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    Home » Recipes » DIY & How-Tos

    Published: Apr 21, 2021 · Modified: Jun 16, 2021 by alexandra · This post may contain affiliate links

    How to grease and line a cake tin

    Learn how to properly grease, flour, and parchment-line a cake tin for easy breezy cake removal, every time.

    There's a famous quote about preparation you might've stumbled across a time or two. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." (It's a Benjamin Franklin one, by the way.) Granted the Founding Father probably wasn't talking about baking a cake when he said this. But hey, the statement still rings true here. If you've ever poured cake batter directly into an ungreased, unlined pan, you know what kind of disaster ensues. Your cake comes out of the oven absolutely STUCK to the pan. By the time you get it out, you either have a pan that may never come clean, or a cake that's more suited for being mashed into cake balls than frosted and decorated. So it's true; by failing to properly prepare your cake pans, you're preparing for a failure of a cake.

    The good news? Preventing the aforementioned disaster is easy. In less than five minutes, you can have your cake pans greased, floured, and lined with parchment, and totally prepared for any cake batter that comes their way.

    Two small funfetti cakes in cake pans this recipe
    Jump to:
    • Why cake pan preparation is important
    • What you'll need
    • Instructions
    • Removing cakes from pans
    • Cake pans I recommend
    • FAQ
    • Cake recipes you'll love
    • 💬 Comments and Reviews

    Why cake pan preparation is important

    Here's the thing: just because a cake recipe is good, that doesn't mean you're in the clear. Even the best of cakes can stick to your pans when they come out of the oven; it all depends on the type of pans you use, the moisture level of the cake, and other recipe factors. So the way I see it, why leave things to chance? You can put in the work baking a cake and pray to the cake gods that it comes out cleanly, or you can take a few extra minutes to properly grease, line, and flour your cake pans and be assured your cakes will slide right out.

    This is a straightforward method that works for nearly any cake baked in a round pan, so there's really no reason not to follow it.

    What you'll need

    • round cake pans
    • parchment paper or parchment circles
    • scissors (to cut your own parchment circles)
    • butter or shortening
    • flour (or unsweetened cocoa powder, for chocolate cakes)
    • small mesh strainer or dusting wand (optional, but recommended)
    Overhead view of tools need to properly prepare and line a cake pan.

    Instructions

    Time needed: 5 minutes.

    Prepping and lining a cake tin in 3 easy steps:

    1. Grease the cake pan:

      Using cold or lightly softened butter - or shortening - grease the bottom and sides of your cake pan. Be sure to cover the entire surface, all the way into the inner edge, as best as possible. You only need a thin layer here, so don't overdo it. Two cake pans being greased with butter

    2. Line with parchment:

      Press a parchment round into the bottom of your pan; the grease should help it stick.

      Tip: You can buy pre-cut parchment cake rounds to fit most any size pan, or cut your own rounds out of a regular sheet of parchment. A parchment circle being pressed into a round cake pan.

    3. Dust with flour or cocoa powder:

      The final step is to "flour" your cake pan. I use that word loosely because you can actually use cocoa powder here too if you're baking a chocolate cake. In fact, cocoa is preferable in that case, since it'll be less visible once the cake is fully baked.

      Whichever you use, just scoop a bit into a small mesh strainer or dusting wand and dust it onto the sides of the cake tin. Then, tap out the excess over your sink, so you're left with just a thin coating around the entire circumference of the pan.

      Tip: If you don't have a strainer or dusting wand, you can just sprinkle the flour/cocoa powder into the pan with your hands. BUT, I highly recommend picking up one of these tools. They're inexpensive, make the job much easier, and also come in handy for dusting finished desserts (like this financier cake) with powdered sugar or cocoa powder.Two cake pans greased, floured, and lined with parchment

    Removing cakes from pans

    If you've followed the steps above and taken the time to grease, line, and flour your cake tins, the cake removal process is bound to be a breeze. You shouldn't need to do anything more than simply turn your pan over, and perhaps give the bottom a quick tap. That being said, in some cases, you may need to gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with an offset spatula first.

    As a general rule of thumb, I usually let my cakes sit in their pans, set over a wire rack, for about 30 minutes. Then I turn them directly onto the rack to finish cooling.

