Chocolate for Breakfast asked this question about bundt pans: "Whenever I purchase a fancy one I fail to grease it appropriately and half the cake stays in the pan. I'm not a big fan of sprays. What's your experience? " She was talking in particular about the fancy ones... Beautiful when they work, but nightmares when bits of your cake get STUCK in those crevices There were many ideas posted, including my favorite ATK ( 1- use a spray, and then use a brush to make sure you coat all those details, then flour; and 2- when making a chocolate cake, use cocoa powder instead of flour!)... But the idea I liked the BEST came from Chris Eileen P., a reader who suggested the following: “Make a 'bakers spray'-like spread - super cheap without the "cloud" . Beat together 1 cup vegetable shortening, 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup oil until smooth. Store in a tightly covered dish in pantry. It does not need to be refrigerated. Spread on pan with coffee filter, which eliminates fibers left behind like paper towels (or my preference, a pastry brush ). Use enough to make a haze on pan but not too globby." I saw no reason that this same formula wouldn't work substituting cocoa powder for the flour... It works BEAUTIFULLY! So GO for the fancy – and use some kewl tricks when you do!