Well, they say “necessity is the mother of invention” and I have to say… I’d agree.
A few weeks ago I was in the midst of a baking marathon (like this one) when {gasp}… I ran out of Baker’s Joy. I was truly frantic – wondering how I was going to finish my huge list of baking.
I mean – it’s not like I live near a store or anything… I live in the sticks! And while I use parchment paper for all of my big pans, I still spray the edges with Baker’s Joy and I use Baker’s Joy for all of my small pans!
Somewhere in the back of my brain, I remembered reading about a homemade version of Baker’s Joy, so I did a quick Swag Bucks search and wha-la… over on Cake Central there were several posts about making a homemade cake pan release.
I read through a few of them and came to the conclusion that this would be simple… most of them recommended equal parts of flour, shortening and oil… and lots of mixing. So that’s what I did!
And guess what? It worked!! And unless I’m miscalculating… it’s way cheaper than Baker’s Joy!
I didn’t post about it immediately because I really wanted to see if it would work in all of my baking situations and since today (about 3 weeks later) I wiped the bottom of the jar clean – I can honestly say… I’m sold!!!
I didn’t have a single cake stick at all when using this!! That Works for Me!!
So, here’s how to make homemade pan release (or Baker’s Joy – minus the aerosol can). All you’ll need to do is mix up flour, shortening and oil. And after getting it all mixed up, I stored it in a pint jar!
To use it, just “paint” it all over the inner surface of your pan and you’re good to go!
Oh, and I actually cut this in half for my first batch because I wanted to see how it worked, but next time I’ll definitely make a full batch and store it in a quart jar!
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Homemade Pan Release (ie., Baker’s Joy)
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Prep Time: 30 sec -
Cook Time: o
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Total Time: 2 hours 0.5 minutes
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Easy, quick homemade pan release.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly – until white and creamy.
- Use a pastry brush or silicone brush to “paint” the entire inside surface of your pans.
- After baking, you can allow the cakes to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, the flip out onto a cooling rack.
- Store in a sealed air-tight container; refrigeration NOT required!
Keywords: pan release, homemade, bread, baker's joy, cake, shortening
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Wow thanks for sharing that, what a great tip and I will definitely be trying that out myself now! I’ve been using the Wilton product version of that stuff (I think it’s called Cake Release), while not terribly expensive, does add up. It would be great to just make a version up myself.
I have another unrelated question for you – cake pricing. Do you think we could email some about that? I think you know my email address already…I am starting to have a few “gigs” where I am actually getting paid and I have no clue how to even begin giving out prices. It’s especially hard because these are my friends, too, and I feel so bad making them pay at all. But I also don’t want to go broke making cakes for other people, either.
I’ll send you an email Megan!
Would you send the pricing info to my email also? Do you also have ideas how to charge for cookies/cupcakes too? Thanks!
I sent the tips to your email! Thanks! I charge $20/dozen for most cupcakes (without custom toppers) and usually $24/dozen minimum on decorated cookies.
Been making this for over 20 years now. If you have a good drill that you can make some holes with. Take a peanut butter jar that is empty and cleaned out, then drill a hole in the lid that will allow your brush handle to fit through. Then you leave the brush in the jar.
This is brilliant. I hate paying money for Baker’s Joy. Definitely will be trying this…do you have any info on how long it lasts? I make a lot of cakes, but no where near as many as you do!
Emily – thanks!! I’m not sure about how long it would last, but since all of the ingredients have a long shelf-life (months, at least), I’d imagine it would last a long, long time! Mine did start to separate a little bit when I didn’t use it last week, but I just stirred it up and it was great in all of my baking yesterday with no sticking! If you’re worried about it though, maybe make a half batch or even a third. Just use equal parts of the ingredients and you could cut it down pretty small!
Brilliant! Found you via Pinterest and can’t wait to try this out – my husband needs to avoid gluten, so making my own is a great option, I’ll just use some of my GF flour blend!
Oh – that’s awesome! I hadn’t thought of this benefiting those with diet limitations!
Thanks for sharing this. I will be trying this out soon when I make my sisters birthday cake in a few weeks. Baker’s Joy is wonderful but seems to run out very quickly or those times you are in the middle of baking, lol!! And I wanted to ask where do you get your floral paper at? I’ve looked around at hobby lobby and they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. Thanks!
I get mine on either Sweetwise.com or CountryKitchenSA.com.
This is the first time I’ve heard of this idea–but I’m guessing that it would be less expensive than non-stick spray, which would definitely be a good thing!
Hey there! Just wanted to let you know we featured you in our Favorite Find Fridays post over at Whimsically Homemade. We used one of your pictures. If that’s a problem let us know and we’ll remove it immediately. Thanks for your great inspiration!
I have no idea how I missed this comment back in May, but thank you for the feature!! xx
works great…thank you.
Voila,,,not wha-la
You’re welcome! Maybe “voila” for you, but with my kiddos, it’s “wha-la” and since I hang out with them 24-7, I might have started talking like them! 😀
HI Rose,
I’ve got a question, what is the difference between this method and the old method that we use (greasing the pan with butter and sprinkling flour over it?
thanks,
Ziba
I’m not sure – maybe less mess? Because the flour is mixed in already, you don’t have to dust the pan and shake out the extra, etc.?
thanks,
Ziba
How does this work for chocolate cakes?
What do you mean? I use it for all cake flavors.
