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ilene_in_neok

Sheet cake

ilene_in_neok
14 years ago

OK, I've got a question I bet someone can answer for me.

How do the bakeries get their sheet cakes to be so flat?

When I bake a cake, the center is always taller than the edges.

Is there a trick to it? Do you need special pans?

Comments (18)

  • ruthanna_gw
    14 years ago

    They trim them before frosting to make a flat surface.

  • shirleywny5
    14 years ago

    Don't grease the sides of the pan, only the bottom. When spreading out the batter, move it up the sides of the pan. The batter needs something to cling to.

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  • ilene_in_neok
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Ruthanna, that's what I thought, too.

    But I bought a cake from the bakery just a few days ago, and I've examined it. It's definitely not been trimmed. There's a browned top under the frosting, even on the center pieces. And the bottom is browned as well.

    I was thinking maybe their cake pans have lids? Maybe they put something on the top, like parchment paper, and then a lid, so they can take the lid off and peel off the paper?

    Maybe there's some trick as to oven temp?

    Or would an insulated pan, or the cake pan in a larger pan of water, allow the sides more time to rise in the pan?

    Or would the secret be in the recipe?

  • countryham
    14 years ago

    As ruthanna said. They trim them!!!

  • echooooo
    14 years ago

    I am a baker. I use thermo strips, you can buy them at Michael's or make your own. Basically it's a wet towel folded to the height of the base of the pan and wrap around, secured with a pin. It doesn't burn and it insulates the outside of the cake so the outside of the cake doesn't cook faster than the inside of the cake.

  • maureen_me
    14 years ago

    I was going to mention those also. My friend uses them all the time, and I recently bought some myself. Mine are called Bake-Even Strips, and they really do keep that dome from forming.

  • ilene_in_neok
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Shirley, Echo and Maureen, I will try your suggestions! Thank you so much.

    Ruthanna and CountryHam, I have tried trimming the dome off the cake, and I had trouble with cake crumbs incorporating into the frosting while I was spreading it. Plus it seems so wasteful and I don't end up with a very tall cake.

    I appreciate everyone's input. Now I'm off to go cut up a towel! I looked at the Bake-Even Strips and I like that velcro-looking fastener, but would regular velcro fasteners for clothing melt and stink in the oven? I was thinking it might be kind of hard to get a big safety pin all the way through that much wet terrycloth, but maybe if I sewed a line of bias tape along the middle of the strip, I could leave ends to tie. Might have to turn that part to the inside though cause I bet the bias tape would dry off pretty fast in the oven and then burn. Maybe a couple of simple gripper snaps would work. Hmmmmm. Wheels turning here. Hey, I've got it! TWO safety pins, one pinned on a little ways from each end of the strip. Wet the towel and then open one pin and fasten it into the other pin. Easy Peasy. Can't wait for everyone to finish off that bakery cake so I can give it a try!

    Thanks again! --Ilene

  • dreamhouse1
    14 years ago

    Wilton also makes a cake leveler, which is basically a wire stretched across a metal arch with increments so you don't cut off too much and it stays even. As for the crumbs, you have to frost a thin crumb layer, then your final frosting layer. I ususally freeze my cakes to make handling easier and with a few less crumbs.

    Let us know about the strips. I have heard mixed reviews on them - some people swear by them, others swear at them.

  • happytime_ca
    14 years ago

    besides the Bake-Even strips, which do help,(the wet towel strips will work too) A few other tips.
    Try baking at 3:25 instead of 3:50
    and when the cake comes out of the oven (but still in the pan)take a towel, or piece of waxed paper and lightly press on the raised part of the cake, and around it, till it seems to even out, then finish the cooling process. Let us know how thing work with your next cake

  • CA Kate z9
    14 years ago

    When you put the batter in the pan thin out the center some pushing the batter to the sides..... You do the same thing when you bake giant cookies.

  • aliceinmd
    14 years ago

    I have used well-soaked Bake-Even strips for thirty years (with safety pins or T-pins to anchor them) with excellent results. I found those after a Wilton cake decorating instructor suggested using the folded wet towel strips, which work well but scorch easily.

    I have read that Shirley Corriher in her new book Bakewise recommends always baking on a stone. Not only does it help keep the temperature in the oven "box" even through heating and cooling cycles, but it also gives even heat across the full bottom of the cake pan, which may help the cake rise more evenly.

    If you do have to trim the hump from a cake, begin frosting with a crumb coat: Thin a bit of the frosting slightly with milk or cream and put a thin coat of that on the cake, especially the areas with bare crumbs. Let that coat dry for at least several minutes, and then frost away as usual. You should have little or no lifting of crumbs.

