Getting Your Cake To The Required Height?
Decorating By crouton800 Updated 16 Dec 2005 , 7:21pm by llj68
Hi everyone,
would love some advice on how you gals get your cake to your required height. I've read that many of you bake with 2 tins of 2" high and then sandwich these two cakes together ( either with just one thick filling or torting each cake and sandwiching that together, ie. 4 cake layers & 3 layers of filling).
Please correct me if i'm wrong, I understand that this makes a cake 4" high? so does that mean that when you bake a cake, let's say in a 2" pan, that dosen't mean it's gonna be 2" thick coz you'd need height for the filling right? so my question is, how do you ensure you get the correct height...is it through trial and errors with the batter amounts or the leveling of the cakes to get it right? any other?
I'm starting to do tiered cakes (birthdays and hopefully wedding cakes) and i always see that in your photos, all the heights of the cakes in a tiered cake look perfect! It also helps when one makes some layers real cake and the rest dummy cakes, becos it's got to look all the same height right? I can only find 3" dummy cakes here, so i'm using 3" pans ( i suppose 
)..but then again...my batter isn't meant to rise to 3" right?!? i'm a bit confused 
I would really appreciate some feedback and tips coz i don't know whether i'm on the right track? 
Thank you!
Getting to the right height starts with using the right amount of batter in your pan. You need to fill your pans at least 1/2 full but no more than 2/3rds ful. I use 2/3rds and get the cake to bake above the 2 inch rim on the pans. I then use my amazing agbay leveler to level to a perfect 2 inches per layer. So it is that simple. Use the right amount of batter and get your cakes to the right height.
That's how I do it too, same as ceculsk. Minus the amazing agbay leveler. I just use the plain old unamazing Wilton leveler.
Geesh, I just checked out that agbay leveler it looks amazing. But for $249 it should make the cake, bake it, decorate it then clean up the mess.
I just bake and level with a serrated knife. It does the trick.
Batter is the key but just have to comment about Agbay. If my house was on fire I would have to grab it. It is the best money spent on a cake tool.. My cakes are all so level now.. I cant cut a straight line to save my life.
I just bake and level with a serrated knife. It does the trick.
If I tried that, I'd "level" it then it wouldn't be quite level so I'd "level" it again and I'm sure this would continue until the cake was completely destroyed!!!
Getting to the right height starts with using the right amount of batter in your pan. You need to fill your pans at least 1/2 full but no more than 2/3rds ful. I use 2/3rds and get the cake to bake above the 2 inch rim on the pans. I then use my amazing agbay leveler to level to a perfect 2 inches per layer. So it is that simple. Use the right amount of batter and get your cakes to the right height.
Hi guys, thanks for replying.
can i clarify - so when you level your cake 2" high and add it to another layer of 2" PLUS the filling, it'll be more than 4" right?...so do you just ensure that all the layers are same total height? let's say with a 1/2" filling your cakes are then 4 1/2" tall....what about 3" tall cakes? or is it the magazines i see from australia and the UK the cakes look 3".
then may i ask you ( may sound dumb) but what's a 3" cake tin for? for example, in the WBH it says use "two 8 X 3" round pans". so how high is my individual cake layer meant to come out? not 3" high i hope! coz i've tried the receipes and the batter only rises like 1" high.
thank you!
Crouton--
I think that you are maybe over-analyzing a bit here. Basically the most important thing with making tiered cakes is that all the tiers are the same height. I don't necessarily believe there is a "right" or a "wrong" height to cakes.
I, personally, bake two 2" layers and torte them. I use fishing line to torte and the smash technique to level (if needed). I know some people who use one 3" layer and torte that.
My cakes are always a full 2" high. I fill my pans 2/3 to 3/4 full--more on the 3/4 side. I like a nice, tall tier. After torting and filling, my cakes are usually anywhere between 4.5 to 5" tall--depending on the filling and that is with 4 layers of cake and 3 filling. Whether this is "right" or "wrong", I don't know--but I like how it looks and my customers like how it tastes and that's all that matters to me.
Lisa
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