Personally, I love the small leveler. Sometimes I need to use a bread knife to get the job started but it makes a much straighter cut than I can do freehand. Had the large Wilton cutter & hated it! I'm sorta...uhm...vertically challenged so I took the blade off & now I use it to get at things that are a little out of reach. Thanks Wilton!
The small Wilton leveler seems a little flimsy to me and hard to use with larger cakes, but I like the large one.
I make sure my cakes are chilled and I try to keep the feet of the leveler on the table as I work the blade slowly from side to side.
This summer I bought a Cutco bread knife (long and SHARP) for $100. I was planning on replacing my Wilton leveler with it. But I can't cut a straight line to save my life and every single time I have used that stupid knife I cut my finger. I need to find out if they have a satisfaction guarantee, because I am definitely not satisfied. I could kick myself for not coughing up the extra $50 bucks for an Agbay. (Although I would REALLY like to get the deluxe, it looks awesome.)
I do have an electric knife, may have to give that a try in the meantime.
Kim
I threw out my Wilton leveler, small one, it just tears the cake for me. Unfortnately I find about half of Wilton product to be pretty crappy. Currently using a long Russell International , high carbon serated knife and longing for Xmas when I will get the Agbay leveler.
I just use my longest knife. It's not serrated - but It's specifically for cutting bread. Works great and affordable too- It came with my steak knives
I have no problems with Wilton's large leveler. Like others who have been successful, you have to make sure you are using short, sawing motions...you can't just rip through the cake, or that's exactly how your cake will be...ripped up. I would recommend the short, sawing motions with anything (serrated knife, saw, etc.) You have to be gentle.
Now as far as Wilton's small leveler...THAT sucks!!!
I have the small leveler from wilton and used it for several years. I borrowed a friends large wilton one and found the blades did not stay straight while cutting and my cake was cut uneven. I have made a few wedding cakes and I want them to look as good as they taste so I took the plunge this summer and purchased the deluxe Agbay. What a difference. What used to take a really long time filled with fustration and anxiety that it would work can now be done perfectly in a matter of minutes. Definately worth every penny and no regrets whatever. In my opinion, save your money to buy the Agbay. Even worked great sawing thru carrot cake made with walnuts. It will truly take your cake decorating to the next level!! (pun intended) lol.
Have any of you ever tried using dental floss instead of the leveler? Just hold the floss taught and move slow and you should be able to level your cake without problems.
i do this after the cake has cooled to get the dome leveled off. nice quick and easy
I hate the small wilton, that dang wire is useless, but I must say for a soft cake it gets it level. The large one was bought and used over the weekend, my tiers were eaten to the blade eats down and up and it hard to keep level... even using the sawing motion! I just watched Alton Brown on FN use pickets wood and a hack saw blade and it is firmer so I think with DH a carpenter I might give it a hoot next time!!!
i agree i've had decent luck with soft cakes but if anything gets overbaked forget it. i have on occassion gotten the dips and valleys et.. if its not too bad i just keep going. if it needs repair depending on severity i repair with a cake patch and frosting.. if too severe, time to rebake *sigh*
I tried leveling cakes by hand for 20 years ... bought the large leveler a couple of years ago and I am never turning back.
I trim any doming while the cake is still in the pan, using hte pan sides as a guide. After the cake is out of the pan and cooled, if I have to do any add'l trimming, I just make sure the feet are flat, use a short sawing motion, and I keep an eye on the blade to make sure it doesn't twist up or down.
If you're throwing yours away, send it to me. I'll happily take it off your hands.
thats how i do it too cept i've never had the large leveler. i tried for years to practice and level with a nice serated knife.. can't eyeball a flat cake if my life depended on it lol..
i do want to checkout the agbay one though.. sounds interesting
i saw some one say they had trouble leveling a ten inch with the small leveler? i do ten inch cakes the most and i use my leveler fine. hmm
i just saw the vid for the agbay leveler and i'm sold! lol (still gotta wait for the dough tho )
I have the small one and HATE it!!!! Either it sucks or I really don't know how to work it
The small Wilton leveler I bought stinks too doesn't even want to cut through the cake to begin with. I thought I had gotten stuck with a lemon cutter lol
I have both of the Wilton levelers. Not terribly impressed with either one. Maybe that's why leveling a cake is not my favorite task.
I know many people have commented on how they hate the Wilton leveler, I've never had any problems with mine, but I rarely level a cake anyway But when I do or when I torte/fill, I have good luck with it.
Jen
I have had the same problem. I have a brilliant husband who can build anything however, and he has a plan to make me a kind of miter box that I can set the cake in with 3 different slots to run your knife through depending on how thick you want to cut it. Can't wait to see it and if it works! He's got it all worked out in his head but I'm more visual. If it works, I'll post a pic!
PS He also modified my Wilton leveler, tightened it somehow, so it is working quite a bit better.
I level by hand (you need a looong blade for it to work.)
I'm saving for an Agbay, though.
I haven't bought the large leveler (due to response on here), but I have the small one.
I made a wedding cake last weekend and used my new, expensive Wilton cake leveler. What a piece of junk! It was ripping my cake and the feet kept falling off while cutting through the cake. If I still had my receipt, I would take it back to the store I bought it and get my money back. Luckily I was able to salvage the cake layers and get the darned cake to the wedding in time.
If you complain to Wilton, they may send you a gift certificate for another product. I did that with the castle set, I had already thrown away the receipt.
I've had the small leveler for a long time. I never used it until recently...now I use it all the time. Usually, I place it on the counter and just push the cake through. If it's a carrot cake or something with substance, I use my long bread knife. I just lost the lil rubber feet off of it......that made me mad! But I still use it.
I saw the video on the Agbay Deluxe.....oh so nice wanted to scream it was so cool!
where can I see the video???
I have both the large and small levelers. I have found the small one just fine. If the outer cake has a tougher layer, it's sometimes hard to get it started, but once you get through that, it's fine.
I own the large one, but I rarely make cakes large enough to need it (it's still in the package). I am making a 16" square next weekend, so I will find out how the large one works for me then, I guess. I hope I don't have a problem with it because that will be the day of my DD's second birthday party, and I would HATE to have to re-bake a cake that day! I will go SLOW with it, now that I have read this.
I saw the video on the Agbay Deluxe.....oh so nice wanted to scream it was so cool!
where can I see the video???
Any one ,? I would really love to see it in action. where can I see it
Thank you , now I looked agian ,my hubby did some security thigys on my computer ,so the video is not working.I'll have to watch it when he is home.Thanks .
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%