Flouring/greasing cake (bundt) pans?

Every time I lightly grease and flour my cake pans, the finished cake ends up with flour residue on the surface. I wouldn't exactly mind this if I were frosting my cakes, but I've recently been making bundts and it's turning into an issue. I make sure to tap out all the excess flour before putting in my batter, but no matter what, I end up with a discolored, flour-crusted cake.

Does anyone have any tips on preventing this, or even getting rid of it once the cake is finished? I've got a bundt fresh out of the oven that looks a bit off, and would love to somehow restore it, if possible. If not, any of your other suggestions would be great!

Posted by: Meghan
February 10, 2015

25737 views
10 Comments

10 Comments

Mei C. February 10, 2015

When I worked in restaurants, we would soften butter and grease the pan really really well--if you want to know if it's totally coated, pop your pan in the fridge and see if there are any bare streaks. If there are, spray a light coat of Pam on top of that and you should be fine.

Meghan February 10, 2015

No flour? Sounds good to me. Thank you so much!

Julie February 10, 2015

I use a Nordic Ware bundt pan with spray only, no flour, and have never had a problem with cakes releasing. Depending on your pan, maybe you could experiment without any flour at all?
For the cake you just took out of the oven, I would either brush on some simple syrup to soak up the extra flour, or drizzle on a glaze to hide it.

Meghan February 10, 2015

I thought about skipping the flour, but then I realized I would rather have a cake with a bit of leftover flour, then a cake that broke coming out of the pan. For this one, I'll definitely be using a thicker glaze to try and hide it. Thank you for your suggestions!

hardlikearmour February 10, 2015

A great trick I learned from Cook's Illustrated is to make a paste of 1 T melted butter and 1 T flour then brush it into the bundt pan. Cake releases well; no butter film.

Meghan February 10, 2015

Perfect! I'll definitely try that next time. Thank you!

Nancy February 10, 2015

I also had this problem and would again if I started making Bundt cakes again. Logically, Sherlock, there is too much flour in the pan after tapping it out. So, Watson, is the solution to reduce the flour we put in to miniscule, just enough to help release finished cake, but not enough to make the ugly (my cakes, not yours) crust of uncooked flour on the finished product. Looking forward to hearing solutions/ideas.

drbabs February 10, 2015

If your cake is chocolate, use cocoa powder instead of flour. And it may be heresy, but I've recently been using the spray that's a mixture of flour and oil (baker's spray) and it has changed my life. I spray the inside of the pan, and then use a paper towel to distribute it evenly on the inside. It works really well.

Meghan February 10, 2015

How have I never heard of baker's spray? I'm definitely going to have to buy some. Thank you so much!

kitty62862 February 26, 2025

It’s called Baker’s Joy

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Flouring/greasing cake (bundt) pans?

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