There are many factors that affect the level of your cake layers when they are out of the oven. First, check that your oven and oven racks are level. This problem can be solved if your oven is freestanding and the appliance is not level. Stoves come with adjustable legs. These can be used together with a level or shims if needed to straighten out the situation. It’s more difficult if you have a wall oven or drop in range. The problem with the oven racks will need to be addressed. To give your batter a level start, you might use a metal skewer strategically placed under your cake pans.
Does your oven thermostat work correctly? Even the most modern stoves can have an incorrect thermostat. This can have an impact on how your cake bakes, and how high or low it rises. A oven temperature thermometer can help ensure that your cake bakes at the right temperature.
What are the hot spots in your oven? Uneven baking can often result from hotspots. The oven temperature meter will help you determine which areas of your oven are baking hotter than others. You can then adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. After you’ve confirmed that your cake pans can rest flat in the oven, and the temperature is correct, you can bake your cakes as per your recipe.
You can measure the batter in your cake pans and determine the amount to use for each recipe. This is one of the many reasons to get a good scale. Keep track of all the formulas and quantities. This will help you fine-tune the amount of batter that you use to achieve the highest layers possible with the least waste.
Another great tool is Bake Even Strips and Magic Strips. Did you ever notice that cakes tend to “dome” after baking? This is because the sides and bottoms of the cake batter bake quicker when they touch the hot pan surfaces. After a quick soak in water, these strips are wrapped around the pans and pinned with the T Pin. These strips insulate the sides and slow down the baking process. You will see more even layers in your cake layers! Bake Even strips are available in different sizes. You can use them to fit into different pan sizes.
After you have completed your cake testing… using a skewer or cake tester (for example), you will need to cool the layer. This is again according to the recipe. The average cake will take 8-10 minutes to cool in the pans. This can vary depending on the size of the cake and the depth of the pans. For most cakes, you can “dump” the cake while the pan is still warm. Then, place a cooling rack on top of the pan. Turn the cake over. Remove the cake pan carefully. Peel off any parchment sheet or circle that was used when baking the cake pan. This will allow the steam to escape. Turn the second rack over so that the layer is in a vertical position.
We are confident that the bottoms of our cakes layers are even. We can maintain that level surface by cooling them upside-down.
After the layers are cooled and baked, you can again check for level. You can’t level out some cake recipes before they cool completely. You can try again if they are still not level.
- Use a serrated knife to trim them.
- You can use one of the Cake levelers. This handy tool will help you cut all layers to the same height. You can choose from smaller levelers to fit smaller cakes or larger levelers that work with any size layer.
After your layers have cooled, you can fill them with frost, decorate and/or other decorative elements.