I've been using my bread knife, but it's not long enough and a little unweildy...I think I've heard of using dental floss or fishing line, but I'm not sure...does anyone have any helpful tips? Also, what do you all think about cake levelers? Do I need to get one or will a knife do the trick?

Thanks a bunch!

In the past I have used nylon string to torte....if you are very careful you get an even, straight cut. The problems I found with the string and with the low-end ($5.00) cake levelers is that if the edges are even a little crisp (which they usually are), then it gets caught, it pulls pieces of cake off, etc....

Depending on how much you're willing to spend, I would invest in a better cake leveler (I think they go for about $30 and up) that actually has a serrated blade to chop through those harder parts.

You can also use a long serrated knife and use something to guide you, like a couple of pieces of wood that are the same height.

I see them torting on the cake challenges freehand all the time and I am always amazed!

I use the Wilton slicer/saw ... I'm not sure how wide it is, but the feet on it are adjustable to whatever height you may need .. this has always worked well for me.. you can do it with dental floss also ... I've used both the dental floss and just a long blade knife.. it's really whatever works better for you so experiment with it to see which you like best

The cake leveler is definitely worth it. I have the small wilton one(works well, limited to width,though) and one that uses fishing line made by Frieling. I find myself using this one more. I found this one on ebay, it's called the layer cake slicer made by frieling.

I have both, the small and big by Wilton and for some reason the big one doesn't work well for me. It makes uneven leveling no matter what (I think that probably there is something wrong I'm doing )

The small one has been working fine, however, like other people said, it being successful is limited by the size of your cake. One thing I do when I use the small one to prevent cake from coming off when edges are a little crisp is that I hold the cake leveler against the cake and use a serrated knife to cut a little ways and then I use the leveler with not problem. I also keep my free hand in the back of the cake, especially when I'm getting to that point to prevent any cake from coming of. It works fine for me.

I would definitely recommend buying it.

Inma

I use fishing line exclusively now. Rather than just pull it straight through, I do the following.

Cut enough fishing line to go all the way around the tier I am trying to torte.

Wrap the line EVENLY around the torte until my hands meet up--this is so I know where I'm going with it.

Using one hand only--pull the string through the cake and meet up with the other hand.

I've used this method to turn one 2" lay into four 1/2" layers! No problems, no crumbs, no cake falling off, etc.

I have used and can't stand the Wilton levelers. I gave them all away. I know carry fishing line in my cake "tackle" box.

Also--I will say that my cakes do not have crispy edges so I don't know if that is why I don't get chunks when I use this method or now. Don't have any expeirnece there. It is also way easier to do this when the cake is NOT frozen.

HTH!!

Lisa

llj68 - i have heard of the fishing line technique, but still don't get it - even after your thorough description! i guess im just a visual person (maybe why i only buy cookbooks with pictures!) anyway, was wondering if you or anyone out there would mind doing a picture tutorial for torting / leveling with line or dental floss! let's get this mystery solved!
thanks for listening...
chisl

Ya know, I really think it's Pam that causes the crispy edges. I stopped using it and no longer get them. I have used dental floss in the past (with crispy edges) and had chunks taken out of the cake too. I have the small wilton leveler, but I'm somehow challenged and can't get it to work right. What I usually end up doing is measuring to the height I want to make the cut and putting toothpicks to use as a guide every few inches, then just use a long serrated knife. Takes a little longer, but it works for me!

I've only torted cakes a few times & only in half. I have the small Wilton leveler & it's worked fine for me when I've used it.
I'm going to try doing one 3 times tomorrow & have a couple questions..
If you're going to torte a cake into more than just 2 layers is it better to do it when the cake is frozen or thawed? If you torte when it's frozen does it result in less crumbs coming off the sides? (It's a chocolate cake if that makes a difference - I seem to always have more crumbs when cutting into a chocolate one than a white one.... is this normal?).

I have an expensive (but well made) cake leveler called the Agbay leveler.
I was just so appallingly bad at getting my cakes level and torting them, even with practice, that I gave in and paid the big bucks.
It was worth it for me, though if you're someone who can do a good job using a cheaper method, of course you should save your money!
I think part of my problem before had to do with being in a high altitude and having a somewhat unreliable oven. My cakes often needed a lot of leveling!

here's the Agbay website if you're interested in taking a look. www.agbayproducts.com

I use a lawn mower. I dont really worry about crumbs either. I just point the shoot towards the guest and crank it up. No plates to clean either.

now there's an idea dale! LOL

The mower is for small jobs - helicopters do a heck of a job!

Is it just me?
I like more cake than filling, so I don't tort...I stack two of the same size cake on top of each other.
Also, it seems that when I tort a cake the cake seems really flat.
I went to a shower one time and the cake weighed a ton. When she cut into it , each tier was torted three times and the filling was as high as each cake layer...consequently the filling was oozing out and the slices ended up in a big blobby yucky mess...URP! The cake was more filling than cake!
I don't have much of a sweet tooth (go figure that I make cakes!) so I always take a center slice that has no border or BC decorations.

Stephanie214: I suppose the best compliment Dale could get now is that "he tortes like an old lady".

Dale, sweety,
You need a SawZall! Or better yet a "Ditch Witch attachment on your KA !!!
"arr arr arr power tools "
Tim the toolman Taylor

lol adven68
It's the attachment that they use to dig a trench for laying stuff like electrical conduit or sprinkler systems. It looks like a chainsaw on steroids and you attach it to a backhoe or some other kind of tractor. lol

Ditch Witch...similar to a Bridge Troll, cousins I think.

Dale, sweety,
I am thinking more on the line of a bandsaw for your needs. LOL!!! )

Another power tool, another trip to the E.R. I cant afford it, my last accident cost me 7 thousand dollars!