For Those Who Do The Push-Down Method.....
Decorating By indydebi Updated 19 Feb 2007 , 6:21pm by sliceofheaven
I tried the push-down method to level my cakes and it works just like y'all said it would. It was pretty cool watching the cake compress! 
My question: When I put two layers together, I don't want the brown layer (i.e. the top "skin" of the cake) showing up in a cut piece of cake. You have this pretty white cake with a line of brown "skin" showing up in the middle. So I find I am still trimming to cut the very top off to ensure a white-white cake.
How do you folks deal with this? Or am I being too anal-retentive?
I use the "press down " method....I was also surprised that this works like a charm.
When it comes to the "skin" I hate that look too so I do peel it off...if it's moist enough or I'll take a very thin knife and shave it off. No your not anal-retentive....your just looking for a nice look for your finished product.
In a class that I took, the instructor told us that if we want to remove the "skin" that you can smooth a piece of wax paper on top of the cake when you remove it from the oven. When it cools peel off the wax paper, the skin should come off with it. It seems to work fairly well. Most of the time I don't really worry about it.
Just curious...if you remove the brown "skin" on the top of the cake....what do you do about the sides? They're brown, too...at least on my cakes, they are. Maybe I overcook mine?????
Interesting observation! I just don't want the "Brown Stripe" running down the middle of this perfectly white cake with white icing between the two layers. If I time my cakes right, the bottoms and sides are a golden color and not as brown as the top skin.
Yeah, me too, I have been doing the push down method but never noticed the skin thing. No one's ever complained either. But then again, most of my request are for chocolate cake so you wouldn't have to worry about that much.
For those that don't know... push down method is when your cake comes out of the over to push the hump on the cake that you would normally level off down into the cake to make the cake flat. Works really good and mixing that with wrapping it while it's still hot in seran wrap makes the cake so moist!
push down method is when you "push down" the dome of your cake as soon as it comes out of the oven to level it off. I have heard some people use a clean towel, I personally use a clean cutting board. Works like a charm. I too cut off the sometimes crusty dark brown top. When I push down I don't go all the way. I leave it a bit above the pan and use a serrated knife and cut it off while it is still in the pan. I then remove it from the pan and wrap it in saran wrap to maintain the moisture.
I don't think you are anal. I agree about the dark brown line runnibg thru the cake and the top is usually tougher than the rest of the cake.
Cindy
This method works like a charm! It's pretty good on my waist line as well because I don't have cake scraps to eat! 
Anyway, this brown skin you are talking about are you referring to the top of the cake or the bottom of the cake once you flip it? I have never experienced a brown skin on the top of my cake. It's "bottom's up" when I ice my cakes and I have brown skin (that sounds really gross, we need to come up with a different name 
) most of it peels off when I peel away my wax paper. The rest comes up just by using a knife!
Amy
I leave it. To be honest it never occured to me to remove it.
Ahh...never heard of either. Good to know.
So, the push down method....You just lightly push the cake back in the cake (that didn't sound right)...Does it make the cake more dense?
Does the cake crack?
And the 'skin'...I leave on too....Never thought about it...Yikes. Maybe I should look again.
Thanks for sharing!!
Anyway, this brown skin you are talking about are you referring to the top of the cake or the bottom of the cake once you flip it?
The top of the cake. When I do trim-jobs (for example on two 10" rounds) I put Cake A bottom side down on the cardboard and Cake B does upside down (bottom side up) on top of Cake A). So if I left the top skin on, then I'd have two top skins touching each other and creating a brown stripe in the middle of the piece of cake. And the above post is correct .... the top skin sometimes/usually is tougher than the outer edges.
I'll give that wax paper method a try!
I always put bottom to bottom. That's just they way I learned.
Anyway, after I prepare my pan with either a spray/flour combo or grease/flour method I line my pan with wax paper. After my cake has cooled for a bit and I flip it I peel off the wax paper starting at one end and sometimes if pulls off the brown layer you are referring to. What it doesn't get off just comes up with the lift of a knife. Other times I don't have any of that brown layer so maybe it depends on the type of recipe/cake that is used.
Anyway, you have a valid concern if making a lighter shade of cake. It would look weird but maybe people don't notice it. Better to be safe than sorry though. Removing it shows you care what your clients see and think about your cakes!!!! 
It's that attention to detail that pays off!!!
Amy
While I think it is definitely easier to use the "press down" method, it most definitely changes the texture of the cake. So if you don't like a denser cake, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to use this method. I used to do it but stopped because of the increased density. I think when you use DH with the extender, it is dense enough!
Brown "skin"?? I'm most definately confused. I'm (somewhat) at piece with the whole "press down" issue......but totally lost with the skin.
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