Our dear friend here at DVO, Barbara, sent me an email with a HOT HOT HOT tip (I’m hoping you’ll think so as well). She said she planned to try this herself, pronto.

She gave me an Internet link so I could explore the idea and suggested I write about this for our next newsletter. Explore I did. And writing I am!

The idea’s been around for about six or more years now, so you may already know about it and/or be doing this. But in case there are readers that have never heard of this before (and I can’t believe with all the food/recipe/nutrition research I do that I’d never heard of it before), I want to share.

The idea? Making your own baking release product (think Baker’s Joy, Wilton’s Cake Release, Pam, etc.). And foodie bloggers have been raving about it for a long time now. For instance, Jamie, of Love Bakes Good Cakes (www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com), said this: “If you bake a lot, then this Miracle Pan Release recipe is a must-have item in your pantry! It’s so much cheaper than using cooking spray, it works better and there are no chemical fumes! It does not leave the icky weird, black residue on the edges of your pans like cooking spray and it makes clean up a breeze!”

She touched on issues that I care about, too. The “much cheaper” reason for making your own baking release is a biggie. The commercial product is expensive. I found another fellow tightwad, Veronica, over at Veronica’s Cornucopia (www.veronicascornucopia.com), who also agreed with Jamie regarding how this do-it-yourself stuff is terrific and saves lots of money: “This miracle pan release is just as good as Wilton’s product at a fraction of the price. I’ve never had a cake slide out so easily, except when using Wilton’s Cake Release! It is very shelf-stable and easy to make, so I encourage you to whip up a batch to keep on hand for your own baking projects.”

I was reading through reader comments on Jamie and Veronica’s sites, and folks enthusiastically agreed with them. And several people said they especially liked how nicely this worked for their Bundt cakes, which tend to be sticking nightmares.

Before I share the recipe for this wonderment, here’s some advice from Veronica on what to do after you take your cake(s) out of the oven: “When baking is completed, I remove my cakes immediately. As soon as I can, I pop them out of the pans. I don’t know if other bakers would recommend that but it’s always worked for me. I use another cooling rack to flip the cake(s) back over. You want your cake resting on its bottom, not on the domed top. Cakes that cool while resting on their domed tops tend to crack.”

Combining this hot, hot, hot tip with my love of cake, means more cake on the horizon! Life is good, isn’t it?

MIRACLE PAN RELEASE

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup vegetable shortening

½ cup vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients with a hand mixer until the mixture slightly increases in volume and the mixture looks smooth and creamy.

Place in a covered container and store on counter top or in the pantry.

To use: Use a pastry brush, clean paper towel or clean fingers to coat the inside of baking pans before baking. Use within 3-4 months or store in refrigerator for longer use.

NOTES: You can easily adjust this to make larger or smaller batches! Use the same ratios for all three ingredients to increase or decrease amounts. (For instance, if you need more: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup vegetable shortening, and 1 cup vegetable oil.)

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