Prepping the Cake

To make a cake level and smooth after frosting, you need to do some prep work to the cake itself. Before baking the cake, you can prep the pan as shown in this post. You can even lift the cake pan up a few inches and drop it straight down a few times to get rid of air bubbles (doesn't always work!). Unfortunately, most baked cakes usually have a bit of a dome on top which needs trimmed off.

After being baked, every cake to be decorated needs to be removed from the pan. After letting the baked cake set in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, it is ready to be removed. Have a wire cooling rack, butter knife, and paper towels ready. The butter knife is used to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan; this is optional but I find it to be very helpful. Cover the wire cooling rack with paper towels. Quickly flip the cake pan up-side down onto the paper towels. The cake should release right away. If not, return it right-side up and loosen the sides some more with the butter knife and try again. The cake can now cool completely while up-side down on the cooling rack. If the cake is too domed, you may want to flip it right-side up to cool to prevent cracking.

Once the cake is completely cooled, you can trim off the top. If the cake is up-side down, carefully flip it right-side up.

Wilton sells an amazing tool called the "Cake Leveler", which kind of reminds me of a wire cheese slicer. The Cake Leveler is used to cut the domed top off of cakes. You can also use a large serrated knife, such as a bread knife, to trim off the top.

To trim off the top with the Cake Leveler, you first need to adjust the level of the wire. The top doesn't need to be completely flat; the sides can retain a curve. After the level of the wire is adjusted, slide the wire through the cake using a slight sawing motion. Remove the trimmed off portion and set it aside.

To trim off the top of the cake with a serrated knife, just use a sawing motion through the very top of the cake. Be sure your knife is parallel with the table or your cake will have a slant!

It is common to use cake boards when decorating a cake. They are disposable so you don't have to worry about them being damaged or not returned. An optional step in preparing the cake to be decorated is covering the cake board with aluminum foil or food safe paper or foil. This is easy to do.

Cut a piece of foil slightly larger than the cake board. Place the cake board right-side down on the foil. Starting with the longest sides, fold the foil over the board and securely tape it to the board. Fold the corners of the foil in. Fold the foil over the shorter side of the board and tape it to the board. Flip the covered board right side up and carefully transfer your baked and leveled cake onto the board.

If your cake your cake is being stubborn and won't release after you loosen the sides, place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill the pan and try again. Sometimes you will bake a cake that simply does not want to leave the nice and cozy pan or will only release in multiple pieces. With these cakes, you can make amazing things such as cake balls (future post, maybe?) or pudding desserts that include a layer of cake. If your cake ends up being a disaster, don't get frustrated. Just eat some cake and try again