What Does THAT Do?! - Bake-Even Strips

You know how your cake comes out of the oven with that annoying dome in the middle? You know how to ice your cake and make it look all smooth and stuff you have to level off that dome? You know how it sucks to lose that much height on your cake, and you're left with a squatty-looking cake? Problem solved!

Let me introduce you to Bake Even Strips. They're from Wilton, and I have used them for years. These save you a lot of time and a lot of cake!

Here's how they work: You soak the strips in ice water for 15 minutes (or so) to get them cold and wet. You then wrap them around the outside of the cake pan and use the pin to keep them tight.
(Note: I got these a dozen years ago, that's why they look so... loved. The newer ones don't have this little extra flap of fabric, so you just pin it right through the other end.)

Occasionally, you may need to add an extra few minutes to bake your cake, but they keep it nice and level. Why? Because they keep the outside of the pan cool. See, your cake domes in the middle because the outside cooks faster than the inside.

I always remove the strips from the pan as soon as I take the cake out of the oven-- to allow the sides to cool better.
Don't mind that this cake is kind of lumpy. It's a chocolate-covered cherry cake, so it's supposed to look like that.

And this is what the cake looks like when baked with the Bake Even Strip.


Click the link for the photos comparing cake baked with and without the Bake Even Strips.

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