i live in germany and have no access to CAKE RELEASE or BAKE EASY SPRAY, which i *hear* make greasing shaped pans a breeze. so what should i use instead? will plain old shortening and a dusting of flour be ok? what if i mix them into a paste and use that? will it have the same effect or must i always grease first and then dust?

and what about silicone pans? should i grease them, too? i recently tried out my KA cook for the cure heart-shaped silicone pans WITHOUT greasing (as other people have suggested) and that was a DISASTER! my chocolate mud cake stuck to the bottom and came out in pieces should i have greased it first?

apart from the silicone pans, i've honestly never used any of my wilton 3d/shaped pans before and i want to be sure i know what i'm doing before i start!

thank you!

How about trying a homemade recipe of cake release! Here's one from this website

http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1963-0-Cake-Release.html

I always grease my shaped/character pans with cake release and a pastry brush, to really get into the nooks and crannies. It really pays off to take your time greasing, especially when your cake comes out beautiful!

I'm not sure about the silicon molds. Maybe someone else can answer that for you?

HTH!
Mirjana

i didn't even know there was a recipe for that! lol! thanks so much!

I use flour and shortening to grease all my pans. I just think it works best. There is a recipe in this site for a homemade cake release. I think it has shortening, flour and oil. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll try and get it for you.

Cindy

thanks, cindy!

Hi Darra!

Oh we have Cake Release here. Not the brand but some similar things. They are quite expensive but we have them. You can find them in bigger supermarkets or lately I saw them where they sell the pans.

Greasing with shortening or butter also works. First grease then flour. It is easier if you melt the butter or shortening and use a brush.

Silicone pans don't have to be greased but they have to be perfectly clean. I always rinse them with cold water before I fill the batter in. To prevent cracking pull the pan directly out of the oven on a cooling rack (slipping it over). Let it cool a little and before you flip it over stretch the border a bit. Flip it and strip the silicone pan away (you can turn it inside out if it's a difficult shape).

Luggi

hi luggi!

i bought a can of Schwartau Backspray but it didn't really work for me the ones in tortissimo are expensive! i think i'll try the homemade version before i spend 8 on the backtrennspray

thanks for the tips on the silicone pan! i will try that out real soon i had no idea that cold water would help! by the way, do you wash your silicone pans in the dishwasher? or only by hand?

I put my silicone pans in the dishwasher. Sometimes they were a bit greasy after I have washed them by hand altough I washed and dried them properly. They get greasy after some time Therefore my dishwasher makes the job and he is really good in washing

Another tip: If you want to cover the cake in chocolate, fill some melted chocolate in the pan, cover the sides and put the cake in. Cool in the fridge and strip the silicone pan carefully away. It will be the most shiny chocolate you've ever seen and the shape will be perfect.

Luggi

lol! cheers to our helpful dishwashers! hahaha!

oh my gosh! I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THAT!!!!! i don't think my chocolate will be very shiny because my KA pans have a matte-finish but as long as they look smooth, i'm happy!!! thanks!!!