mixture tends to separate slightly upon sitting in your cupboard or refrigerator so mix before using, and then brush pans using a pastry brush or a clean paper towel.

Have you made that recipe before? As Sol said, some cakes just tend to stick.
I think that's to blame more likely than the lard.

By the way, you can use cold butter. I often do; it softens up right away when you smear it into the pan.

I think there are probably enough added chemicals in the Wilton stuff that it won't spoil quickly, Annie. LOL. I know my mom kept her stuff in the fridge and it lasted a long time.

Thanks for the recipe, Mustangs, I'm going to make some of it up.

Tamara, Cake-Ease sounds familiar, but I've never tried it; I'll definitely look it up. Thanks for the tip.

AB, I make enough of this homemade pan release to last me about a year. I keep a jar of it in the refrigerator. And like Cathy, I also keep a pastry brush I use just for this purpose (covered in plastic wrap), next to the jar.

Sol

Thanks Mustangs! I am so going to try making some of that. Now, I just want to make sure I understand it correctly... when I apply the homemade pan release I won't need to dust any more flour, am I correct? Al

AL, Here are some other notes that I have in my file:

If you bake and cook everyday then this is a must to have in your cupboard, it's so much cheaper than using cooking spray and works even better than Pam cooking spray, no chemical fumes and will not leave burnt on black residue on the edges of your pans like cooking spray will and will keep forever in your cupboard --- for baking recipes using chocolate you may use 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder in place of white flour or 1/4 cup each cocoa powder and flour --- this may be increased or decreased successfully just make certain that *all* three ingredients are the same amounts or the mixture will not work as well.

From this I gather that dusting isn't necessary.

I've used this same pumpkin maple bread recipe before in the same pan with cooking spray and flour. This time I added plumped raisins instead of nuts which could account for a bit of the sticking but I really think it's the fault of the lard vs other shortening. My butter was more than hard, it was all in the freezer except for the bit I used in the cake.

Since so many of you fine cooks endorse this, I am going to try the homemade recipe. Baker's Joy is awfully expensive and we use quite a lot of it. It keeps without refrigeration?

Al, I think I remember when you found those mini pans. Wasn't there a donut pan too?

I never think to buy Crisco because I don't use it for anything except greasing a pan for baking. Now's the time.

I've never seen Cake-ease but I don't go to the local cake and candy maker's store. We actually have a rather nice one here.

Thanks Mustangs! I really like the "keep in the cupboard FOREVER" part! :-)

Barnmom, I am impressed that you remembered the donut pans. But I picked these up in a different time. I am hoping this homemade pan release will allow me to make some cute little muffins/cupcakes. Here they are:

Al

Eileen, I tried looking this up in Shirley Corriher's Bakewise, but I couldn't find any comment on lard for greasing. Does it melt too soon? Not soon enough? It's a mystery!

Thanks. It's a mystery to me too. Perhaps lard contains too much water? Maybe the aluminum pan as opposed to a nonstick (like my other bundt pans) was part of the problem.