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From fixing broken cake layers and preventing leaning cakes, to achieving impossibly smooth frosting, you’ll wish you knew these 10 cake hacks sooner!
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From fixing broken cake layers and preventing leaning cakes to achieving impossibly smooth frosting
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you'll wish you knew these 10 cake hacks sooner. Prevent cakes from cracking or crumbling by turning them out of their pans this way
0:16
Place a cooling rack on top of the cake pan and then grip both the rack and the pan and flip them both over together
0:23
Lift the cake pan up and voila. Intact cake layers every time
0:28
Air bubbles in your frosting? or dense or gaps or uneven parts
0:32
Here's a hack for those. Heat a metal cake comb by dipping it into a pan of hot water
0:37
or using a blowtorch along the edge and then scrape around your cake
0:41
The hot metal will melt the very outer layer of frosting, pulling that melted frosting around the cake with it
0:47
and filling in imperfections in the frosting to create a super smooth surface
0:52
Bulges in the sides of your frosting? You won't have any if you use this hack
0:57
For runny fillings like caramel or lemon curd, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake before spooning in your filling
1:04
The ring of butter cream is called a dam and it will hold the filling in so it doesn't ooze out
1:09
which is what causes a bulge underneath the frosting in between cake layers
1:14
After assembling your cake, scrape around the sides to flatten the buttercream sticking out from between the layers
1:20
and then frost and decorate, and your sides will be straight without bulges
1:25
For evenly baked cakes with level tops no domes and no burn hedges the secret is baking strips I resisted buying these for a long time but they really aren a gimmick You could soak old towels or cloths and water instead if you want to
1:40
make your own DIY version of them. Look at the difference between the same cake batter
1:45
baked in just a cake pan, and baked in a pan with a baking strip. If your cakes break or crumble or
1:51
crack or fall apart as you're turning them out of their pans, maybe because you didn't grease the
1:56
pan or you didn't wait five minutes for them to cool and firm up slightly in their pans, don't throw them
2:01
away. Wait for them to cool, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze them to hold the pieces together
2:07
Then use them as normal, layering them with buttercream as you're filling, and when this buttercream
2:11
sets, it will hold the crumbled cakes together like glue. You can even spread it on to attach a piece
2:17
that's fallen off completely. Chill the cake in the fridge to set the buttercream
2:21
and then frost it with butter cream, and this butter cream, when it sets, will also hold the cake together
2:26
So that by the time you've decorated it and you serve it, no one will ever know how destroyed and ugly these cake layers were to begin with
2:34
For super tall cakes that won't collapse or topple over, layer your first three or four cakes with filling and then add supports
2:42
which you can do using boba straws, pushing one down to the bottom of the cake and then pinch it
2:47
where it sticks out above the cake and cut it there, so it's the same height as the cake so far
2:53
Measure another three straws to be the same height and then push them all into the cake
2:57
spacing them about two inches apart from each other. Spread some frosting on top to act as glue and then push another cakeboard on top one that as wide as the cake You can trim the board if it a bit too big which happens because some cake recipes shrink slightly after baking as they cooling
3:13
Use some buttercream to attach your next cake layer and continue to assemble your cake with the next three or four layers
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Final step, take a long wooden dowel and push it down through the middle of the cake
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all the way to the bottom. It will poke straight through that cardboard cakeboard in the middle
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mark the top with a pencil, and then pull it out and cut it at the line with some wire cutters
3:34
or a sharp knife or whatever tool you have. Then push it back down. I haven't finished frosting
3:39
and decorating this cake yet, but when I do, I know it will be stable enough to display and
3:44
transport without problems. If your cake looks like it's leaning sideways, your layers aren't
3:50
placed directly on top of each other, but even if you've already started frosting your cake
3:55
it's not too late to fix this. Spread some more frosting to fill
3:59
in the lean, so down here at the bottom of this side and up here at the top of this side
4:05
And then when you scrape around the cake, press your comb down on the cakeboard to line it up straight
4:11
and you'll smooth this frosting you've spread on to create straight sides on the cake
4:15
Add your final layer of frosting and you've got rid of the leaning or tilting effect
4:20
There are two parts to this hack for perfectly neat cake slices
4:24
First, let your frosting set before cutting the cake, which you can do quickly by putting the cake
4:28
putting the cake in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes. Next, dip your knife in a glass of warm water
4:34
and dry it before cutting Now your knife will slice cleanly through the frosting and cake and the frosting will be firm enough that you can balance the slice as you place it onto a plate
4:45
To transfer your cake from its cake board onto a cake stand, the hack is to chill the cake first
4:50
The frosting will get cold and firm, and then you can slice underneath it with an offset spatula or a cake comb
4:56
To separate it from the cakeboard, and then lift it up and lower it down onto a cake stand
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And you can adjust it to center it on the stand, because the frosting is firm enough to push against without damaging it
5:08
Need a hack for condensation on cakes? Condensation is caused by two things, so let's solve them both
5:14
The first cause is moisture in the fridge or freezer, so always wrap your cake in two layers of plastic
5:19
if you're going to chill it for more than about an hour, or store it inside a cake caddy or any other airtight container
5:25
in the fridge or freezer. The second cause, which is more common, is a big change in temperature
5:31
Avoid moving a cake from the freezer straight to room temperature. or from the fridge to a hot room
5:36
If you need to refrigerate your cake, move it to a cool room, so in summer this usually means
5:41
using air conditioning or a fan. If you do get condensation droplets on your cake
5:46
dab them with a paper towel to absorb the liquid. If you want to take your cake skills to the next level
5:51
and learn hundreds of cake decorating techniques and designs, visit my cake school on British Girl Bakes.com
5:57
and join my Club Plus membership for access to every master course, mini-course, live workshop
6:02
and five-minute Fridays. to see you there
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