How to Prevent a Bundt Cake From Sticking

We’ve all been there. We spent all this time making this beautiful bundt cake and waited for what seemed like forever for it to be done in the oven. The moment of truth came, and the cake stuck to the bundt pan. All that work just to be thrown away. Well if you would like to know how to prevent your bundt cake from sticking, then read on to find out more.

Make sure your pan isn’t too old..

Your issue may be the pan! A pan that’s old or worn out may have some dents, scratches, or worn off non-stick, and these make it all too easy for batter and cake to become stuck. So inspect your pan, and if it’s beat up, it may be time to invest in a new one.

Don’t use butter to coat your pan..

Coating your bundt pan in butter can actually prevent MORE sticking! Why’s that? Because butter has a low melting point which will cause evaporation leaving behind sticky milk solids before the cake batter can start to bake. So what should I coat my pan with? I hate to say it, but shortening. Its high melting point makes it the perfect barrier between cake and pan to prevent your bundt cake from sticking. Make sure to get in all the nooks and crannies and the center piece!

Sprinkle some flour..

While you use shortening instead of butter for that high melting point, you will still need an extra barrier in between that and the batter. That’s where a coat of flour comes in. Flour prevents any fat coating the pan from melting right into the cake batter. Sprinkle some flour in the can, and, over a trash can or the sink, rotate the pan around to spread the flour. However, make sure you don’t have clumps of flour anywhere as that will show up on the finished cake.

Coat your fruit..

Many bundt recipes call for fresh or frozen fruit folded into the batter. Fruit can fall as the batter starts the melt and stick right to the bottom of the pan. To prevent that from happening and in the same theme as above, coat the fruit in flour right before adding to the batter. The flour bakes into the batter as it starts to hear up and slows the falling of the fruit.

Release the edges and keep it hot..

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, take a small offset spatula, and release the edges of the cake from the pan. This will definitely help prevent the bundt cake from sticking if you remove any sticking yourself!. Before you go removing the bundt pan, make sure it is still hot. Not warm. Hot. And specifically around 10 minutes post coming out of the oven.

Give it a good bang..

As you start to prep to flip the cake over, give it a bang on the table first. Banging the sides against the edge of your counter and banging the bottom on the table will help loosen up the cake before you invert it.

Let gravity do its thing..

Place your cooling rack on the expose cake and invert. Slowly jiggle the bundt pan off, however, if you’re meeting resistance, stop and put it back down. Take the handle of your small offset spatula and bang the pan. Let gravity do its thing for a moment and try again.

When all else fails..

If you’ve tried all these tips and you still can’t prevent your bundt cake from sticking, then first, place back in your still warm (but off!) oven. Let it heat up again and try the above three tips again. If still nothing, place in the freezer until frozen, then heat just the pan with an open flame like a gas stove or blowtorch.