I like the whole cake making process but have to admit I find leveling the cakes a pain. I even have an agby. I usually don't leveL my sheet cakes and they look pretty level. Does anyone just use the baking strips with a flower nail and go from there for the round cakes?. Are there any tricks out there to skip this process? By the way,,I can't get off this site today and the housework is waiting,,,feeling a little bit of an addiction here...

A lot of people use the "push down" method. Right when you take the cake out of the oven, take a clean dish cloth and push the cake down while it's still hot and in the pan. The cakes will require little to no leveling.

I don't even use the bake even strips any more...took too much time! I'll use flower nails for 12 inch cakes or bigger. Lately I set my oven at 320 degrees (runs hot...electric) and for the most part they come out with just a small belly. I don't cut it off though.....I tort the cake and then use the "belly" piece as my first layer on the cardboard round, belly side up. I then frost with a thick (not thin!) frosting and make the surface flat. I then place the other half of the torted cake on top of the flat frosting...I place this piece upside down so now the nice flat area that was touching the bottom of the pan is now the top surface of the cake. (repeat this process again for additional layers) This is the fastest method I discovered so that I can skip leveling. The only thing I would say is do not do this if you are using a thin or fruit filling.....you should probably level then!

I dont really level my cakes anymore. Just like the bake even strips, I use towels that are wet and wrap them around the cake pan while baking...something I learned here on CC.

But with the wet towels, my cake pretty much cook even. On a sheet cake or a larger circle I will use the flower nail along with the wet towels...

If you practice some, you will learn just like I did...less cake wasted...

I'm sooo trying the wet towel trick on my next cake I throw out so much cake when I level..

I don't level mine because I generally don't cook large enough cakes that they rise noticibly higher in the middle. Mine tend to rise quite evenly with most recipes I use, but if there's a small dome I generally don't worry too much becuase I turn my cakes over to decorate the side which was in the bottom of the pan anyway.

I wouldn't mind if I had leftover cake scraps from levelling though - cakeballs!

I never heard of the push down method. Doesn't pushing on a hot cake cause it to crack or spilt?

So heres the thing for me, when my cakes come out the oven, they are perfectly flat. They look totally fine, no bumps, no uneveness, nothing. But when I got to level it, even though it looks perfectly flat coming out the oven, I level it and see how really flat it can be. Just my expierence.

Once I figured out the flower nail 'trick', I stopped leveling my cakes. BUT, now I'm trying to figure out how to get the right sized teirs for SPS and I'm all screwed up! Does anyone know if I can buy a BIG leveler at HobbyLobby or Michaels? (Sorry to be a thread hijacker)

Thanks Win for the shim idea, will have to try it next time.

I always level my cakes.
I'd rather waste a little cake and make sure everything is straight then waste and entire cake because it was not level and either fell over or leaned enough to where it was noticeable.
Now if's a single layer cake for the house then I might skip it, but not for 4+ teir cake for a customer.

Ha,,,SinCitycakes - you and me both. I am all screwed up as well trying to get the 4" cakes but will keep trying. Cake Mommy - I have kind of been going by that as well, I level my tiered cakes to make sure there are no problems.

If you're making a sheet cake, do you use more than one flower nail?

I do use cake strips, but I'd like them to be even flatter. Thanks so much for the nail info!

I always level and with my Agaby it's not that big of a deal. I would sooner level then have a finished cake that is higher on one side. I use the baking strips, the flower nail and some times I have to use the towel method and press down on them when I take them out of the oven. I just prefer to level and check to make sure.

I absolutely HATE leveling - I cannot cut a "straight" line to save my life! I hate the bake even strips, I use the flower nails. The nails do great on rounds, but not as well for large sheets. I haven't tried the towels - I may check into that - I hate wasting cake too! I would rather go through more to keep it flat than have to cut some off! It is a pain. I use dental floss to torte my cakes, with toothpicks to line it up to the proper place, so I don't have to worry about that - I just wish I could do that for leveling! lol

You can also level the cake while it's still in the pan.

Just lie a long serrated knife on top of the pan as a guide and use a "sawing" motion to cut off the dome that's above the rim of the pan. Then just turn out the cake like usual.

On the topic of wasted cake from leveling..I was too baked out from the holidays to start learning how to make cake balls. So I made bread pudding with the scraps and holy moley was it goooood.

And... I always level. I'm genetically programmed to fuss so my personality doesn't really give me a choice to level or not.

I always level. There's no waste because I use the trimmings to make spackle. It's a Toba Garret trick. Mix trimmings with some buttercream and some filling. I use a 2-2-1 part ratio. You get a nice thick paste to use as a base coat that adds real stable smooth surface to your cake. Great under fondant or buttercream . You can also use it as a flavorful, stable filling that will never smoosh or bulge out between your layers.

Hmmm, so you use the spackle as a crumb coat?

Yup. And people love it! I don't think they really know what it is and assume it's something decadent like marzipan or some nut filling.

I do the "push down" method with a folded paper towel--learned about it here on CC! I haven't had to level a cake since. I'm almost ALWAYS able to get the cake very level, and if there's any unevenness, I can compensate with icing. I also use flower nails or, on large cakes, heating cores. I really don't like cutting into my cake layers if I don't have to. All it means for me is crumbs, especially on a chocolate or red velvet cake. I do miss cake balls, though LOL!

For sheet cakes I'm going to torte I don't even bother with a 2" pan anymore. I'll bake them in a sheet tray, and use the whole layer, or cut it up. They bake faster, and more even than baking a 2" cake. The time saved is unbelieveable. It takes about twenty minutes to bake in a sheet pan. For the cake it takes over an hour in a 2"pan.

Mike

I use the push down method all the time..I never really get large domes but small humps.I have never levelled a cake any other way!