How to Get Cake Out of a Pan: 5 Easy Methods

A cake pan is any pan you use for heating up a baked cake in an oven. Individual cakes call for different types of cake pans. A cheesecake or layer cake generally suggests a taller, more circular pan, while a pound cake traditionally uses a long, rectangular pan. Bundt cakes require Bundt pans. Consult specific cake recipes to see which sort of cake pan is advisable in any given instance.

In general, you should wait until the cake is fully cooked and cooled before trying to remove it from its pan. A golden brown consistency suggests it’s fully cooked. If it’s too light in color, it’s undercooked; if it’s too dark, it’s potentially burnt. Leave the cake out for at least twenty or thirty minutes at room temperature before you try to remove it from the pan. Touch the top of your cake to get an idea of when it’s cool. You can expedite the process by putting the cake in the refrigerator.

There are multiple means by which you can get your cakes out of their baking pans. Try any of these five methods to see what works best for you:

1. 1. Drag a knife around the edge. Gently slide a butter knife between the sides of the pan and the edges of the cake. Don’t cut into the cake itself, just fill in the gap between the edges of the pan and the cake. Drag the knife all around the cake pan to loosen up any grip the edges still have on the sides.
2. 2. Let the cake cool. If your cake sticks as soon as it comes out of the oven, that should come as no surprise. It should spend at least twenty to thirty minutes on your cooling rack or countertop before you even attempt to remove it from its pan. Place the cake in your refrigerator to speed up the cooling process if necessary. Alternatively, flip the cake pan over and put a bowl of ice cubes on top of it to achieve a similar effect.
3. 3. Reheat the cake. If cooling doesn’t work, consider reheating the pan slightly. This sort of temperature shift in either direction can cause the sides of the cake to expand and contract enough that it might slide more easily out of the pan. To try this, preheat your oven again and place the cake back inside the oven for a few minutes. Alternatively, store the cake inside an enclosed space (such as an oven) with a cup of boiling hot water to raise the temperature around the cake.
4. 4. Turn the pan upside down. Invert the cake pan to help get the stuck cake out. Tap the backside of the pan to assist in this process. Sometimes you just need to let the cake cool upside down—once thirty minutes go by, you could potentially lift up the pan to see the cake slide right out.
5. 5. Use a springform pan. Springform pans have a latch that opens and allows you to disassemble them, so it’s much easier to remove their interior ingredients. You should still wait for the cake to cool before opening up a springform pan—it could get stuck to the side if the cake hasn’t fully cooked and cooled yet.

Prevention is as useful as knowing how to handle a sticky cake situation when it arises. Here are three tips to stop your cake from sticking to its pan:

1. 1. Add flour. By including flour or shortening around the cake pan interior, you soften the pan’s ability to grip too tightly onto the side of the cake batter. For chocolate cake, throw in some cocoa powder alongside the flour, too.
2. 2. Grease the baking pan. Use a baking spray or grease to ensure your cake pan is slippery so that removing your cake will prove to be no problem. Using a well-designed nonstick pan will also come in handy.
3. 3. Use a piece of parchment paper. Try adding a liner to the bottom of the pan to keep the cake mix from ever gripping on too tightly. Make sure to use parchment paper, as it can withstand the high heat of an oven. Using any other implements, like paper towels, could prove to be a dangerous fire hazard.

Become a better baker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Joanne Chang, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Chef Thomas Keller, Mashama Bailey, and more.

A cake pan is any pan you use for heating up a baked cake in an oven. Individual cakes call for different types of cake pans. A cheesecake or layer cake generally suggests a taller, more circular pan, while a pound cake traditionally uses a long, rectangular pan. Bundt cakes require Bundt pans. Consult specific cake recipes to see which sort of cake pan is advisable in any given instance.

In general, you should wait until the cake is fully cooked and cooled before trying to remove it from its pan. A golden brown consistency suggests it’s fully cooked. If it’s too light in color, it’s undercooked; if it’s too dark, it’s potentially burnt. Leave the cake out for at least twenty or thirty minutes at room temperature before you try to remove it from the pan. Touch the top of your cake to get an idea of when it’s cool. You can expedite the process by putting the cake in the refrigerator.

There are multiple means by which you can get your cakes out of their baking pans. Try any of these five methods to see what works best for you:

1. 1. Drag a knife around the edge. Gently slide a butter knife between the sides of the pan and the edges of the cake. Don’t cut into the cake itself, just fill in the gap between the edges of the pan and the cake. Drag the knife all around the cake pan to loosen up any grip the edges still have on the sides.
2. 2. Let the cake cool. If your cake sticks as soon as it comes out of the oven, that should come as no surprise. It should spend at least twenty to thirty minutes on your cooling rack or countertop before you even attempt to remove it from its pan. Place the cake in your refrigerator to speed up the cooling process if necessary. Alternatively, flip the cake pan over and put a bowl of ice cubes on top of it to achieve a similar effect.
3. 3. Reheat the cake. If cooling doesn’t work, consider reheating the pan slightly. This sort of temperature shift in either direction can cause the sides of the cake to expand and contract enough that it might slide more easily out of the pan. To try this, preheat your oven again and place the cake back inside the oven for a few minutes. Alternatively, store the cake inside an enclosed space (such as an oven) with a cup of boiling hot water to raise the temperature around the cake.
4. 4. Turn the pan upside down. Invert the cake pan to help get the stuck cake out. Tap the backside of the pan to assist in this process. Sometimes you just need to let the cake cool upside down—once thirty minutes go by, you could potentially lift up the pan to see the cake slide right out.
5. 5. Use a springform pan. Springform pans have a latch that opens and allows you to disassemble them, so it’s much easier to remove their interior ingredients. You should still wait for the cake to cool before opening up a springform pan—it could get stuck to the side if the cake hasn’t fully cooked and cooled yet.

Prevention is as useful as knowing how to handle a sticky cake situation when it arises. Here are three tips to stop your cake from sticking to its pan:

1. 1. Add flour. By including flour or shortening around the cake pan interior, you soften the pan’s ability to grip too tightly onto the side of the cake batter. For chocolate cake, throw in some cocoa powder alongside the flour, too.
2. 2. Grease the baking pan. Use a baking spray or grease to ensure your cake pan is slippery so that removing your cake will prove to be no problem. Using a well-designed nonstick pan will also come in handy.
3. 3. Use a piece of parchment paper. Try adding a liner to the bottom of the pan to keep the cake mix from ever gripping on too tightly. Make sure to use parchment paper, as it can withstand the high heat of an oven. Using any other implements, like paper towels, could prove to be a dangerous fire hazard.

Become a better baker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Joanne Chang, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Chef Thomas Keller, Mashama Bailey, and more.