I was wondering, do the collar things that you put around your cake pans really help them bake more level? Also, any tips on keeping the crumbs out of the frosting? I still can't seem to get this! Jonna

You have collaring cake pans mixed up with leveling strips. Level strips are what you put around the pan to level them after running water over them. NO, I don't think it works. I have never seen a difference when I don't use them. Collaring cake pans is when you use parchment paper around your pan. You can add more batter to the pan & the paper keeps the batter from running over the pan while baking.

Hi Ronna, like everything else on this forum there are differences of opinion, usually split about 50-50! LOL I use the baking strips on my pans, and I believe it helps my cakes be more level and bake better.

The only way I can control crumbs in my icing is to do a crumb coat first, smooth it out as much as possible, let it sit until it crusts, and then put my top coat of icing over it.
Janice

For crumbs...I prep my pans with shortening and a dusting of flour. The cakes come out almost crumb free. I brush off the rest before I ice the cake. If I've cut-out a cake and there are a lot of crumbs, I use the cake icer tip. It helps a lot.