My cakes are usually delicious, but occassionally they tend to be a little hard around the corners, and edges when taken out of the oven I see the bakers on TV using a liquid & basically painting it on their cakes with a pastry brush. Does anyone have a recipe for this liquid? Where exactly is it applied to the cake...the inner layer?..top? And, how much do I use in order to assure that it is effective, and doesnt cause the cake to be soggy? Thanks. Have a sweet day.

It is probably just simple syrup - a mixture of water and sugar that has been boiled. I'm not the best one to answer how much - I haven't really liked the way it has worked on my cakes. Either I barely put any on and I can't really tell any difference, or I over-do it and I get a soggy mess! Haven't found a happy medium yet, so I switched recipes and just don't use it! Hopefully someone else out there has better advice for you!

Bakers on TV are painting a simple syrup onto the cakes. It is usually equal parts water and sugar boiled until all the sugar is dissolved. Some recipes call for more or less sugar, it really depends on how sweet you want it. You can also put it in a spray bottle and spray it on. It will keep for quite a while in the fridge.

I don't use this method. I was taught by Collette Peters this method and it always works for me. About 10-15 minutes after taking the cake out of the oven cover the cake with plastic wrap. Keep the cake in its pan. Put it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use decorate it. The plastic wrap prevents the moisture from evaporating. Putting it in the fridge or freezer will cause a little more condensation, which makes the cake more moist. A couple of things to remember is to spray the pan with a non-stick spray and to line the pan with Parchment paper.

If your edges of your cakes are too hard, try lowering your oven temp. Also make sure you rotate your pans, in case there are any hot spots in your oven. I use the baking strips by Wilton, they help to prevent from doming too much and it makes the cakes bake more evenly. I know some CC use the flower nail method too with good luck. Spray the flower nail with a non-stick spray and put it into your cake pan with the nail head down (point facing up) pour your cake batter in the pan as usual and bake. When you remove the cake from the pan, you can remove the flower nail.

Hope this helps.