I keep having problems with leveling cakes. They look level to me but when I use the leveler to check it says they're not and no matter what I do I can't get them right. But I'm new to cakes and figured it was just me so I've been trying to get them as level as I can. Today I'm using my leveler to check a cake to see if it's even and it's saying no again. Looks level to me but the tool's always right, right?

I sit the leveler on the counter while I try and tweak the cake some more and happen to glance over at it while I'm working. Guess what? The counters in my 1950s era kitchen aren't level at all.

I've wasted hours over the past few months trying to level cakes on an unlevel counter. Oh boy. Guess all you can do is laugh.

Oh, no! If you move to another area in the house to level your cakes, be sure to test that, too! Our first house was built in the 1920s and none of the floors were level. We never know if it was "original" or due to settling.

Hi hrnewbie, while reading your post, I was guessing at the reason and knew their was a way to solve your problem. My cakes always come out level when I use Magic Strips on my cake pans, so I don't have to level them, but I wanted to make a suggestion or two.

First, check to see if your stove is level and you might be able to adjust legs or put a shim under it.

Second, make a level surface on your counter by putting a piece of plywood on your counter and put firing strips under it until it is level, then tack or glue firing strips to plywood. Then put some tape on the place where you leveled the board with your counter so that you will know where to place the board the next time you bake. You should be able to get a true level cake now.

Hope this helps.

I had the same thing happen to me! After we sold our house, we rented a place temporarily and the slab was cracked, so the floors were literally crooked. You felt like you were walking uphill in the living room... The counters were level, but if I was using my butcher's block, I would have to put towels under my turntable to make it level I just kept folding the towel in half until the bubble on the top of my cake was in the center.