How to Line a Cake Tin

Choose a recipe, purchase ingredients, mix and knead and bake all afternoon. No one wants that story to end with half the cake stuck to the tin. Grease and flour will usually avert this disaster. For the runniest batter or the stickiest tins, start unrolling your baking paper.

EditSteps

EditLining a Round Tin

Use this method for cakes and pans likely to stick. You don’t need paper for every cake recipe. Paper is recommended for long-cooking cakes, such as fruitcakes. For most other recipes, you can save time and money by using butter and flour instead, as described below.
- Regardless of recipe, use paper if your your tin has a history of sticking,
Lightly grease with butter. This will help stick the greaseproof paper (parchment paper) to the sides of the tin, making assembly easier.^[1] Because the cake batter won’t be touching the tin directly, you don’t need to do a thorough job.
Measure the tin with a piece of string. Wrap a piece of string around the cake tin. Cut the string where it wraps fully around the tin.
Measure the greaseproof paper with the string. Unroll your greaseproof paper and place the string over it. Cut off a piece of paper the length of the string.
Cut the paper in half lengthwise. Fold this in half lengthwise, to make a long, narrow rectangle. Crease the fold with your hand. Unfold and cut along the crease. You now have two pieces of paper that can fit around your cake tin’s sides. Set aside one of them for another cake — you’ll only need one.
- You can use both to double-line the cake tin, but this is usually unnecessary.
Crease a short fold on one side of the paper. Take the long side of the paper and fold it over about 2.5 cm (one inch). Crease this fold.
Cut the creased section into many segments. This small folded area will rest on the base of the pan. To make it fit smoothly without crumpling, cut from the edge to the crease at 2.5 cm (one inch) intervals. You'll end up with a row of flaps.
- Cut at a slight angle from the edge to make a better fit.^[2]
Cut out paper for the base. You've prepared the paper to cover the sides. All that's left is the base. Place the tin on the paper and use a pencil to trace around it. Cut out the outline to make a piece that will cover the base.
- Since the outside of the tin is larger than the inside, stay slightly within the line you traced.
Fit the paper into the tin. Wrap the long piece of paper around the inside walls of the tin. Push the flaps down until they are all lying flat against the base. Place the base paper onto the base of the tin, over the flaps. Press down to make sure it lies flat.
- You can leave up to 5 cm (2 inches) of paper above the upper edge. This traps the heat in and browns the cake sides if it rises over the tin. Trim off any excess above that level.

EditLining a Rectangular Tin

Grease the pan. Wipe softened butter or shortening over the interior base and sides of the pan.
Cut out a piece of parchment paper. Place the tin on greaseproof paper (parchment paper) and trace around the base with a pencil. Fold up the paper on each side, up to the top of the tin. Cut out this large rectangle of paper.
- If your batter isn't runny, you can use just one strip of paper instead, covering two opposite sides and the base. Leave an overhang so you can easily pull the cake out.^[3]
Fold the paper along the pencil lines. Fold the paper just inside the pencil lines, to compensate for the thickness of the tin. Turn the paper over and fold it back the other way, so the pencil marks face down.
Line the tin. Fit the paper inside the greased tin, pressing it down onto the base. Fold the corners to get them to fit, creasing them against the side.

EditUsing Grease and Flour

Use this method for dry batter or odd-shaped tins. Lining a Bundt pan with paper is not worth the effort. Grease and flour cover the crevices more effectively than paper, and are usually enough to prevent sticking. In fact, you can use this method for regular tins as well, as long as the cake batter isn't too runny.
Decide how much to grease. Most cakes do well in a fully greased tin. but there are exceptions:^[4]
- If there’s a buttery crust (such as graham cracker crust) touching the tin, there’s already enough fat to prevent sticking.
- A light batter such as angel food or chiffon cake will rise higher (and end up fluffier) if it has an ungreased side to climb up. The flour will help with this, but you may still want to leave the upper sides ungreased.
Grease the tin with butter. Soften your butter in the microwave for a few seconds if you took it straight from the fridge. Wipe the stick of butter directly onto base of the tin, or apply it with a pastry brush. Use the advice above to decide how much of the interior sides to grease.
- Bundt cakes often stick where the tubes of the Bundt pan meet the base.^[5] Pay special attention to crevices and corners like these.
- You can use shortening instead.
- You can use a non-stick cooking spray, but cheap grocery store brands tend to be less effective. Look for a higher-quality spray or "cake release spray" at specialty cooking and baking stores.^[6]^[7]
Dust with flour. Sprinkle flour over the base of the tin. Hold one end of the pan and tap the other end repeatedly. This will shunt excess flour over the base, covering the whole area.^[8] Rotate the tin and repeat to cover the sides.
- Substitute cocoa powder for dark-colored cakes. This isn't necessary if you plan to frost the cake.
Tap out excess flour. Angle the tin downward and tap out extra flour. If there are any gaps on the surface, cover them with more grease and flour.

EditThings You'll Need

Parchment paper
String
Scissors
Butter or high-quality nonstick cooking spray
Flour

EditTips

Cool firm cakes upside-down over a wire rack to make them easier to remove.^[9]
For cakes baked in tins with crevices or decorative molds, cool the pan on top of a kitchen towel soaked in hot water.^[10] After about ten minutes, turn the cake upside down to get it out.

EditRelated wikiHows

EditSources and Citations

Round tin method adapted from http://ift.tt/1MtT2aU

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