How do I stop cakes sticking to the tin?
Lining, greasing and cooling timing that get a cake out whole — and how to rescue one that is already stuck.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 10 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Grease the tin, line the base with baking parchment, and grease again over the parchment. Then cool the cake in the tin for ten minutes before turning out — too soon and it breaks, too late and the sugars set like glue.
Cakes stick because sugar caramelises against hot metal and sets as it cools. A physical barrier at the base and a correctly timed release handle almost every case; greasing alone often does not.
What you'll need
- Baking parchment
- Butter or oil
- Cooling rack (optional)
- Palette knife (optional)
Step by step
- Grease the tin with butter or oil, including the corners.A pastry brush reaches corners and seams that fingers miss, and corners are where cakes tear.
- Line the base with a circle of baking parchment.Draw round the tin and cut just inside the line. The base is where most sticking happens.
- Grease over the parchment as well.It helps the paper stay flat and lets the sides release cleanly.
- For loaf tins and rich cakes, line the sides too.A parchment sling with overhanging edges lets you lift the whole cake straight out.
- Dust with flour after greasing for bundt or patterned tins.Grease, then flour, then tap out the excess. Intricate tins need both, and even then they can be difficult.
- Cool in the tin for exactly 10 minutes.This is the timing that matters. Too soon and it is too fragile; much longer and the sugars set against the metal.
- Run a palette knife around the edge before turning out.Press against the tin rather than the cake so you do not cut into the crumb.
- If it is stuck, warm the base briefly.Sit the tin on a warm damp cloth for a couple of minutes, or return it to a warm oven for two. That softens the set sugar.
Tips
- Loose-bottomed and springform tins remove most of the risk for delicate cakes and are worth owning.
- Cake release paste — equal parts flour, oil and softened butter, whisked — is very effective on complex tins and keeps in the fridge.
- Non-stick tins wear out. If an old tin has started sticking consistently, the coating has gone.
Common mistakes
- Greasing without lining the base — Grease alone rarely holds up against caramelised sugar. Parchment on the base is the reliable part.
- Turning out immediately — A hot cake has not set enough to hold together and will break as it leaves the tin.
- Leaving it to cool completely in the tin — The sugars set hard against the metal and it will need force to release, which usually damages it.
Questions people ask
How do I get a cake out of the tin without breaking it?
Cool for ten minutes, run a palette knife around the edge, place a rack on top and invert. Lined base plus that timing handles almost every case.
What do I do if the cake is stuck in the tin?
Sit the tin on a warm damp cloth for a couple of minutes, or return it to a warm oven briefly. Softening the set sugar usually frees it without damage.