How To Cut The Top Of A Cake So It's Flat

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If you want a perfectly flat, beautifully iced cake, you need to first acquire how to level a cake properly.

In that location are a few means to go about making your cake prissy and level so y'all can try each method and decide which is all-time for yous.

And then will you start leveling your block with a knife or will you endeavor a slice of floss…

8 Ways to Level a Cake (With or Without Tools)

Why Level a Cake

When you bake a block, it typically comes out of the oven slightly domed. This is from the cake concoction rising in the oven, with the middle of the cake ascension longer as the eye bakes the slowest.

While you may similar that dome shape, may people prefer the peak of their cakes to be flat. This requires you to cutting off the top of the cake, making it level, and discarding the domed peak (or eating it every bit a "taste test"!).

Ane reason why you should level your cake is to make decorating easier. When the cake top is flat, information technology will be easier to ice.

You volition be able to write on the cake easily and any decorations y'all place on top will stand up directly. This is definitely a valid reason to level a block.

Another reason why you lot should ever cut off the domed top of a block is to get rid of the harder, crispy part of the cake.

The exterior of the cake is straight exposed to the hot oven air for quite a while. This tin dry out the cake out and get in a trivial crunchy.

Cut off that acme layer will reveal a soft, moist cake that everyone will be dying to eat!

Tools for Leveling a Cake

In that location are actually quite a few tools you tin purchase that are designed for leveling cakes. While a special tool may certainly aid, you do not demand to buy a specialty tool to help brand your cake apartment.

As you read through the different ways to level a cake, you volition find that you take many of the tools needed right in your kitchen!

And then don't run out and buy new tools just yet- read these leveling methods and see what you already have on hand.

eight Means to Level a Cake

i – Serrated Knife and Turn Table

Using a serrated knife and turn table can help level your cake

Using a serrated knife and a spinning cake stand up, also known as a turn tabular array, if the nearly traditional way to level a block. It is definitely tried and true!

You likely already have a serrated pocketknife on hand and a block stand is also quite common in a kitchen. That means no need to buy new supplies!

Place the cake on meridian of the block stand up and use a long serrated knife to cut into the cake, horizontally, right where you would like the acme to exist removed. Only cut into the cake most an inch.

And so, proceed the knife in the cake, belongings it steadily and flat. Begin to rotate the plough table, spinning the cake while the knife remains still.

Yous do not need to move the knife at all, just spin the turn table and the pocketknife will brainstorm to cut into the cake, leveling the acme layer and removing the domed cake elevation.

Tada! A leveled cake!

The biggest tricks to using this method is to cutting the cake slowly, keep the knife steady and keep the turn table spinning. You tin cut off equally much or as little of the cake you need in order to make it the elevation you desire.

Since this is the method most block professionals use to level a block, you can remainder assured that it will piece of work wonderfully!

2 – Dishcloth Method

Dish cloth method will help self level your cake

When your cake comes out of the oven and has non yet cooled, cover the block with a damp towel or dish cloth. Doing this will "readjust" the domed tiptop of the cake and cause information technology to flatten, making your cake magically level!

Then, place a flat object like a cut board on tiptop of the cake. Press very gently to assist flatten the block more than.

Remove the flat object and the towel and have a look at that perfectly level block!

This technique requires no cutting which is why many people love information technology! It does work better on certain cakes and may not be the best method to utilize if your cake is very domed.

Nevertheless, a slightly domed cake can easily exist fixed with this trick!

three – Cake Leveler Tool

Using a leveling tool to help level your cake

Many block supply stores sell a variety of cake levelers, all of which await very similar. The tool is a large U shape and has a sparse wire or very small-scale serrated blade that connects the two sides of the U.

The blade is adaptable and tin movement up and downward so that it tin can adjust to the height you want your cake to be.

To use the tool, you place your cake on a apartment surface and then concord the tool over the cake. The feet of the U should be touching the table on either side of your cake.

Set the blade at the height where you would like it to cut the block. And so, gently saw back and forth, keeping the tool on the table and slicing off the tiptop of the cake.

This method definitely works well to cut a cake perfectly flat. However, you tin have the same effect with a knife and a little practice!

If you are nervous about your cake not beingness completely level, and then this is the tool for yous! You'll go a level cake every fourth dimension.

4 – In the Pan

If your cake has domed above the peak of the pan lip, you tin can easily level the cake without every removing it from the pan.

Use a long serrate pocketknife to slowly piece through the top to the cake, placing the knife blade straight confronting the cake pan to use information technology equally a guide.

Since the block pan itself is prissy and level, your cake will be too!

5 – Toothpicks

The toothpick technique is a smart way to ensure your cake is completely level nevertheless it does require a few actress steps.

Grab four toothpicks and a ruler and so place your cake on a tabular array. Use the ruler to measure where you lot want to cut the cake (are y'all cutting the top off at 2 ½ inches? Maybe 2 ¾ ?).

Stick a toothpick into the side of the cake at the tiptop you would like to cut the block. Then, insert the remaining toothpicks at the aforementioned height all around the block, placing them in at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions.

Only printing the toothpicks about halfway into the cake.

Catch a long serrated pocketknife and use the toothpicks as a cutting guide as you gently saw the knife dorsum and along, leveling the cake slowly.

This is a bully fashion to ensure your cake is perfectly flat and that it is the same height all the fashion around.

vi – Floss

If you do non take a knife or a leveling tool, y'all can actually level your block using a slice of floss!

Get a long piece of floss and agree both ends tightly in your hands. Make sure the width of the floss between your hands is longer than your cake (so if you have an eight inch block, the floss should exist at least 9 inches).

Place the floss where y'all would like to cut and then, pulling the floss tightly between your hands, pull the floss through the cake, cut off the superlative as you become.

While this will cutting off the elevation of your cake quite nicely, it is all-time to use this method in a pinch. It tin be a piddling crumby!

vii – Band Leveler Tool

There is a unlike kind of cake leveler tool than described to a higher place that you may exist interested in. Rather than really cutting the block, this kind of leveler guides the knife, keeping it flat as you cut.

Essentially the tool is an adjustable metal band that goes around the block. The band has multiple horizontal slits that yous will use as a guide to cut into the block.

Place the band effectually the block and and then cull which top you would similar to cutting your block. Utilise a serrated pocketknife to cut into the cake, pressing your knife onto the slits in the leveler to keep it steady.

Remove the leveler ring and cut the remaining way through the block.

Perfectly flat, every fourth dimension!

8 – Canvass Block Method

Sheet pan method can help level your cake easily

When you bake block in a thin canvas pan, it is less likely to dome every bit it bakes since at that place is less batter. Rather than apply a cake pan, pour your batter into a rimmed sheet pan, only letting the batter be most ½" to i" thick.

Bake the block (it volition broil quickly!) and in one case it has cooled, use your round cake pan to help you cut out circles from the sheet block.

You will have perfectly flat cake circles ready to act as your cake layers.

With so many means to level a cake, you are sure to detect a method that works not bad for you, making nice level cakes with petty to no effort.

Give each different leveling approach a endeavor and run into which yous similar best. You may be surprised which way yous prefer to level a cake.

You may like that your floss at present has a second utilize!