    Cake pans I recommend

    Aside from properly preparing and lining your cake tins, the best thing you can do to prevent cake from sticking is to invest in good pans. This is a 2-for-1 deal - a good pan will also help your cakes bake more evenly and prevent them from over-browning. I recommend a high-quality, heavy-duty pan with a light finish. Fat Daddio's anodized aluminum pans are my go-to.

    Cake pan lined with parchment paper

    FAQ

    What type of cake recipes should I be greasing and lining my cake pans for?

    In my opinion, it doesn't hurt to grease, flour, and line your tins for any recipe baked in a round cake pan. These are typically the only recipes where you'll need to remove your cake from its pan in one piece, which is when things tend to get dicey if you're not prepared.

    Do I need to follow these instructions if I'm using a non-stick pan?

    It might not always be necessary, but it certainly won't hurt. Unless you've made the recipe before in the same pan without a problem, you might as well cover all your bases. What's worse, spending 2 extra minute prepping your pans, or 60 extra minutes repeating the entire recipe a second time if things literally fall apart?

    Can I use non-stick cooking spray or oil instead of butter or shortening?

    In rare instances, I've used a light coating of non-stick spray on my pans, or rubbed them with cooking oil, but I personally prefer using butter. It's a cleaner process, and helps your parchment and flour/cocoa powder stick better than oil.

    Cake recipes you'll love

    Now that you absolutely know you've prevented any and all cake-sticking issues, it's time to bake cake! Here are a few of my favorite recipes:

    • Center cut view of cake on a white cake stand against a pink backdrop.
      Strawberry Layer Cake
    • Marble Layer Cake (and Cupcakes!) with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting | www.brighteyedbaker.com
      Marble Layer Cake
    • Close up of ice cream cake on a cake stand against a pink backdrop.
      Ice Cream Cake
    • This triple-layer brown butter cookie dough layer cake is BEYOND good. Three layers of rich, espresso-laced chocolate cake, brown butter brown sugar frosting, and big chunks of edible cookie dough on top - it's impossible to overhype this one.
    • When the holidays come around, this boozy chocolate peppermint layer cake is a must-make. It's studded with candy cane Kisses and frosted with an incredible vodka-spiked white chocolate buttercream. And don't take boozy lightly - you may catch a buzz from a thick slice!
    • If you're a fan of the classics, this mini funfetti cake with chocolate cake batter buttercream will make your heart happy.
    • If I ever recommend a cake that doesn't involve chocolate, you've gotta know it's stellar. This strawberry layer cake is made completely from scratch. It uses roasted strawberries for intense, juicy flavor, and has a frosting that tastes like a milkshake.
    • Also berry-forward - and also perfect for spring and summer - is this chocolate-vanilla marble cake. It has the most vibrant purple ombré frosting made with fresh blackberries and cream cheese.
    • And obviously, there's the cake that's not just cake. This chocolate raspberry ice cream cake has a little something for everyone. It's a rich chocolate cake, with smooth vanilla ice cream, and a sweet, fruity raspberry swirl.
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    More DIY & how-to recipes

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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    1. Jo says

      April 22, 2021 at 7:19 pm

      Your tips were very helpful, Thank you. Sharing this to my friends!

      Reply
    2. Sarah Baumeister says

      April 22, 2021 at 6:33 pm

      "flouring" the pan with cocoa powder is legit genius! Thanks for that tip.

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        April 23, 2021 at 8:24 am

        Yes! It works so well and disappears into the cake once it's baked so you're not left with any white "dust" on the sides. ;)

        Reply
    3. Biana says

      April 22, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      Thank you for sharing all these tips! I love being able to easily be able to get the cake out of the pan, so these are the ideas that I need.

      Reply
    4. Sandra says

      April 22, 2021 at 5:22 pm

      Bravo. These are wonderful tips. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    5. Anjali says

      April 22, 2021 at 5:04 pm

      Thank you so much for these helpful tips!! I have had problems in the past with my cake sticking to my pan, so I'm hopeful with your post I'll achieve a perfect cake every time!

      Reply
    6. Emily Liao says

      April 22, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      This was a great rundown! Loved all the tips in ithis post.

      Reply

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    Hey There! Thanks for stopping by! Here's what you can expect to find on Bright-Eyed Baker: lots of baked goods and other sweets made from scratch (many of which are gluten-free), plus the occasional savory recipe or mixed drink. My goal is to show you that from-scratch baking - gluten-free or not! - doesn't have to be intimidating. Learn more about me.

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