{"id":763842,"date":"2018-10-29T21:13:43","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T02:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=763842"},"modified":"2025-05-10T03:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T08:00:12","slug":"how-to-cut-cake-layers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/how-to-cut-cake-layers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cut Cake Layers Evenly"},"content":{"rendered":"The perfect layer cakes assemble with flat, even cake layers. But so often, cakes are domed on top when they come out of the oven. Baking with cake strips<\/a> minimizes doming, but even the tiniest domes throw off the balance and stability of a layer cake. There's no choice but to even them out.\r\n\r\nOther times, a recipe calls for cutting your existing layers into thinner layers. For example, our lemon layer cake's<\/a> four layers start as two baked layers.\r\n\r\nAs a former professional baker, I never bought one of those cake-leveling tools. Why invest in a one-tricky pony when a serrated knife does the job perfectly<\/em>? We'll show you how to cut cake layers evenly with a serrated knife and dental floss (yep!), so you can decorate a cake<\/a> easily and precisely. No Leaning Tower of Pisa cakes here!\r\n

How to Cut Cake Layers with a Serrated Knife<\/h2>\r\n\"How\r\n\r\nLearning how to slice a cake into layers or to cut the dome off starts with a serrated knife, a cake turntable and a little patience. Here's how to do it.\r\n
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  1. Set up your station:<\/strong> To cut cake layers with a serrated knife, place one cooled cake layer on a turntable. Use a plate if you don't have one. Take the serrated knife in your dominant hand and place your fingers from the other hand on the top middle of the cake. Your fingers should be on the cake just enough to spin it, not anywhere near the knife.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Mark a guide: <\/strong>With the serrated knife parallel to the counter, line up the blade with the point of the cake where the bottom part of the dome meets the straight edge of the cake. Press the blade into the cake just enough to leave a mark, then use your fingers to spin the cake while continuing to make the mark around the entire cake. Try to make it as level as possible since this perforation will act as a guide to cut the cake dome.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Spin the cake while cutting towards the center:\u00a0<\/strong>Once you've completed a full perforation, go over the line again, gently \"sawing\" about 1 inch into the cake while turning. After a full turn, cut in 1 inch deeper while gently sawing and turning until the knife has cut through the center of the cake. You should now have cut off the cake's dome.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Cut the cake in half, if needed:<\/strong> If your cake recipe calls for cutting one cake layer into two, follow the same technique above, starting the perforation in the very center of the straight edge of the cake so you're cutting it into two equally-sized cake layers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    How to Cut Cake Layers with Dental Floss<\/h2>\r\n\"Two\r\n\r\nDental floss<\/em>? That's right! When learning how to level a cake with dental floss, we found that waxed dental floss slices more smoothly than unwaxed. To avoid interfering with your cake's flavor, steer away from flavored dental floss, like mint.\r\n
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    1. Cut the dental floss:<\/strong> To cut cake layers using dental floss, place one cooled cake layer on a plate. A turntable will be too fidgety for this step. Measure and cut unflavored dental floss long enough to go completely around the perimeter of the cake, plus a few extra inches on each side.<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. Make a guide with toothpicks: <\/strong>Insert four to six toothpicks evenly around the perimeter of the cake where you intend to cut. To cut off the cake dome, place the toothpicks just underneath where the dome and straight edge of the cake meet. To cut the cake into two layers, place the toothpicks around the center of the cake. For a super-even guide, use our serrated knife perforation technique above.<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Wrap and pull the dental floss: <\/strong>Holding one end of the floss in each hand, wrap the floss around the far edge of the cake, crossing the ends in front of you. Pull the two ends of the floss together until you've sliced through the entire cake.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nNow you're ready to tackle these layer cake recipes<\/a> we know you'll love! Since you put in all that work baking the cake<\/a> and cutting it into layers, make sure you know how to frost a cake<\/a> properly. Finally, when it's time to serve, cut the cake<\/a>\u00a0and show off those gorgeous, even cake layers!\r\n\r\n\t\t\t
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