Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win
No Result
View All Result
Food24
No Result
View All Result

You won’t believe what the trick is to get cake layers to come out perfectly flat

Food24
Katelyn Allegra of The Kate Tin by Katelyn Allegra of The Kate Tin
May 24, 2018
in Baking tips and tricks, Cooking Guides and Tips
0
You won’t believe what the trick is to get cake layers to come out perfectly flat
2
SHARES
8k
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsapp

(images: Katelyn Allegra)

ALSO READ: Do different types of sugar really make a difference in baking?

I want to be upfront here, I have nothing against cakes with domed tops. The top of the cake can be easily trimmed off which leaves you with a flat cake – and a treat! But if you’re a perfectionist and looking to up your skills, getting a flat top on your sponge cake layers is something you’ve probably only been dreaming of. Until now!

First, let’s get to the sciency stuff about why a cake makes a dome in the first place. Cakes dome because the outer edges of the cake cook quicker than the center of the cake. The cake forms an outer crust and sets so when the inside carries on cooking, it rises and pushes the crust up.

So how can we avoid that? Some bakers swear by baking the cake low and slow. This is fine if you bake a lot of cakes and have managed to find the ‘sweet spot’ temperature and cooking time of your oven, but if you’re a home baker, that’s not really an option.

There have been a few so-called hacks along the way that supposedly result in flat-topped sponges:

1. Create an indent in the centre of the batter to counteract the rising – in my experience, this doesn’t work all the time because the batter liquefies in the oven anyway which makes that process a waste of time!

2. Turning the cakes upside down on a board as soon as the cake comes out the oven. This doesn’t work for me – all it does is compress the cake, which makes it heavier and dense and defeats the point of trying to create a light cake.

3. Cake tin quality – a thicker, sturdier cake tin will regulate the heat better than a thin flimsy cake tin, but we can’t all afford to buy expensive cake tins!

So, what’s the trick then? A damp towel. That’s all! Wrap a strip of the damp towel around your cake tin and bake as normal and you’ll get a flat-topped cake.

damp cloth

But how does it work? Well, remember the sciency stuff earlier? The damp tea towel keeps the edges of the cake tin cooler for longer, preventing the sides from baking before the centre of the cake is cooked. It has to do with evening out heat distribution. Clever, right?

cooked cakes


Here’s how to do it: 

Cut an old bath towel into strips that fit around your cake tin (make sure there are no threads hanging that could catch alight!) then submerge the towel in cold water for 5 minutes. Wrap the strip around the cake tin and secure it with safety pins. Pour in your cake batter and bake as normal. If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, you can get out your sewing machine.

ALSO READ: How to master the mirror glaze cake trend in 6 simple steps

 

Follow The Kate Tin on Instagram and Facebook 

 

Tags: Bakingcakes


Related Posts

When cooking goes horribly wrong: The Food24 team shares their tips and tricks to fix common issues
Cooking Guides and Tips

When cooking goes horribly wrong: The Food24 team shares their tips and tricks to fix common issues

June 23, 2022
A guide to the perfect butter chicken curry
Cooking Guides and Tips

A guide to the perfect butter chicken curry

June 15, 2022
Why elaichi is not your sworn enemy
Cooking Guides and Tips

Why elaichi is not your sworn enemy

June 7, 2022
Next Post
This Winter Haute Cabriere brings Cape Winelands hospitality to a city near you

This Winter Haute Cabriere brings Cape Winelands hospitality to a city near you

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Food24 Team Loves

We tried 6 different cooking methods for lamb chops and found the best

We tried 6 different cooking methods for lamb chops and found the best

May 19, 2022
rusks

We tasted store-bought buttermilk rusks and found the best one – just in time for winter

May 18, 2022
mielie rice

Whatever happened to mielie rice?

March 18, 2022
Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines goes global

Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines goes global

March 17, 2022
banana-peel-uses

3 fruit peels you’ll love for their waste-reducing appeal

March 10, 2022

Recent favourites

  • vanilla-cake-taste-test

    This Food24 Taste Test reveals which vanilla store-bought cake mix is the best

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Should you buy an air-fryer?

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why elaichi is not your sworn enemy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A guide to the perfect butter chicken curry

    10 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • We tasted store-bought buttermilk rusks and found the best one – just in time for winter

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get weekly access to our best recipes, tips and tricks

Sign Up
Footer

Quick links

  • Home
  • News
  • Videos
  • Win

Collections

  • New Recipes
  • Festive
  • Baking
  • Dessert Recipes
  • Braai Recipes
  • Lunchbox
  • South African Recipes
  • Pasta Recipes

Other links

  • Advertise with Food24
  • Editorial Policy
  • How to Pitch
  • Contact us

Not in the mood to cook?

Visit eatout.co.za to find the perfect restaurant near you.

eatout.co.za

© 2020 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

  • About us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • New Media
IAB
No Result
View All Result
  • Recipes
    • New recipes
    • Recipe round-ups
    • Easy weekday meals
    • Cooking with lamb
    • Delicious pork recipes
    • Braai recipes
    • Chicken recipes
    • Vegetarian recipes
    • Baking
    • Low carb recipes
    • Gluten-free recipes
    • Dairy-free recipes
    • Pasta recipes
    • South African recipes
  • News
    • Food news
  • Videos
  • Drinks
    • Non-alcoholic drinks
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Coffee
  • Newsletters
  • More
    • Cooking guides and tips
    • Baking tips and tricks
    • Food24 taste tests
    • Eat for good
    • Win

© 2019 Food24.com. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms below to register

Subscribe to Newsletter

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Close
Food24
Recipe Disclaimer

All recipe content is the responsibility of the party from whom such content originated. You agree that you use the content on Food24 at your own risk. Please read our editorial policy.
Close
Food24
Get the latest recipes delivered to your inbox weekly
Promotional Newsletter

Be the first to receive information about competitions and special offers from Food24 and it's partners.

You have successfully been subscribed!
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Make sure you have completed all required fields.
I don't want to see this again