Lining Paste – Review Of Nancy Birtwhistle’s Recipe
Reviewing Cake Lining Paste
Alternative To Cake Release Spray
AKA Cake Goop
Here's my review of Cake Lining Paste. This is also known as Cake Goop & works like cake release spray. Less expensive & easier than lining with butter & flour, cakes will never stick again. Excellent for using on bundt pans too. Vegan, & can be made using gluten free flour.
*Reviewed 07/01/20, photos updated 06/11/23
Reasons To Use
Less Expensive Easy & Quick To Make Works Great & On Bundts Vegan & Dairy-free Works With Gluten-free Flour Too Not Just For Baking & Cake Pans
Reviewing Nancy’s Recipe
Most people will know who Nancy Birtwhistle is but if not, she won The Great British Bake Off, (The Great British Baking Show), series 5 in 2014. She shares daily baking and household tips on Instagram and on her own website, and most recently released a new book called Sizzle & Drizzle.
This is a recipe of hers I tried for my cake not to be partly stuck in the bundt pan. (Don’t you just hate when cakes stick in the pan?) Normally I would have brushed butter or baking spray on the insides of the tin and then lined with a coating of flour. My bundt pan is a good solid one, and usually comes out well, with just a few taps, but wanted to try Nancy’s recipe on this occasion, as I know a lot of people struggle with this.
What Is Lining Paste Made From?
So I was making an orange drizzle cake to review, and before filling the bundt pan I made up Nancy’s lining paste. It is made up of plain (All purpose) flour, vegetable shortening (Trex/Crisco) and vegetable oil. You simply mix the pieces of shortening and flour with a hand or stand mixer, until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Then mix in the oil gradually, while mixing, until you have a very thin smooth paste. And that’s it!
How To Store
Just store in a glass jar, in the fridge and use directly, whenever needed. I found using a good brush, softens the paste enough to be able to apply it easily to your pan, straight from the fridge.
Order Of Adding Ingredients
** Note at a later date, I prepared slightly differently, as in this photo. I beat the shortening before adding in the oil & mixing together. Then I added the flour and mixed well. This method worked just the same and was tested on the bundt cake in the Photo further down.
How To Apply Lining Paste
As I mentioned, I tested it on my bundt tin. I started brushing at the bottom, and on the middle area, working in upwards strokes. This is a tip for when making lava cakes or souffles, brush in upward strokes to encourage upward growth and brushing horizontally would create friction. See Photo.
Once the middle sections were done, I brushed up the sides in the same way, applying a thick generous layer, paying attention to the difficult areas of the tin. This is the best way to apply cake lining paste. It I have since heard, is also known as cake goop.
Then I simply filled the pan with my cake batter and baked as normal. After baking, as for all bundt cakes, leave in the tin to cool down. As this recipe included a drizzle, this was applied while ‘upside down’ if you like, so was cooled before I tried to turn the cake out.
Time To Release The Cake
Now normally I give my bundt pan a few taps to release it, but when I was applying my drizzle, I could tell the cake was not sticking to the sides of the pan. So after putting a tea towel on top of a cooling rack and flipping everything over, the cake literally just popped out. Nothing stuck. All intact, even though the cake was now softer with the moisture of the drizzle. You could see all the definition of the bundt cake. See Photo above.
I was not too pleased with cake recipe I used, so will be using my own lemon poppy seed drizzle bundt cake next time and making it orange and lemon. But as for the lining paste, well I highly recommend it. It worked as it’s supposed to and was extremely easy to make and you don’t have to make it up every time you need it. A less expensive alternative to expensive cake release sprays or butter.
My Rating For Nancy’s Recipe
So for my rating of this recipe I give a
(10/10)
This is the highest I have ever given out when reviewing a recipe. And that is down to it “doing exactly as it says on the tin”! Well worth the under 10 minutes preparation time. Saves your beautiful cake being ruined and could not be simpler to make.
Buy Nancy’s Book
You can get Nancy’s book only via her website, and the cost includes delivery to overseas if wished, as well as it being a signed copy (for a limited period only). It is a big hardback with 400 pages and special SQ technology that enables you to watch the videos for the recipes on your mobile phone. Here’s a direct link to get the book: Get Nancy Birtwhistle’s Sizzle & Drizzle book .
Please also note, Nancy has advised that this book is ONLY AVAILABLE VIA NANCY on her website. Any on Amazon or eBay with very high prices, is not being sold by Nancy.
