Homemade Cake Release

This is going to be a really exciting post!  Well, maybe not.  But it's all I've got right now.  I've been baking and baking, but then I've been wrapping my cakes in plastic and foil and tossing them into the freezer.  Why? Because I have a job and kids and in order to make cakes, I have to do them in stages.  So, for my great-aunt's birthday party on Sunday, I have been baking and freezing.  On Friday I'll take the cakes out of the freezer, fill them and let them settle.  On Saturday I will ice and decorate.  On Sunday the finished cake will be ready to go!  At least that's the plan.

Anyhoo, I was getting ready to bake this morning and realized I was out of cake release.  I used to use grease and flour, which works just fine, but once I tried this stuff I was won over.  And since it's really easy to make, I whipped up a batch and took some pictures.  If you have never used homemade cake realease, you are missing out.  It's fabulous.  And cheap.  Two of my favorite things.

Here's what you'll need:

One cup of flour, one cup of vegetable oil, one cup of vegetable shortening and a blender.  I apologize to those who are grossed out by shortening, but the recipe won't work without it.

Throw everything in the blender:

And put the spurs to it.

And in just a minute or so you'll have cake release!  Yum!

I keep mine in a plastic container in the pantry.  And when you need it, just brush it onto your pan:

Like so. 

It keeps forever, but it may separate a little between uses, so just give it a stir if it needs it.  It can also be kept in the fridge, if you're funny about that sort of thing.  Also, I've heard of many people who make this in their stand mixer.  I used to, but I found the blender mixed it better, and there seemed to be less mess to clean up afterward. 

And this is what the cake looks like out of the pan:

No sticking at all!  Yay!

If you haven't yet made your own cake release, I hope you try it soon.

Enjoy!