I've decided to take another cake decorating class just to learn new stuff. The instructor praised me for being the only student using Wilton cake pans and getting a 2" cake.
She then tells us to never coat our pans before baking! Never. She states that just using the parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pan is all we need. She stated that the reason our cakes were pulled away from the edges of the pans was due to the grease & flour.
Has anyone every baked this way? My fear is a tore up cake when I removed it even if I run a knife around the edges first.

Thanks to someone here on CC I started using a mix to coat my pans. I do not have pull away and I have yet to have a cake stick. I keep this mix in my frig at all times. Take equal parts of oil, flour & shortening, mix well; apply to pan with paper towel or pastry brush. I love this stuff! Cheap and works!

I have never had any luck not greasing and flouring my pans. I use Fat Daddios, though.

I do not grease my cake pans most of the time. But I always use parchment on the bottom. My cakes never stick. I just run a sharp knife around the edge and the cake comes out no problem. This method is best for sponge cakes and Genoise. Not greasing the sides helps hold them "up" while cooling. They don't pull in from the sides either. Those are my 2 go to cakes. But I will grease and parchment for a coffee cake and things like that.

No, the reason the cakes pull away from the edges is because they have been over baked or have shrunk during baking.

I use Baker's Joy spray and parchment and I've never had an issue. I don't like chiseling at the sides of my cakes with a spatula to get them out of the pans. To me it produces too many crumbs.

I also only bake Gluten-Free, which different all together too. The rules that apply to wheat baking don't work in gluten-free cooking. I never over bake my cakes.

I took the Wilton class and was told to use wax paper in the bottom of the pan. I started doing it and it works beautifully. Never had a problem getting the cake out of the pan after that!

Every instructor, Wilton or otherwise, has their own way of baking a cake. Wilton DOES NOT prescribe how to bake to its instructors.

I line the bottom of the pan with parchment and I use Wilton pan release (squeeze bottle, not spray) or homemade.

I never have to run a knife around the edge, I don't overbake, and I never cut away edges.

I've tried other methods and this one has been no-fail for me.

Rae

Well I did as instructed and only used parchment in the bottom of the pan. I did have to run a knife along the edges slightly. I'm not keen on running a knife in my pan and scratching it.
I also have used the flour/oil/shortening mixture for over 20 years and never have a problem with stuff sticking into the pan.
This week she introduced cornelli lace. I was doing my cake as I have seen others done, a continuous line never overlapping. She said "no no, you do swirls and cross them over each other". No, it looks sloppy and like a 2 year old had the decorated the cake!
I just keep my mouth shut and do as I'm told, as I am the student.

I also have used the flour/oil/shortening mixture for over 20 years and never have a problem with stuff sticking into the pan..[/quote]

I ALWAYS tell my students, if they have something that they do that works for them, then by all means keep doing it! I do tell them what I do, but I pretty much say what works in my ktichen may not work in theirs. You will see it all the time on here, there are always mutiple ways that work for some people that don't work for others. Do what works best for you.

Sounds like she needed a refresher, because cornelli lace lines should never touch or cross over each other. http://www.wilton.com/technique/Cornelli-Lace

I'm also guessing you got the full 2 in layers, not because you use Wilton pans (though you may have) but because you put more cake mix in the pan than the cake mix box suggested.