My Lining Paste Videos
Here’s a few videos of me making up the lining paste, applying it to a bundt pan and removing easily from a loaf tin. These show just how simply the cakes pop out of the tin.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN LINING PASTE
APPLYING THE LINING PASTE TO A BUNDT PAN
TURNING OUT BANANA BREAD FROM THE TIN
Top Tips For Cake Lining Paste
- For hygiene & to preserve the life of the lining paste, remove a few tsp worth into a little dish & apply from that, rather than continually dipping into the paste jar.
- For chocolate or darker cake, remove a few tsp of the lining paste from the jar & mix will a little cocoa powder & mix well. Add just enough to make the paste a pale brown colour. I include carrot cake & any cake or bakes using wholewheat/meal flour.
- For Gluten Free version of the lining paste, just use a generic Gluten Free blend (plain/All Purpose flour).
- Lining Paste Is Vegan and Dairy-Free.
Recipe In Cup Measurements
- 1 cup (125g/4.5 oz) Plain/All Purpose Flour (or Plain/A.P. Gluten free Flour)
- ⅔ cup (125g/4.5 oz) Vegetable Shortening
- (Trex in UK or Crisco in the states)
- ½ cup (125ml/4.25 fl oz) Vegetable Oil
Just whisk all the ingredients together to form a smooth paste.
*This will make and mostly fill a 500ml or ½ litre (17 fl oz) jar , (making about 2¼ cups worth of paste).
*Store in the fridge and keep as long as the shortest use by date of the ingredients.
For Darker Cakes
If you want to use on a chocolate or red velvet cake, take a few tsps of the cake lining paste out and mix in a little cocoa powder just to change the colour of it and use as before. The lining paste worked and again the cakes just fell out of the tin.
AFTER REVIEWING THE LINING PASTE
Reader’s Success
Since reviewing this recipe, I recommend it to all the time. People say they love it and will never use anything else. Many are now pleased they can use their pretty bundt pans at last, as it is awesome for those! Here’s a photo of Dona’s cake that just wouldn’t come out of the pan in one piece. She had tried several times, and the cakes always stuck. After I referred her to this cake lining paste, she has never looked back! Here’s what she had to say –
“I swear by the cake lining paste. Wonderful and life/bake changing!
Dona Smith“
“
DIFFICULT LEVEL – Super Easy, Beginner
*Origins Of Lining Paste/Cake Goop*
I have since discovered that cake lining paste, has been around for many years. I had thought it was used more in American kitchens, & known as cake goop. But I have also learned that some people in the UK’s great grandmothers used a very similar paste too.
Over time, this will of course change & slight variations will evolve. However, the same principles apply, as well as the same benefits.
Some Lining Paste/Cake Goop Failures
However, I have heard some people say they have not had success with using lining paste in their bundt pans. And I have a possible reason for that. After doing some research on the internet, I see that US recipes, which mostly use cup measurements, are always listing as “equal parts” of each ingredient.
Now, since different ingredients, have different volumes & weights, when you actually convert say 1 cup flour (125g), and 1 cup vegetable shortening, that does not equate to 125g but 163g.
Similarly, 1 cup oil is 240ml, not 125ml. So the discrepancy of nearly double the amount of oil, will make for an extremely thin paste – more liquid like.
Couple that with cups being an inaccurate form of measuring, and how it can vary from person-to-person and from cup-to-cup, it is no wonder there are some failures, with lining paste, or even in baking in general. My thought is, that original recipes were based on equal parts in ounces, using old scales in the UK, and perhaps packet sizings in the US.
Try my Conversion Table Of Common Baking Ingredients, that have all been hand measured by myself during extensive recipe testing, as Google can be both inaccurate and inconsistent.
Brushs To Use In Baking
I hate seeing professional on TV or YouTube, using silicone brushes for egg-wash or greasing. I really dislike the look of egg wash applied like that, as it is so obvious when baked (& if they just use egg yolk along, even more so).
For a neater finished bake, & for this lining paste, I strongly recommend a wooden brush, with real or synthetic bristles. (You just need to be careful of them falling out). You do not need to buy a more expensive pastry brush. An unused artist brush works really well. You can have a few of different widths for different uses.
Having bristles rather than silicone, there are no gaps in-between. So you won’t miss any areas when egg-washing, or for this lining paste, you can apply a good layer, and not waste any or spend more time having to apply again for the areas missed.
Caring For Brushes
Just be sure to hand-wash your brush right away, and don’t submerge the wooden handle in water, don’t put in the dishwasher and leave to air-dry.
I have even used, unused make-up brushes for fondant work. Having small brushed to hand is always beneficial. I think I will write a blog on it – so look out for that.
Not Just For Cake Pans & Baking
This cake lining paste is good for any greasing or lining needs in the kitchen. Not just for cakes or baking, use in cooking too. Use for greasing pie tins or bread tins, anything you like.
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Lining Paste/Cake Goop Review
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