I am planning a wedding cake (tiered dummy & "real" sheet cakes). The bride wants all the sheet cakes pre-cut to cut down on cutting and serving costs at the hall. I have absolutely no problem doing this for her, but am looking for the best way to cut the cake, and still have it look nice (no drag marks, pulled icing, etc.). Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Tina

You aren't displaying these sheet cakes, right?

I'd chill them and cut each slice with a clean, warm knife. You do that by having a jug of warm water beside you and a clean cloth. Warm the knife for a few seconds in the water, wipe off the blade with your dry cloth and cut the cake a few times. Return the knife to the water and do it again. The cuts will be clean and sharp.

i've seen other suggest, of all things, nylon fishing line. haven't tried it myself, but those who have rave about how cleanly and easily it cuts.

Unflavored dental floss works great too!

Thank you for all the great suggestions! I will probably try both the warm knife and the floss/fishing line techniques, just to see which works better for me...best to go in with options, just in case one or the other isn't what I expected!

No, the cakes won't be displayed, but the bride would like for them to be neat, of course. The hall was charging 50 cents a serving to cut, then more for serving! I don't know if this is typical or not, but there is no way I would want to pay that much!

Again, thanks for the great suggestions!

Tina

cut the cake before you ice it. we do this all the time at the bakery for the state school that orders birthday cakes.

What a great idea! Do the cake pieces shift at all if it is cut before being iced? Or, if the icing is of the right consistency, I could see it not moving - just those outside pieces I would worry about....

Tina

No they dont move, much. ice the top first , then work on the sides holding the corner one nearest to you for support. all the server has to do is slide the knife under the corner piece and lift up to remove.

I love using the Debbie Myers cake cutters.

What are the Debbie Myers cutters?

Tina

I slice mine first then freeze. Then take out and put my crumb coating on before frosting.

at the bakery, we used the hot knife and partially frozen cake