How to Level and Torte a Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

When a cake bakes, it sometimes develops a dome which is also referred to as a crown. Whether or not your cake develops a dome will depend on the type of the cake and the size of the pan among other factors. It is important to cut off this dome in order to get a flat and even cake which will make decorating easier and give better aesthetics to your cake. The process of removing the dome is called leveling. Apart from the aforementioned uses, leveling also prevents your cakes from cracking when they are stacked. Leveling is also useful even is situations where your cake does not have a dome like is the case in Sponge Cakes. The sides of the cake might be uneven and in need of leveling. To torte a cake on the other hand means dividing the cake into layers. It is always beautiful to cut into cakes and expose their even, well frosted layers. When you torte a cake, you are also creating more room for frosting or filling. Below, I will show you how to properly level and torte a cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOOLS:

(1) A Serrated Knife of a Cake Leveler (See Note 1)

(2) Toothpicks (See Note 2)

(3) A Cake Card (Board)

(4) Turntable or Lazy Susan

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES:

(1) The best tool to use to level and torte a cake is a cake leveler. These come in various sizes and heights. The leveler has a string which is fastened to both sides of the leveler. Some levelers have a thin serrated knife in place of a string. There are notches on the sides of the leveler which allow you to adjust the height of the string according to the height of your cake. If you use a leveler properly, you can always be sure that your cake will always be even and leveled properly. With a serrated knife however, there are no notches to keep the knife at a certain level and you have to rely on your sight, experience and the steadiness of your hands when leveling a cake. I have developed a trick to help you when leveling a cake with a serrated knife. I will be sharing this below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) If you are going to level or torte a cake with a serrated knife, you might need to make use of toothpicks to help ensure that your knife remains leveled at all times. I will explain how this works below.

(3) It is good practice to chill your cakes before you level and torte them. This will serve two purposes. First, it will minimize the amount of crumbs which will be produced during the process. Secondly, it will ensure that your cakes do not tear, break or fall apart during the process. Some cakes are very soft and handling them in that state might spell disaster for the baker. Keep your cakes in the fridge for at least  2 hours after they have cooled down, preferably overnight. You can bake your cake on one day, wrap it and keep it in the fridge and level, torte and frost the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO LEVEL A CAKE:

(1) If you are using a cake leveler, place the cake on a cake card which is resting on an even flat surface. It is important that your surface is flat. Place the leveler against the sides of the cake in order to know which notch the string should be at. It is good practice to go around the cake with the leveler when adjusting the height of the string as some sides might be lover than the others. Level the cake starting from the lowest side of the cake, if any. Adjust the string accordingly and saw through the cake using a back and forth motion. This motion will prevent the cake from tearing. You want to take off as little of the dome as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) If you are using a serrated knife, place the cake card on a turntable and place your cake on the cake card. If you trust your judgement, place the knife against a side of the cake and slice through while rotating the turntable gently and moving the knife back and forth. Start with the edges of the cake and work the knife deeper until the slice meets at the middle of your cake. Do not use an ordinary knife to level or torte a cake as these knives are not built for these tasks. Do not level the cake without a turntable if you are using a serrated knife as the chances of having uneven sides will be more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) If you are using a serrated knife, it might be useful to place toothpicks at the points where you intend to level the cake. This will serve as a guide for your knife. Of course, you might have to measure the height of the cake at various points in order to accurately place the toothpicks. If you are making cakes where the entire top of the cake will be covered with flowers like this cake and this cake, leveling the cake accurately might not be very important as the flowers will cover any dome and uneven sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are wondering what to do with the sliced off cake dome, you can make cake pops, trifles or truffles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO TORTE A CAKE

(1) If you are using a cake leveler, adjust the string so it is the same height as the center of your cake and saw through the cake using a back and forth motion. It is important to make your slices as uniform as possible to the cake looks pretty when it is sliced into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) If you are using a serrated knife, with the cake still on the cake board, saw through the middle of the cake as you did when leveling the cake. Divide the cake horizontally while rotating the table. Again, you might want to place toothpicks at strategic locations in the middle of the cake to help guide your knife and keep it leveled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Stick toothpicks into the cake halves after it has been divided. The toothpicks should be properly aligned so one is directly above the other. This tip will help you align your cakes properly during frosting so that the edges of the cake come together at the same spot. This will ensure an evenly frosted cake without tilts or uneven tops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your cake slices are now ready to be filled, stacked and frosted. A post on how to fill and frost cakes can be found here.

Please ask whatever questions you might have about the above tips below in the “Leave a Reply” box and I will be happy to respond.