Some chocolate cake mixes recommend using a bit of the cake mix rather than floor for preparing the pan to prevent white spots on the finished cake after it is baked.
Aahhh, I’ve never noticed that before. Well, I do use this for all flavors and it works beautifully! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Ms. Rosie…. you mean when you use this, there is no need to put parchment paper on pans anymore? Many thanks!
Exactly!
Wow… thanks for this tip. Been reading your blogs everyday and am continually amazed with the awesome cakes you make. Thanks again :))
Oh Rose, you are a gem, must be a very special talent you have. Keep all of these good things coming and thanks!
Thank you Cynthia!! xx
I cannot thank you enough for sharing this! It has been a huge help! Thank you so so much!
hi. This sounds wonderful. How well does it work for those pesky bundt pans that are so hard to get in all the nooks and crannies?
Yes!! I’ve had good results with my bundt pans.
thanks thanks thanks! This is awesome! it worked perfectly for my regular round pans but when i used it for my nordic wre heritage bundt pan it was a complete mess!!! it got really stuck. Have you used it for bundt pans with lots of creases? any guesses of what might have gone wrong? Also if read some diy cake releases in which the amount of oil is just a tbsp, have you tried it? thanks again!
Hmmm – I don’t know. I’ve used it with my bundt pan with no trouble. I haven’t tried any other recipes.
I was baking tonight and was outta Joy so I whipped up your suggestion and it is fantastic!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing…
Awesome!! So glad to have helped! 🙂
Okay, I’ve got to try this. I have the worst luck with bundt and tube pans.
Rose!!! You are my hero!!! I”ve pinned this to make the next time I bake…I’m all about finding homemade ways to substitute for the store bought items and this is a great one. Love getting away from the aerosol as well. Genius!
Thanks a bunch!! xx
Hi Rose. Just discovered your site. I have tried this homemade version 3 times over Thanksgiving and noticed my cakes were sticking in the middle of the pan. I added additional mixture on the 2nd and 3rd try but still the same issue. Any tips?????
Oh gosh – I’m sorry! I’ve never had that problem with it!? I wish I could help!
If you are pouring all of the cake batter into the center of the pan and letting it spread out, it may be spreading the cake release too thin and that may be why it is sticking. You can try pouring the cake batter around the pan while filling it and see if that helps. Good luck!
It could be the pan you have and the material it’s made out of. Just a thought. I heard that dull finished pans are better than shiny for keeping things from sticking, but I haven’t had a chance to test that. If you do test it, let us know how it works.
Thank you so much for this info I love it and will never buy Bakers Joy again. Rose You Rock!
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Yay!! You’re very welcome!
Hi Rose could you tell what is the biggest size cake tin you have used this on please?
Gosh – I don’t know – at least 12″. Possibly bigger.
Thank you, I will give it a try, I hate lining cake tins.
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I hope it works great for ya!
This would be SO helpful! Totally trying this next time I bake a cake! Thanks for sharing at Delicious Dishes recipe party!
I mixed mine in the blender on the lowest setting. Saved a lot of stirring! Consistency was perfect.
Great idea!
Awesome! Thank you
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Thank you for being here 🙂
Thank you this is awesome. Do you know the shelf life of this? I made this today and it worked great never buying Baker’s Joy again.
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Several months (at least!)… thank you for stopping by and I’m so glad you like it!
Can you tell me how to Price cakes. I have never charged for mine. I get to many orders. So I need to charge. Please help.
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I have a blog post up here: how to charge for cakes.
I took cake decorating classes in early 90’s and instructor gave us this recipe which she called “goop”. I have used it for countless cakes and it always works like a charm and lasts a very long time in airtight covered jar. To avoid white spots on baked cake, used hoop somewhat sparingly.
I made this and its brilliant even better (i think) than shop bought and so cheap and easy to make. Thanks x
Awesome – thank you!
Used this for a Wilton Mickey Mouse cake pan and it worked brilliantly! The cake came out perfect. Thank you!
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You’re welcome 🙂
awesome!!
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this stuff is AMAZING for high detail bundt pans!!! I thought greasing was good enough.. but after using this, i will never go back!! thought i might use cocoa in place of some of the flour for chocolate cake but it looks great!
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So happy to hear it!
Hello!
I live in Finland and I don´t know what is shortening. We don´t have “shortening`. Is it margarine? Could You , please, tell me what are ingrediens that I can use. What kind of vegetable oil?
Thank You so much!
Kirsi
Hi Kirsi – thanks for stopping by the blog. Perhaps this recent post where she explains shortening will help you: https://rosebakes.com/shortening-substitutes-butter/
The question about the vegetable oil…that’s what’s it’s called here – vegetable oil. I’ve also used canola oil.
I used this for an intricate bundt cake pan today and it released perfectly! I left the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then took it out of the pan to cool. Thank you!!
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That’s awesome – thank you Stella!
Do you do equal parts by weight, or just a measuring cup?
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Measuring cup.
Another method… and its ancient because I’ve been using it for at least 50 years.. is to wad up a piece of wax paper and put some Crisco on it. No wax paper.. no problem.. just use your hand. Rub it all over your pan in all the seams, bottom, and sides. When you have completed that put about a tablespoon of flour in the pan and tap, tap, tap.. rotating the pan to get the flour all over the sides and bottom. When done turn the pan upside down over the trash can and tap out the excess. I still use this method to this day.
Works like a charm – fastest may to make it is in t he food processor.