There's often a lot more to baking a cake than mixing ingredients and putting it in the oven, though recipes don’t always give full directions, including cooling time, pan removal, assembly, or decorating. Nothing is worse than going through all the work, only to have the cake ruined when taking it out of the pan.

As the pan conducts heat, your cake will continue to increase in temperature for a few minutes out of the oven, but this is no reason to take it out of the pan before it's time. When the timer goes off, the hot mass of the cake is delicate, and if you try to get it out of the pan too soon, it can stick to the pan, break, or both.

Per MasterClass, allow about 20 to 30 minutes cooling at room temperature — faster if you put the cake in the refrigerator — and once the cake is cool to the touch, you can try to take it out of the pan. If the edges are stuck to the sides, slide a sharp knife around the perimeter of the cake, making sure the knife touches the bottom.

Next, place a plate or platter on top of the cake pan and flip it over. If the pan was greased thoroughly, your cake should slide right out. If not, don't panic — give the pan a couple of hard taps on the bottom, and if that still doesn't dislodge it, do a little finessing with a small spatula.