Unmoulding cakes while hot


Unmoulding cakes while hot
When you make a cake, pound cake or whatever (what bakers call a "travel cake" because it's easy to carry around) you've most likely made a batter, either by hand or in a food processor, which you then pour into a buttered pan.

It's a classic, and I've already talked to you about 2 or 3 tips on cold dough, or how to have a nice opening on the top etc.

That was all about the pre-bake period, but let's look at the post-bake period.
35 K 4.6/5 (25 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:BakingCookingCakeUnmouldingTips
Last modified on: February 6th 2021
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
Unmoulding cakes while hot

First of all, the control of the baking process

First of all, the most important thing is the control of the baking process, let's be clear: a baking time indicated for a cake in a recipe is most of the time very approximate. This baking time depends on your oven, the temperature of the oven, the oven itself, the temperature of the batter, the type of pan etc. etc. The only thing missing is the age of the captain...

So the only good way to check if a cake is cooked properly is to stick a knife in the middle, if it comes out dry, the cake is cooked, and if not (trace of raw dough) it needs more time.
gâteau pas assez cuit
Not enough cooked
gâteau bien cuit
Enough cooked


The unmoulding

Imagine that it is well cooked => you turn off the oven, put on the gloves and take the mould out of the oven to put it on a surface that does not fear heat.
And then you wait for it to cool down.

Well no, that would be a mistake, if you do that, the cake will cool in its tin, and badly or rather unevenly, the tin acting as a heat preserver. Worse, it will form on the edges of the mold some kind of steam bubbles that will deform your cake, which gives this kind of defect:
gâteau déformé tranche
gâteau déformé dessus


Note that the defect will be accentuated with metal or glass molds, which conduct heat better, and a little mitigated with those made of silicone or paper.

What to do?

It's quite simple, you have to unmould your hot cake, very hot even, and put it immediately on a grid.
The easiest way to do this is :
- Once the mold is removed from the oven, wait 1 or 2 minutes that the cake begins to cool and shrink a little, it facilitates the removal
- Keep the gloves on, tip the pan with one hand, put your other hand underneath and shake lightly until the cake falls into your hand
- Turn it over and put it on a rack to cool down in a quiet place
- Bonus: Put the pan to soak right away, to make cleaning easier, and leave the oven door off so that it cools down faster (and the internal fan stops)

cake sur grille



It's all very simple, but this way your beautiful cake will cool down faster, and above all without warping.

In summary: You must remove a cake from the oven as soon as it is baked, otherwise it will warp.

Lasts posts
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".
April 25th 20255815
The thermometer is your friend
The thermometer is your friend
There are many recipes or foods that require a (very) precise cooking temperature: foie gras, sugar for caramel, meats and fish, and not forgetting pastries. For these few examples, getting the cooking temperature wrong can spoil the whole recipe or dish: undercooked, it's no good or misses the...
April 10th 20251,4655
Travel cakes
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.
January 27th 20252,988
The aromatic power of sugar
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...
December 25th 20243,4185
The little trap of thick cream
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...
December 13th 20243,5505

Other pages you may also like
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.
June 21th 201761 K 24.2
 The super powers of cornstarch
The super powers of cornstarch
I start this new year by evoking an old product, that you most probably have in your cupboards, a white powder, often in a small cardboard package with a slightly outdated look, only the "gluten free" is relatively recent, it is simply cornstarch, hence its name of maïzena. It's used for a lot...
January 14th 202211 K
The color of the bread crumb
The color of the bread crumb
When you go to buy bread, at your baker's, at the time of the choice, if you hesitate of course, you will undoubtedly be very sensitive to the color of the crust, and you will be right. The color of the crust, from golden, to sometimes very dark, deep brown almost black, depending on the maturity...
April 30th 202217 K4.6
Kitchen ovens
Kitchen ovens
You certainly have one in your kitchen, an oven, the essential tool for all kinds of cooking, whether in the kitchen of course, but also in pastry, bakery, pizza, and many others. Here is some information on its structure and operation.
May 16th 202029 K4.4
The so-called "nervous" meats
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16th 202130 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page