This is just a super quick and easy tutorial on how to have your cakes coming out of the oven level.
You can also level your cakes after they have been baked, a method that almost all bakers use, but this helps you get an even cake layer prior to baking.
The first thing you should so is start with a good recipe! If your recipe has the proper ration of baking powder and/or baking soda, you should have evenly distributed cake coming out of the oven.
Every time I make my favorite chocolate cake, it comes out perfectly. Its like Ina Garten knows how to cook or something.
Now, on to the baking!
Start with a clean pan. This is a six-inch pan I got from Walmart.
Use cold Cake Strips. That is simply strips of towel wrapped snuggly around the edges. Be sure to soak them in cold water first! Just wring out the excess water and wrap around your pan. You can secure with a pin or tie the towel in place.
Those towel strips are just my cheap version of these Cake Strips.
Photo courtesy of Wilton
Mine are old. Tattered. Used. Loved.
Now, get a solid layer of cooking spray in your pan. You can also use the butter and flour method, but that is slightly time-consuming and the new baking sprays work just as well.
You can also use homemade GOOP, which is nothing short of AWESOME.
I try to make sure the sides are fully covered. This helps the cake break away from the sides more easily.
It can also be helpful to measure out your batter. I find that the easiest way to do this is to know how many cups of batter your recipes makes. For instance, my Perfect White Cake makes 4 cups of batter, so I know to add 2 cups to each pan.
Now add your batter. I typically set my timer for five minutes less than the recipe suggests… this way I can monitor the cake closely in the final baking stages. Have a toothpick or small sharp knife on hand to test cake.
If there are cracks insert into the cracks, otherwise just insert into middle of cake. If it comes out clean or with one or two crumbs, you are good to go!
I once heard a famous baker say, “If you toothpick comes out clean your cake is over cooked and will be dry.”
Here is the cake out of the oven. Slightly brown on top. Has pulled away from the sides.
And is totally level.
I also own one of these handy dandy inventions.
Not every recipe is perfectly calibrated, and not every baker oven is perfect either.
You can also use a long, sharp serrated knife to cut off any dome or excess on your cake.
Those are just a few tips that have helped me, and I hope they can help you too.
And with any luck, you will get to see the final product of that rainbow speckled cake very soon!
UPDATED:
I recently learned that if your cake comes out domed, while it’s still hot from the oven (and in the pan), press it down your hand after covering it with a clean dishcloth or a paper towel.
Worked like a charm.
these tips are great, although i don’t mind skimming the dome off the top when it happens. what can i say–i like eating the scraps. 🙂
Great tips, I actually use(fight) with the Wilton strips. Can’t seem to keep ’em on. Thankfully when they stay they do their job. Definitely going to try that chocolate cake recipe 🙂
Brilliant tip. My cakes are always driving me nuts with their high peaks here and low dips there and although I know the cake strips work, I didn’t want to spend the money to buy them. But, your tip looks like it works really well and it uses things that I already have around the house. By the way, I’m holding a giveaway on my blog for Orglamix Organic makeup and you’re welcome to come by and enter. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/12/orglamix-organic-mineral-makeup-review.html
Hi, Amanda, thanks for your comment in my blog. I’m feel very honored because I think yours cakes are really incredible.
Sorry for my English!
Great tip with the rags. I just saw the strips at the store and they’re 20 bucks! This is much cheaper and just as effective. Also loving that tip at the end from your reader. Very smart, indeed.
I do the same thing with old towels! The more raggedy, the better! Another trick I learned from Rose Levy Berenbaum is to use dampened kitchen paper towels wrapped in aluminium foil, then surround the tin. Works beautifully too! If all else fails, I have that Wilton cake leveler. LOL
Depending on the mixing method of the cake, ie- Mixing the Dry+fat, then adding eggs, then liquid. It’s possible to throw a handful or two of ice at the bottom of the oven, because it’s creates steam-which aids in creating moisture in the oven so that the top crust doesn’t set as fast. Also, if the cake is too near the top of the oven, it will also dome because of the high heat.
I’ve NEVER used cake strips, and I’ve always had flat cakes.
i use the wilton strips & i honestly did not see a difference…i still have to level my baked cakes…but, now i am going to try the lunanoir tip. thanks!
happy baking!!
Great tips Dan! Thank you so much!
Level cake: And here I thought that’s what the extra frosting was for 🙂
I actually bought some of the wraps for the cake pans after seeing a review at King Arthur Flour’s site. I really like them, but they work best (stay on) on the straight up and down pans (not the beveled in ones). They do make a level cake, but honestly, I never thought a domed cake was a problem. I always turned the bottom layer upside down (dome down), and the second layer dome up. Frosted out all the errors.
I guess that’s why I’m not the expert, but then it’s all about flavor 🙂