An ingredient I use in a lot of my recipes and something I use every time I bake a cake is something called cake release. I was first introduced to this many years ago and I have taken for granted my familiarity with it. Now, more and more people are asking me what it is and why I use it.
Cake Release is essentially an oil, fat and flour mix that comes in either a spray or liquid form, that you use to lightly coat your pans with before you bake, eliminating the need for greasing or lining. Now, whilst I use it on it’s own for irregular shaped tins, silicone moulds and live baking demos, in my kitchen, I will use it to stick down my greaseproof paper. (See my tutorial for lining a cake tin here.) I often found when I was lining tins using butter on kitchen roll, it would leave a pool of liquid on the base of my cakes and as I would be using the bottom of my cakes as the top when I decorate, it was affecting my finished result.
Up until recently, I have been using Dr Oetker Cake Release Spray. Easily available in supermarkets and priced around £3, it was great. A quick spray would stick my greaseproof paper into place perfectly and by spraying the sides of my brownie tin, I was never left with a sticky mess. I loved the product. So, imagine my sheer horror when I discovered that Dr Oetker decided to discontinue it! I was gutted. Over the years it’s become a staple of mine and is included in 90% of my recipes on my website.
I needed to find a replacement. So, enter Wilton. available in Lakeland for around the £4 mark, it’s slightly more expensive but you get more. This cake release is in a liquid form and it’s best to squirt a small amount in the middle of your pan and use a silicone pastry brush to coat the base and sides. Having used it for a few months now, I can confirm it works great. Sticks down my greaseproof paper when I’m baking round cakes and got my slices out just fine with no paper used at all.
Of course, you can also make your own. A quick google for ‘Cake Release Recipes’ (See also; pan release) brought up loads. I haven’t tried to make my own as of yet, put that down to a combination of laziness and lack of time. If you make your own or have a tried and tested recipe, I’d love to hear about it. Or if you use a different brand that you think is great, let me know, either on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.
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Happy baking!
Britt xo