You can use many different things to grease your cake pans, and I love non-stick spray for my enameled ones, but I’m a bit picky how I grease my raw cast iron. A lot of non-stick sprays contain alcohol or water and I found that they can mess with the patina and make it look weird. Not to mention that they leave the pan sticky.

I prefer coconut oil or lard for my cast iron waffle irons, where the fat can melt into every scorching hot corner, but cake pans are a different matter. It’s hard to coat all the nooks and crannies evenly with a brush, especially when the the butter or other fat is room temperature and stubborn to work with. Oil spreads too thin, drips down, or mixes with the batter before the pan has a chance to heat up in the oven.

That’s why I love homemade pan grease. Some call it non-stick, pan-release, or goop. For me it’s pan grease. Because that’s what it does, and it does an exceptional job, especially with cast iron.

The recipe is really simple, you need (in volume):

• 1 part vegetable oil
• 1 part shortening
• 1 part flour

Mix everything with a handheld mixer until creamy and fill it into a jar to keep in the fridge. It’s easily spreadable even when it’s cold, it stays where you brush it, and it allows your cakes to slide right out of the pan.

My current batch is yellowish because I used ghee instead of shortening. There are some supply issues in the supermarkets at the moment, which force me to get creative. The ghee version works great, you’ll see the cake baked in the lamb mold in a few days.

See ya soon!