Cutting "crust" Off Of Cake
Decorating By imartsy Updated 23 Apr 2010 , 11:39pm by SpecialtyCakesbyKelli
So how do you cut the outer "crust" off of a cake? Every time I've attempted it the cake gets all messed up.... I can't seem to do it. Does the cake need to be frozen or really cold to be able to do it without mashing up the whole cake?
Any picture tutorials or youtube videos anyone can recommend? I learn best visually, but would accept any kind of help with this issue.
thanks.
I use a thin sharp knife, not serrated, and I do it the day after I bake, so that the crust has had time to soften up while the cake was wrapped in plastic wrap. When I cut off the crust, it's just for appearance...by that point the crust isn't any harder than the rest of the cake.
I hate removing the crusts, as I find it is a real PITA to ice afterwards.
The crust makes the horrible job of icing, a lot less painful. 
Sharon Zambito's videos demo how to remove the crusts. Looks like she does it on all her cakes.
I've not ever done this before .... why do you need the outer crust removed? Is it a special project thing?
I've never cut the crust off my cakes. Am I suppose to? 
I wind up cutting off the top crust when I level, but that's it.
If I find a particularly hard bit on an edge, I'll trim it off, but I NEVER cut off all the edges of my cakes. I think it's wasteful, creates more work than it's worth, destabilizes the cake, and increases crumbs.
If I have to cut off all of the edges, in my opinion, I've overcooked my cake...........and I re-bake.
Rae
I have never removed the crust either...was freaked out for a minute thinking maybe I was suppose to be
I cut off all the crusts on a carved cake, so that I won't have some parts with and some without. I also cut the crust off when I use the wonder mold pan because it bakes too dark by the time the middle is done.
I trim ALL the brown off when the cakes are frozen. With a long thin serrated knife. It makes a very smooth finish on the cakes, and you don't have that ugly brown line under the icing. White wedding cake should not have brown lines in it. Yes, it does create more work,but it's well worth it. I also think the flavor from the icing seems to flavor the cake more when that brown layer is not there. You cannot do this if the cake is not frozen, because it will make a huge mess.
You cannot do this if the cake is not frozen, because it will make a huge mess.
It must depend on the recipe 
I never trim a frozen cake, but I don't end up with a mess.
imartsy I understand what you are talking about. The reason I trim the outer edge is as you said to make the sides straight especially if you bake two layers and torte together. Linda McLure shows on her dvd From start to finish but she only showed the round cakes. I have terrible trouble with the square cakes and I am working on an idea something like the Agbay but cutting sideways. Would be interested in what others say.
The only time I trim the crust or edges is on a shaped/carved cake. Even on a white wedding cake, no one has ever noticed a brown line. To tell you the truth, neither have I. I think people are more interested in how it looks on the outside, and how it tastes on the inside. As long as it's not "crunchy," it's all good.
I cut some, and don't cut others... it depends on how the crust looks. If it's a little off, and I think it will show in the fondant, I will trim it some.......or if I forgot it in the oven and it baked a little too long I will cut the crust off (shhhhhhh don't tell anyone I have forgotten a cake) But most of the time I don't cut the crust off at all.....just level.
The reason I trim the outer edge is as you said to make the sides straight especially if you bake two layers and torte together.
Are you baking in pans that don't have straight sides, then??
Or are your cakes shrinking away from the sides of the pan, especially at the top??
I bake in straight sided pans--Magic Line or Wilton Professional--and I torte 95% of my cakes, be they one or 2 layers. Once they're leveled and stacked, they are straight.
Rae
Yes some of my cake shrink especially in at the top. As someone says it could be my pans also as I have used them for years and were very expensive and looks as though they need to be changed. We dont get the Wilton or Magic line brand here so just have to go with what the tinsmith makes, the ones with the rivetted sides. If anyone has Linda McLures DVD From Start to Finish you will see that her round cakes look like vase shaped before she trims them.
My cakes shrink sometimes too..... and I use Fat daddio's pans. What pans do you use Rae?
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