  • kandm
    14 years ago

    A dome center usually indicates that he oven temperature is too high. The strips are useful because they allow the sides and the center of the cake to cook at the same rate which prevents doming. Another tip would be to use a heavy duty hard aluminum cake pans to bake evenly.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hard 3003 Aluminum Sheet Cake Pans

  • ilene_in_neok
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Wow, kandm, that's a looooovely cake pan there. I like the straight sides. Looks like they don't sell retail though. I've seen those air-insulated cake pans, Food Network has them for $17.99 and Amazon has an Air-Bake for $13.99. The reviews rave about how the bottom of the cake doesn't burn (which I don't have any trouble with), but they don't mention anything about the cake not doming. Do you think they would prevent the doming as well? They don't have straight sides, but the one at Amazon has a lid, which would be nice. I just found Williams Sonoma, it looks like a straight-sided heavy gauge cake pan made by Chicago Metallic. It's aluminum coated steel. Costs $20

    Alice, I've seen references to cooking on stone for pizza and someone mentioned buying several squares of unglazed tile, like for floors, and putting them on the oven rack. So that's a thought, too. Does it change the pre-heat time to use a stone?

    Lots of great ideas here. Thanks everyone! --Ilene

    Here is a link that might be useful: Williams Sonoma

  • ci_lantro
    14 years ago

    Ilene--Those Fat Daddio's hard aluminum pans are available at Amazon.

  • ilene_in_neok
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    ci_lantro (cute screen name, BTW), you are so right! I wonder why those didn't turn up in my search the first time? And there's free shipping if the order is over $25.

    They have two pans that are listed as 9x13. One is $18.12 and the other is somewhat cheaper but it is actually 10x14, at least it says so in the description further down on the page, and apparently at the moment there are only 3 left. But I'd rather have the 9x13 anyway, as all my recipes call for that size pan. The straight sides would make it a lot easier to keep the strips on. I'm gonna order.

    Amazon has baking strips also but I didn't see any that are made for 9x13 pans. Maybe the ones for the largest round pans would fit? I think I might make my own, though.

    Oh, and Alice, I hadn't thought of using T-pins instead of safety pins! That would be a lot easier. One of the baking strip reviewers on Amazon said she used those mini metal pinch-type clips that are sold for office use. Hmmm. That might be easier yet.

    What a great forum this is! Thanks everybody!

  • aliceinmd
    14 years ago

    Ilene -- Good question about using the strips on a 9x13 pan. The strips come in sets of 2. Each one can go around a 9" round pan, or the two can be pinned together to go around a 9x13 or larger pans. I suggest getting two sets while you're ordering them so you are ready if/when you decide to bake a three-layer cake. I like the idea of the binder clips, too; repurposing is a good thing!

  • coconut_nj
    14 years ago

    For the bakeries it's a combination of things mentioned above. First a good heavy commercial sheet pan helps. Then don't grease the sides of cake pans. Do use parchment paper on the bottom. When you smooth out the batter make it a bit thinner in the middle and thickest on the sides. Bake at 325. All combined help to keep it even. I always bake on my pizza stone because I leave it in there all the time. Also if you have thin cake pans you can put them on a sheet pan. Do preheat the sheet pan though. Also remember not to bake your cakes too high in the oven. Good luck.

  • kandm
    14 years ago

    eHow.com

    "How to Check and Adjust Your Oven's Temperature Control"

    Checking the Temperature
    1. Put an oven thermometer at the center of the oven and set the oven to 350 degrees F.

    2. Check the temperature indicated on the thermometer after 20 minutes. If it's not within 5 degrees of 350, you'll need to adjust the oven's temperature control.
    Tips: You can get an oven thermometer with a mercury column at kitchen specialty shops.

    Adjusting the Setting
    3. Turn the oven off.

    4. Pull off the temperature control knob. You can usually pry it off with a thin screwdriver or slide a piece of fabric up behind it and pull.

    5. Note which kind of temperature control knob you have. There are two types: The first has a screw in the shaft of the knob; the second has an adjustment dial on the back of the knob.

    6. Adjust the temperature with the first type by turning the screw in the shaft with a screwdriver. Turn it clockwise to lower the temperature; turn it counterclockwise to raise the temperature. Turn the screw just a little bit in the appropriate direction.

    7. Adjust the temperature with the second type of knob by turning the dial on the back of the knob. (This dial is held in place with a screw or a clip that will need to be removed.) Raise the temperature setting by turning the dial counterclockwise; lower it by turning the dial clockwise. The notches are typically in 10-degree increments.

    8. Test the oven temperature again.

    9. Repeat until you're in the right temperature range.

    Tips: If you have to adjust the temperature more than 20 degrees, consider replacing the oven's thermostat."

    Here is a link that might be useful: How to Check and Adjust Your Oven's Temperature Control

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