I am very new to cake decorating. I am using the Wilton cake pans and it seems every time I take them out to cool they have a pretty hard top edge. When I take the crown off of the cake do I cut down below this hard edge? To me that seems like it is taking off a lot of cake. What do I do?

Hi, Amberly, and welcome to CC, the best source for all things cake!!

As you begin to replace some of your equipment, I recommend you start buying Magic Line pans instead of Wilton pans. ML pans are a higher quality pan and my cakes turn out much better in those.

Do you use baking strips around your pans? This will help the cake bake more evenly, which will reduce hard sides and high doming. Here's an explanation of "the science" of how/why they work: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6626888.html#6626888

Reduce the temp of your oven. Yes, the cake needs to bake a few minutes longer, but the quality of the cake is much better.

Happy baking!

I agree w/indydebi.. I don't use the baking strips but lower temps & investment in quality pans are important.

Have Cake Fun!

Thanks so much for the advice!! CC has been a wealth of knowledge for me I am so glad that there are so many other bakers out there willing to share their thoughts and ideas. I <3 this site!!