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Home › Recipes › Recipe

Updated on September 30, 2026 by Liz Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 166 Comments

Cake Goop Recipe

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Cake Goop Recipe

You'll never have to buy pan release again after you make your own cake goop!

Cake goop is super simple to make and works every time for a perfect cake release.

Seriously, I wish someone had told me about this amazing stuff before. It's stupid easy and takes only a minute to make and you know what? Your cakes will turn out every single time. No parchment. No flour and shortening messes. No using a knife to cut around the edges. No more buying pan release spray!

You're welcome.

cake goop

How to make your own cake goop

It's super simple to make your own pan release. Just mix equal parts flour, vegetable oil and vegetable shortening (or margarine). Then combine it all in a mixer on low or hand stir. If you have some lumps, no biggie. When it's smooth and homogenous, you're done. Easy right?

I store my cake goop in a container and leave it on the countertop because I use it a lot but if you want, you can put yours in the fridge but truly, it doesn't go bad. You don't have to worry.

Tips for success using cake goop

Ok so it's super easy to make, super easy to store and makes all your cakes come out like a dream right. You can't really mess it up. EXCEPT if you use too much. I like to apply my cake goop with a pastry brush and do a nice even coat but early on, I got a little crazy with the layers and put a LOT on there. This can actually backfire and cause your cake to stick. So a nice thin layer is all you need.

cake goop

Some cakes will stick no matter what. You need to know this. Because if the first cake you make with cake goop is strawberry which naturally has a ton of sugar in it and it sticks, you will curse my name and say darn you Liz Marek! You lied to me.

No, it's just the cake. As far as I know strawberry cake, cinnamon sugar and some cakes with high amounts of sugar will stick so it's best to use a parchment circle as well to prevent sticking.

Big cakes sometimes need a little help coming out of the pan. Does that mean your cake goop isn't working? Nope. Sometimes the base of a cake can just stick to the pan from being really warm so putting parchment in the bottom of your pan larger than 12" or sheet cakes can just give you a little peace of mind. I admit though... I never do and haven't had a problem *knocks on wood*

Cake goop is essential for clean releases on bundts like my wine chocolate cake, where every crevice of the pan needs to come out clean.

Gluten-Free Cake Goop

You can make your cake goop gluten-free by replacing the flour with gluten-free flour like bobs red mill 1:1 baking flour. 

Recipe

Cake Goop Recipe

Cake Goop Recipe (homemade pan release)

You'll never go back to store-bought after making your own pan release! 
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 818kcal
Author: Liz Marek

Ingredients

  • 7 oz vegetable shortening or margarine
  • 7.5 oz vegetable oil (or other oil you like)
  • 5 oz all purpose flour
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in a mixer and combine until white and homogenous. Store in a covered container at room temperature or you can refrigerate it. Apply a thin coat to your cake pans before baking for a flawless release every time.  

Notes

I like to store my cake goop in this cute little jar with a silicone brush!

Nutrition

Calories: 818kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 75g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1.9mg
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Cake Goop Recipe

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About Liz Marek

Liz Marek is a professional cake artist and recipe developer who has been teaching baking and cake decorating since 2008. She founded Artisan Cake Company in Portland, Oregon in 2009 and now runs Sugar Geek Show, where she publishes kitchen-tested recipes, food science explanations, and step-by-step tutorials.

Liz is best known for sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes. She won Netflix's Is It Cake? Holiday 2 in 2025 with a hyperrealistic Santa cake, and has competed on and won Food Network cake competitions. Cake Masters Magazine named her one of the top 10 cake artists in 2017. She is the author of Artisan Cake Company's Visual Guide to Cake Decorating and a graduate of the Oregon Culinary Institute.

Her focus is on explaining not just how a recipe works but why it works, so bakers can troubleshoot instead of guess. Every recipe on this site is tested before it's published.

Liz teaches full-length cake tutorials, including sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes, at Sugar Geek University.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heike Wiegand says

    June 14, 2020 at 10:45 pm

    Cook or baking? And how hot?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      June 15, 2020 at 10:41 am

      There isn't any cooking or baking required for this recipe

      Reply
  2. Keri says

    June 14, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    Can this be used on a spring form pan when making cheesecake?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      June 15, 2020 at 10:43 am

      Ive never used pan release for cheesecake so I don't know for sure.

      Reply
  3. Anne Dietz says

    June 12, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    5 stars
    Your cake goop is awesome! Thanks Liz!!

    Reply
  4. Michelle says

    June 08, 2020 at 8:50 am

    Love this stuff!!

    Reply
  5. Debbie says

    June 06, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    Have you ever used this for a bundt cake? If so, were results better than the normal release sprays/flour combo?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      June 15, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      Yes I use this for all my recipes that require pan release

      Reply
  6. Teague Shamleffer says

    June 05, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    Could I use butter instead of shortening? Love all your recipes!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      June 06, 2020 at 11:45 am

      I haven't tried that but I dont see why not

      Reply
  7. Jaimie Lee says

    June 02, 2020 at 3:45 pm

    5 stars
    How long does the goop last, if placed in the refrigerator?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      June 03, 2020 at 11:23 am

      It doesn't have an expiration

      Reply
  8. Diane Hill says

    May 25, 2020 at 11:22 am

    5 stars
    I mixed up the cake goop and used it today. Awesome!

    Reply
  9. C S says

    May 23, 2020 at 1:59 pm

    Do you think I could use Sweetex HR Shortening for this? It's all I have right now. 🙂

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      May 23, 2020 at 2:47 pm

      Definitely 🙂

      Reply
  10. Deborah says

    May 15, 2020 at 10:08 am

    Hi, my goop separated‼️ Oil sunk to bottom of my container. Is this normal? What to do, please?

    Love this goop it really works and I am now hooked.
    Thanks, Deb
    PS enjoy your presentation and ideas on your show.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      May 15, 2020 at 11:16 am

      Totally normal, just mix it up again 🙂

      Reply
  11. Loan says

    May 12, 2020 at 1:46 am

    Can you use this for muffins too?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      May 12, 2020 at 9:16 am

      Yes you sure can

      Reply
  12. Kathy says

    May 08, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Does this leave a white coating on chocolate cakes? I usually use cocoa instead of flower for chocolate cakes...

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      May 09, 2020 at 9:36 am

      No white residue but you can add a tsp of cocoa if you wish 🙂

      Reply
  13. Barbara G says

    May 07, 2020 at 1:53 pm

    Just made cake goop and from your inst. I made it in equal parts 1 cup equal then scrolling down. I see ingredients are a little different...Help hope it is ok.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Marek says

      May 07, 2020 at 1:58 pm

      The recipe is equal parts. 1 cup flour, 1 cup oil, 1 cup vegetable shortening by volume.

      Reply
  14. Tracy Brooks says

    May 07, 2020 at 2:30 am

    5 stars
    It was very easy to make. My cakes just slid right out of the pans.

    Reply
  15. Esther says

    May 04, 2020 at 1:57 am

    5 stars
    OMG! I love this cake goop! It works beautifully removing cake from your pan. Thank you Liz for this recipe. 😃

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Liz! I'm a cake artist and recipe developer, and I won Netflix's Is It Cake? Holiday 2 with a hyperrealistic Santa. I write foolproof recipes that explain why things work, not just how.

I also teach full-length cake tutorials, including sculpted cakes, at Sugar Geek University.

More about me →

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