I am just starting out and I am having a hard time icing my round layered cakes because the layers don't come out exactly the same size. Any suggestions?

i too have a similar problem, looking forward to reading the replys!!

You have to level them. An easy way is to get wooden stakes cut to the hight you need (e.g. 2"), sandwich the cake in between, and cut the top of the cake off using the stakes as a guide.

I use a cake leveler from Wilton. It takes a little while to get used to it, but it helps immensely when leveling.

ditto on the Wilton cake leveler. I have the small one and the large one.

Yea, I have both the Wilton large and small levelers, but I find they tend to cut at an angle. Guess I'm just horizonally challenged.

Yeah!!!! You know I've had that problem on the last couple of cakes I've made.....
I thought to myself, "d--n idiot, you can't cut straight"! I've even started checking the blade first on the big one. Weird huh??

i guess i misunderstood the initial post, i'm having trouble with the sides of a round cake being even, when i stack two on stop of each other.

Sometimes one layer shrinks more than the other in baking. You can dam and fill the cake and then slice the sides with a sharp knife to even them before filling in the space line between the two layers, crumb coating and final icing.

This happens to me when I use non professional pans, like the regular Wilton pans. It's like they bow out at the top, so when you stack they are 2 bowed cakes.

The best way I shape the oval and round is with a spackle knife, it's a really wide angle putty knife and it's easier to handle on the side of the cake and just build it up with icing.

Hope that helps!

If you are baking 8" rounds consider buying the 8x3" pan and torting, instead of using 2 layers, you will need to bake your cake a little longer but it will be perfectly round.

I've found that if I overbake a cake by just a few minutes, it may be a smaller diameter than it's corresponding cake. (Like if you burn a burger on a grill, it shrivels up to nothing!) When that happens, I put the larger one on the bottom and when I ice it, I just fill in the gap with the icing as I run the spatula around the sides of the cake.

For those who bake in 3" tall pans, do you have problems getting large cakes (such as 12", 14") to bake properly, not dome, and so that they are not overcooked on the outside before the inside is done?

When baking tall large cakes, have you found it absolutely necessary to use flower nails and/or bake even strips?

I was making 4 tiers of cake and it took ages baking 2 layers for each tier, plus also having the problem above of the layers not turning out the same size.

I fill my cakes like this (in the picture) so I get even sides.

If I use fruits or berries, I can put them on in the pan too. But I use those pans where I can addjust se side bigger or smaller.

I'm afraid I have no luck when baking two layer cakes. I prefer to make them in a 4" deep pan. They do take longer to bake but you have a rounded cake or square whatever it may be and don't have to worry about layers slipping.
I did post on here sometime ago about my mudcakes having sloping sides. I have finally found the remedy.
1. Place cardboard under the tin.
2. Grease and flour tin and place parchment only on the bottom.
3. Use old wet tea towels around the outside. Have made 6" 8" 10" 12" so they are at the ready.
4. ALWAYS remove the cake when it comes out of the oven. I place parchment paper over the top and invert the tin onto a board so the cake flattens if there should be a bit of a dome.
5. Then I cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap (we call it glad wrap here) and wait for some of the heat to escape and then tighten the wrap and it keeps the moisture in so you don't have hard sides. Place tin foil over the whole cake until you are ready to cover the cake probably the next day.
It took a long time to realise why the cake was coming in at the top as it was cooling before the bottom hence the sloping sides. Hope this helps others.

redred: I generally bake with 3" pans and it does take longer. I usually put a flower nail in the pan so it bakes more evenly, quicker, and doesn't dome as much. I used to use bake-even strips, but it would take forever to bake, and it didn't seem to make a difference re flat top. I definitely use a flower nail when baking with 9"x13" pans ... no domes.

If you don't use pans with straight sides, your cake sides will be uneven. The tops of those pans are wider on the top than on the bottom, so your baked cake will be wider on the top also. Think about it, that's why those pans can be stacked within each other.

Thanks for your reply. I do use pans with straight sides, my problem is that the diameter of the cake layers differs even when using the same diameter tin. So next time I might try just baking one 3". Do you all find that by the time you torte (into 3 layers) fill and ice, you get a tier that is at least 4"?

redred: You're right. I have a Wilton 8" and Magic Line 8" which are not exactly identical in diameter. (That said, I've never used both in one cake to stack as I've never had a requirement for 6"+ cake.) To answer your question, yes -- after torting into 3 layers, your cake is about 4" high depending on the filling you're using.

hktaitai, could you please explain what you mean about using a flower nail when baking. How do you do this? Thanks.

Thank you, tug. I will definitely have to start doing this.

Just like you cut off the top, I also cut down the sides until their even. Very easy, very quick and my cakes usually come out perfect.