Baking – Pound cake sticks to pan – need alternate solution

bakingcakeequipment

My pound cakes stick to the pan regardless of the efforts I take. I have used baking spray, olive oil, butter, butter & flour, and tin foil strips. I have cooled completely, placed in the freezer until solid and still have to chip it out. The recipe is 3 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup butter, 6 eggs, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup self rising flour, and for the liquid I use 8 oz of either sour cream, buttermilk, sweetened condensed milk. One time I added 6 bananas, chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips and it did NOT stick quite as bad. What can I do to prevent this?

Best Answer

What can I do to prevent this?

  • You can line the pan with parchment, including folding it into the corners, so that the pound cake never even touches the pan.

  • You can liberally lube the bottom of the pan and/or use parchment just in the bottom. When you remove the cake from the oven, run a knife between the pan and cake on all four sides to release it.

  • Before adding the batter, you can make sure the pan is very clean, i.e. no burned on bits, solidified oils, caramelized sugars, etc. Conversely, if it's a cast iron pan, you could try to season it again by coating in a neutral oil and baking it (empty) at high temperature for an hour or so.

  • You can use a different, possibly non-stick pan. Loaf pans often get scratched up when people use knives to cut slices of loaf cakes right in the pan, and those scratches can make it hard to get the cake to release. And just switching to a different material might make a difference for your recipe.

  • You can use a different recipe. Proteins and sugars both like to stick to surfaces, and moisture level plays a role too; fats should help to promote better releasing.

  • You can make sure you're baking at the right temperature and not under- or over-baking the cake. If the cake isn't sufficiently cooked it may be too moist on the bottom, which can prevent it from releasing. If it's overcooked, it may start to burn or at least really stick to the pan.

  • You can lower your standards a little. Cakes and quick breads made in loaf pans often have trouble releasing from the pan without help. Unless you want to present the cake outside the pan, it's often easiest to slice them in the pan. (Just avoid using a knife with a sharp point so you don't scratch you pan. ;-)