8

If you cake is too domed, you can just cut the top off, right?

Thing is, I tried this, and now my cake is taller on one side than the other. So it's still not flat! ;-)

Does anybody have any good tips for keeping the cut level?

(I already know you need a knife long enough to go right through the cake. I have that. It's just difficult to cut in a straight line by hand.)

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    before you throw away your sliced-on-bias cake or decide to not ice it because of the icing-runs-off problem, try putting something below the plate at the side where the cake is lower, so you can keep it level until the icing hardens. A coin (or a stack of coins in severe cases) should help.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Jul 18, 2012 at 18:49
  • related : cooking.stackexchange.com/q/13167/67
    – Joe
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 15:34

9 Answers 9

Reset to default
7

Mostly it comes down to practice. However there are some tips and tools that can make it a lot easier. If you have a cake stand (the kind that spins) then you set the cake on the stand and slowly turn it with one hand while cutting forward and back with the other (trying to keep the cutting hand as level as possible). Another option is to buy a cake leveler http://m.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=415-815 - if you make a lot of cakes it can be very handy.

Improve this answer
2
  • That product has been discontinued.
    – Rob
    Commented Oct 14, 2012 at 12:23
  • They stuck a fancy handle on it so they could charge more m.wilton.com/store/site/… . You could probably make your own pretty easily with some wood and some wire.
    – djmadscribbler
    Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 16:35
6

I had always heard you could level a cake by taking a large length of dental floss, surround the cake at the level you need, pull tight till the floss goes all the way through. Then if it's not quite right, flip that sucker upside down (the bottom is completely level after all!). In the future, if it is just out of the oven, you can push down on the cake using your flat hand and a clean towel to help push any "dome" down. And, for the future, you might want to try baker's strips to get an even cake from the get-go.

Improve this answer
5
  • Dental floss? Now there's an interesting idea...
    – MathematicalOrchid
    Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 10:57
  • "Flip it over, the bottom is level"? Are you serious?
    – Beta
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 6:12
  • 1
    @Beta, yes. Totally serious. If right out of the oven, you can possibly get it even by just flipping it upside down. And if it has cooled somewhat and you have been trying to even out the top and it's not quite working, a combination of flipping it over to the even side (the bottom) and judicious icing can make many cakes look pretty good.
    – huzzah
    Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 19:45
  • 1
    +1 for the dental floss trick. I've used that for years and works like a charm. Turning the cake over doesn't help unless you have a flat top to begin with. If it's a 2-layer cake, I usually floss both layers, then the bottom layer is bottom-side down and the top layer is bottom side up. Any open areas around the edges of the real tops of each layer are both in the middle and can easily be filled in with frosting. Yum.
    – wootcat
    Commented Jul 16, 2013 at 14:13
  • Yep. The floss works, as well as flipping the cake over. Some people cut it with fishing line. There are several Youtube videos.
    – Paulb
    Commented Apr 28, 2016 at 16:57
6

Here's the trick my mom taught me. If your cakes are tall enough that the entirety of the "domes" are higher than the sides of your pan, return the cakes to the pans after they've cooled completely and use the edge of your pan as a guide for trimming the domes using a long knife. This trick tends to work pretty well for me, however sometimes I need to make a double batch of batter to get my cakes tall enough, depending on the pan. I personally don't mind making the double batch since I use any excess batter for cupcakes and the cake scraps are my favorite part of the cake, but it may not be for everyone. Hope this helps!

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Here's an interesting idea; put the cake on a stand with the edge of the pan around it, if it's below the level, put something under the stand until its just right, then cut using the edge as a guide.
    – BaffledCook
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 7:03
  • 2
    Or cut a cake strip to the height you want your cake to be and wrap it around the domed cake as a guide.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Oct 13, 2012 at 9:20
4

Alton Brown on the subject (from "The icing man commeth" Season 6 episode 15).

...in case the link goes down: His solution is to use a bow saw blade (or a long serrated knife) to cut and 2 yard pickets (or scrap pieces of wood) as a guide.

For what you would spend on all that, you can just get the cake leveler, but I do like the idea of using a guide of some sort.

Improve this answer
1
  • The OP already has a long enough knife; scraps of anything flat to use as a guide are pretty easy to come by. I had already been thinking you could do this just using a strip of wax paper or something wrapped around the cake; you can't rest the knife on it but it would let you at least see where to cut.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 0:34
4

Use toothpicks and a ruler to mark level points all around the cake by pushing the toothpicks about half the way in at the height you want. Then use a serrated knife and cut from toothpick to toothpick.

I cut my cakes into 4 1 inch cakes per stack to put filling between and ended up with 3 5" stacks total and they were all perfectly level.

Improve this answer
3

Turn it over, the bottom is level and once you turn it over the dome, now the bottom, will settle evenly.

Improve this answer
5
  • 1
    This sounds like a perfectly sensible idea, and is in fact what I initially did. But it doesn't seem to work; if the dome is not perfectly central, the entire cake will lean to one side. It's still flat, but it isn't level.
    – MathematicalOrchid
    Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 10:56
  • I've found that this technique works best when it is PIPING HOT out of the oven.
    – huzzah
    Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 19:48
  • If the cake has too much of a dome and you turn it upside down, especially if it's piping hot, the cake will crack. This is not a good idea.
    – user35481
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 13:17
  • I've only seen it work for leveling if the sides are affixed well to the side of the pan, and you turn the whole pan upside down. The edges of the pan will then set the new level. (which means this only works if the doming goes past the top of the pan unless you have something else you can fit in the top of the pan to set the level). If there's signficant doming, you risk cracking the cake like patmo said. If you don't do it while it's still piping hot, it's less effective (as the structure may then be too firm for the weight of the cake to squish it).
    – Joe
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 15:34
  • Of course, if that's the case ... see cooking.stackexchange.com/a/27778/67 .
    – Joe
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 15:35
2

If you want to eyeball it vs. use guides or measure, your best bet is to cut only about halfway across the cake. Then turn the cake a 1/4 turn and cut halfway again. Turn it 1/4 turn and cut it again. 3 times normally does the trick. By now the top will release. If it's not loose, turn and cut again. This method keeps you from dragging which creates rippled, uneven cuts. Also, it is easy to eyeball where to start cutting. It's the last half (if you cut all the way through) that you typically go off course.

Improve this answer
1
  1. Make sure the cake has cooled. If the cake is frozen, let is thaw slightly.
  2. Trim the uneven cake layer with a long serrated knife so it is even.
  3. To slice one cake into two layers, start by tracing a line around the middle of the cake with a long serrated knife. Then slowly rotate the cake while following that line with the knife and cut through the cake toward the center. After a few rotations you will have sliced the cake in two.

Repeat the process with the additional cake layers.

  1. To separate layers, 8-inches and above, carefully slide the top torted layer onto a cardboard cake round.
Improve this answer
1
  • Instead of a cardboard cake round ... I like the flexible plastic cutting mats. They require a little more effort to support them when lifting the layer off, but you can slide them in easier than the cake rounds. (if you have to, slide the mat in first, then the cake round in underneath it). Oh, and if you do a significant amount of cake decorating, I highly suggest finding a place that sells MDF cake rounds. (especially as larger cakes require doubling or trippling up the cardboard ones).
    – Joe
    Commented Apr 28, 2016 at 16:54
0

Use DIY cake strips (or you can buy them) to prevent the dome. A little preparation = less effort + better result... I think? DIY cake strips

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.