Every time i put my cakes together, the top is always rounded. how do i achieve a flat top?
You have to level your cakes. I bake in a 2 inch pan and fill the batter up to about 3/4ths full...this means the cake domes rise above the lip of the pan and I can just take a bread knife (long serrated knife) and trim off the top of the cake to the level of the pan. If I'm baking in my 3 inch springform tho, I don't fill so high and when I unmold the cake from the pan I have to turn it quickly over to dome side up and then freehand trim the dome off to a level surface.
One thing I did was go out and buy a brand new mini level tool and then I washed it before the first use..and it's only used for cakes.
HTH
Cat
another great thing to use is Bake Even strips. You can also make your own. I bake my cakes at a lower temp and use the bake even strips and get a perfectly level cake almost every time. If it is not quite level, I do the same as Cat.
HTH
If they're over the edge of the pan when they come out of the oven, take a clean towel and gently, but firmly press down on the 'hump' --you have to do this while they're hot, right out of the oven.
Went to a ICES day of sharing yesterday and this question came up. We had a baker from a local bakery give us this answer.
He said to try lowering the baking temp and it decrease the size of the hump in the center. He said sometimes it only takes decreasing the oven 5 -10 decrease. Sometimes ~25. He said everyones oven is different and you have to find what works for you.
If they're over the edge of the pan when they come out of the oven, take a clean towel and gently, but firmly press down on the 'hump' --you have to do this while they're hot, right out of the oven.
I tried this the other day on test cake. I loved doing it this way! However, I have a question. My husband said that he didn't like it as well because there was a slight crispy texture to the top out side edges. This is usually removed when I leveled it before. Is this a problem with my baking? Do you have this?
I bake at 325 and, yes, I get less of a hump but I still like the even leveling of using the pan as the guide. I tried the pushing down thing and it actually cracked my cake and I didn't like the texture of the cake or edges of the top in the end. I'll keep leveling. As with anything..find what works best for you.
Cat
If they're over the edge of the pan when they come out of the oven, take a clean towel and gently, but firmly press down on the 'hump' --you have to do this while they're hot, right out of the oven.
I tried this the other day on test cake. I loved doing it this way! However, I have a question. My husband said that he didn't like it as well because there was a slight crispy texture to the top out side edges. This is usually removed when I leveled it before. Is this a problem with my baking? Do you have this?
No, and I should have added I immediately wrap them in plastic wrap while they're hot. They're SOOO very moist!
I press down the tops, tear a big strip of plastic wrap, drape it over my cooling rack and flip, then wrap the cake and it cools while wrapped, keeping all the steam (which is moisture) in.
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