Hi guys! I new to this forum and pretty new on cake making. As of right now I only do box cakes and right now I'm attempting my first 2 layer cake. Well they got rather puffy in the middle and there's no way they're gonna stack w/o breaking in half. How do I get a flat top surface? I don't have any nifty tools or anything yet so I kinda have to wing it... Thanks for any help!!!
Oh and one more thing... is there anything I can add to this "filling" I made to go in between the cakes. It's heavy whipping cream confectioners sugar and vanilla. It kinda turned out like whipped cream (sounds sort of obvious when I list the ingredients) and I'm afraid when I set the other cake on top it's all just going to come gushing out the sides... Anything I can add to make it hold together?
If you're worried about getting a straight cut just put the cake back in the pan and use the pan as your guide. I have a leveler but this way seems to be easier for me.
Make sure you use a serated knife and a sawing motion.
Some people also press the hump down on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, I've never tried this so I can't recommend it.
Don't feel bad about using a straight box, that's all I use and people rave about my cakes.
I'm not sure if I'll get the top flat because the cake is not as tall as the pan.... My husband is out buying dental floss now as we speak... Is that even an idea that should be considered? As for flattening them as soon as they come out.. they've been out for about an hour so.... there goes that idea... Thanks a lot!
A good trick to make sure your filling doesn't come out the sides is to make an icing "dam".
Use the same icing you're going to use on the outside of the cake, and maybe chill it a little so it's a bit stiffer. Use your piping bag with a coupler to pipe out a border all the way around the first layer of cake. Then put your filling in the middle of that. It will hold in the filling and keep the same color on the outside of the cake.
A good trick to make sure your filling doesn't come out the sides is to make an icing "dam".
Use the same icing you're going to use on the outside of the cake, and maybe chill it a little so it's a bit stiffer. Use your piping bag with a to pipe out a border all the way around the first layer of cake. Then put your filling in the middle of that. It will hold in the filling and keep the same color on the outside of the cake.
Yes, thank you for this tip. I tried to make my first filled cake, besides icing, the other day with two cakes. I had some strawberries left over and had to use these two cakes I had, so I thought I'd make an easy strawberry filling. I didn't know I had to make an icing dam and it all oozed out the sides. I kept trying to stuff it back in there. LOL! So I took some regular icing and tried to put it around the seam and hold it in, but it wasn't thick enough. Then someone posted the video about how to fill a cake the other day and I found out to do an icing dam. LOL! 
-Heather
If you're using a serrated knife or floss or something and want to make sure you're going to get it level all the way around, you can measure (let's say 2" from the countertop) all the way around the cake and place toothpicks at that 2" mark. Then, you slide your knife above the toothpicks and the toothpicks guide you all the way around so you don't end up cutting crooked, if that makes sense.
I try to deliberately overfill my pans so the cake will puff up over the top - and then saw it off with my leveler. No matter how careful I am, I canNOT get the thing level with JUST the leveler on the counter top. I think the cake is too flexible or something.
So, anyway....when the cake doesn't rise that high, I eyeball it, trim off what is obviously off-kilter and then actually use a level on it. I do it a layer at a time. I place the first layer on the cake plate or board, put buttercream on the top of it, smooth it and then pop a cake circle on top of that. I have a little bubble level. It's maybe 7 or 8 inches long. I lay that on the cake circle. If I need to build up or scrape down one side, I can tell in a second. Then, I rotate the leveler halfway around and check the level going the other direction. Once I get that layer leveled, I check the next layer while it's sitting on the counter. The second layer is more tricky because you have to shave off the high side, and you can't put back the shavings if you goof. But, so far, I haven't. Once the second layer is leveled, I pop it on the first layer, and everything squares up nicely. Takes a few minutes, but it's worth the effort.
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