I have been having this problem since I started baking cakes and using Wilton cake pans and Wilton cake circles. I bake an 8" cake and use an 8" cake circle and the cake circles are always bigger then the cake. I don't get it. Why does that happen? Should I be using a 6" board for an 8" cake and so on. It doesn't matter what size I bake I always have the same problem. Any advice other than to cut the board down and have rough edges then?
All cakes shrink as they cool, usually about 1/4" in diameter. Trimming your boards ahead of time might help.
I use a matte cutter to make my own circles for cakes. Although they cut at a 45 degree angle, I can cut the cardboard any size I need. I set the cutter for 1/4" smaller than the pan size. I also buy carboard by the sheet for a fraction of the cost of pre-cut circles. The matte cutter is expensive but it pays for itself very quickly in supply costs. Using the coupon from Michael's will help with this.
HTH
Michele
I use a box cutter to cut my own circles...the box cutter I got has a handle like a pocket knife so it's easy to use (plus it's purple 
which is always good). I usually trace the bottom of the pan and then cut the circle slightly inside the line.
umm!! have a matt cutter, have to get that out, where do you buy sheets of cake board Michelle?
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
Yeah, that! 
It also makes it way easier to move your layers, since the board comes to edge of the icing...
umm!! have a matt cutter, have to get that out, where do you buy sheets of cake board Michelle?
Well... I used to get 3' x 4' sheets at a place called Budget, Box, and Bags when I lived in Oklahoma. It's been a little tougher here than I had hoped, but independent shipping stores will sometimes special order the sheets. I normally order ten at a time. These are usually single wall cardboard for less than $2 each. I can make a LOT of cake boards with this and even my own boxes.
Check box stores on your area to see if they have sheets or sometimes called flats. There might be a discount with a minimum order.
Michele
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
This is what I do too, always works perfectly and like someone else said it is easy to move/stack the layers. By the time you ice the cake and add a border the cake board is well hidden.
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
Yep....me too. Makes a great rest for that bench scraper to get a good smooth side.
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
Yeah, that!
It also makes it way easier to move your layers, since the board comes to edge of the icing...
Me three!
It is good frosting guide.
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
Exactly! Even though I cut mine out of foam core, I always cut them slightly larger for this purpose.
And if you want a perfectly perfect no border showing at all, use a circle exactly the same size, and put the cake and that circle on top of a slightly larger circle, Bench crape against that one, pop it in fridge, when it's nice and chilled, pop the cake and it's original circle off of the larger one, and you have a perfectly borderless cake all on it's own.
I put the cake on the board and then just use some scissors to cut the excess and then ice to the edge.
I just frost the cake out to the edge of the board/circle... using the board as my guide to smooth it out with the bench scraper.
So if I am making my own cake boards, how much bigger should the board be?
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