I saw some great advice the other day by Baking Irene on making your own homemade bake even cake strips and boy am I happy! I got an old bath towel and cut a long strip for my 12" round pan. Soaked it in water, squeezed excess water and folded. Pinned with a regular safety pin..that was all I could find at the time. 1st time in my life I got an evenly baked cake. So much joy here. Thank you so much BakingIrene for always taking the time to share your great advice!! Worked like magic!! The only levelling I will have to do it to take off the crust but it is so beautifully level already! I used to waste so much cake with domed tops! Thanks again Irene!! Hope yal give it a try too.

Good for you! I made mine too.

I've heard of people using soaked newspaper in same way, towel is a much, much better idea. Will try this. TFP.

I've tried it with foil folded over soaked newspapers too. Worked fine.

I made my own for many years this way. Only word of advice is to make sure none of the lint from the frayed strips get into your cake batter.

Ahh yes...important piece of advice there. Thanks.

an old ironing board cover works very very well for making these strips too.

I love my homemade strips been using them for 2 1/2 years now. Cut my strips from a new bath towel.... I soak them, wring them, then place around cake pan and use a wig pin to secure it!!! They work great!!!

A

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Great thinking. especially as my ironing board hasn't been used in a century. A towel under the ironing cover perhaps.

would it be called a 'cake strip' when I use foil?  not on the sides of the pan, but on the top.

for home bakering, not commercial I understand, and making so many character and shaped cakes from Wilton, et al.

It got crazy trying to keep the thinner edges of the cakes from burning while the middle puffed up.  Then it had to be cut off and trashed.

So I started wrapping strips of aluminum foil (light weight) around the perimeter of the pan tops.  They could be kind of molded onto the edges, and pinched together at the ends so there would be a 2" to 3" tall wall around the top of the cake pan.  It helped the cake to bake more evenly and allow the thin edge to puff up.  Less wasted cake.

My wet towel strips scorched.  I was worried that they might catch on fire next time.

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Burns are monstrous, and burn victims have excruciating painful recoveries.  So toss the towels.  I got an earful when I mentioned this towel in the oven idea, to my Fire Fighter friend.  ouch.

I use folded paper towel - encased in foil - no chance of it catching fire - and can be used multiple times - an Aussie friend did a quick step by step tutorial on Flickr a few years back - might be useful for those that need to 'see' things

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34971289@N06/5438335262/in/photolist-9hyTB5
 

Thanks Pam, that looks heap safer.

MB I've dealt with burns victims at work so I am very wary.  I have seen just how painful having burns debrided is.

AppleGumPam:  Yes the tutorial on the aluminum baking strips is interesting.  It would work for square pans, or heart shaped pans also, wouldn't it?

If it works on a 9" x 13" x 2" sheet pan, then I'm in heaven, as I can imagine how it would improve the cake.

it won't make me decorate it any better, but it would be a nicely baked cake underneath.