Serious question, has anyone else had a cake completely stick to the pan even with butter and flour?

I was about to toss the whole mess, but my neighbor said to run a hair dryer around the outside for a minute. It actually worked and the cake slid right out. What other weird fixes have you guys found?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivanhart24d ago

Remember my grandma used to swear by the mayonnaise trick for stuck cakes. She'd spread a thin layer on the outside of the pan before baking, said the oil in it worked better than butter. Sounded nuts to me, but her cakes never stuck. Makes me wonder how many of these old kitchen fixes we've forgotten.

the_xena18d ago

Your grandma was on to something, but it's the egg in mayo that does the trick. The proteins in the egg create a barrier between the cake and the pan when they cook. That's why a lot of old recipes call for greasing with shortening and then dusting with flour, it's the same idea. The oil in mayo helps, but it's not the main reason it works. Those old fixes were pretty smart once you understand the science.

gracet2224d ago

Honestly that hair dryer trick is genius, never would have thought of that. I had a cake stick once and I just put the whole pan back in the warm oven for like five minutes. The heat kinda melts the butter again and loosens it up. It's a total last ditch move but it saved me. Almost gave up and started making cake pops out of the crumbs.