How to Prepare a Bundt Pan for Baking? | Non-Stick Every Time

Grease every interior surface with baking spray or shortening, dust with flour or cocoa, and tap out the excess before adding batter.

For the full breakdown, see our best Bundt Pan guide.

Few things sting like a Bundt cake that refuses to leave its pan. The good news: this failure is almost always preventable. Prepping a Bundt pan correctly takes about two minutes and requires just one fat and one dry coating. The center tube and decorative grooves are where cakes stick, so those spots deserve the most attention. Nordic Ware, the company that made the pan famous, has clear guidance on the best prep methods, and the steps below follow it exactly.

The Two Best Prep Methods, Straight From Nordic Ware

Nordic Ware recommends two approaches for home bakers. Both work well, and the choice mostly comes down to which you keep in your pantry. Baking spray with flour is the fastest; a manual shortening-and-flour coating gives you more control over tricky designs.

• Baking spray with flour: This is Nordic Ware’s top pick for intricate pans because the spray reaches deep into the nooks and crannies that brushes and fingers miss. Apply it thoroughly but not too heavily, right before the batter goes in.
• Solid vegetable shortening or softened butter plus flour: This is the classic route. Use a pastry brush to spread a thin, even layer of shortening into all the grooves and the center cone, then dust lightly with flour and tap out the excess.

The same logic applies whether your pan is cast aluminum, non-stick, or ceramic. Non-stick pans still benefit from prep, and King Arthur Baking specifies that if your pan is not non-stick, greasing and flouring is a necessity, not an option.

Step-By-Step: How To Prep Your Pan In Two Minutes

Time the prep right: make your batter first. Most sources recommend spraying or greasing the pan immediately before filling it, so the fat doesn’t pool or drip down the sides while you mix. Here is the full sequence that works.

1. Coat every interior surface. Spray generously with a flour-based baking spray like Baker’s Joy or Pam for Baking, or brush a thin layer of solid shortening (Crisco works well) or softened butter over the entire inside of the pan. Do not miss the center tube, the fluted edges, or the bottom creases where the pan meets the tube.
2. Dust with the right dry coating. Sprinkle in about a tablespoon of flour. For chocolate Bundt cakes, swap the flour for cocoa powder to avoid a white, dusty residue on the finished cake.
3. Tap out the excess. Rotate and tilt the pan so the flour or cocoa coats every groove evenly, then invert it over the sink and tap firmly to remove any loose powder. Excess dry coating leaves an unattractive paste-like film on the crust.
4. Fill and bake. Pour the batter in immediately and spread it evenly so the tube and outer edges get equal coverage.

If you use the shortening method, the pastry brush is your best friend. It pushes the fat into the fine details of the pan better than a paper towel, which tends to slide over the grooves and leave them dry. After baking, let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for the time your recipe specifies, then invert.

Mistakes That Ruin A Bundt Cake

Even experienced bakers hit these traps. The center tube is the first place cakes stick because it is easy to rush past. Greasing too early runs a close second, since the fat slides down into a pool at the bottom of the pan. Heavy, uneven layers of grease cause patches of thick crust, while too much flour leaves that chalky white film, especially noticeable on dark chocolate cakes.

One more habit worth building: treat your pan’s seasoning like cast iron if you use it constantly. That initial step creates a smoother release surface for years of cakes to come.

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