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How to Bake a Perfect Cake (Baking Level Cakes)

Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna
A few years ago a friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes, and if gives you a perfect cake every time! I really hate it when you bake a cake and end up having to cut so much of it off to make it level, so I was super excited to learn this simple solution!

How to bake a perfect cake – here’s what you need:

  • An old hand towel
  • Safety pins or paperclips
  • Scissors
  • Water
  • Wilton baking pans (these are optional but they are my favorite pans to bake with)
Start by cutting the towel into strips about 1 1/2-2″ thick, basically the width of your pans.
Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna
Next run the towel strips under cold water and lightly ring them out.  You don’t want them to be dripping wet but you also don’t want them to dry out too fast.
Then wrap the wet strips around your cake pans.  The size of the pan will determine how many strips you have to use.  I have to use 2 strips for my larger cake pans, so I just overlap them and pin them with a safety pin.
Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna
Connect the ends together and secure them with a safety pin or a large paperclip.  The towel should be tight around the pan so that it doesn’t fall off in the oven.
Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna
Place the cake pans in the oven and bake them as you normally would.  I like to set my cake pans on a cookie sheet so that the towels aren’t sitting right on the hot oven racks.
The strips of cold towels will keep the temperature of the pans cooler which keeps the outer rim of the cakes from cooking too quickly.  This allows the cakes to cook more evenly.
Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna
And voila!  Just like that you have a perfectly level cake to work with! This is such a simple tip but it saves me from having to eat throw out all the uneven cake tops!  Starting with perfectly level cakes makes it much easier to end up with perfect results like this:

Want to know how to bake a perfect cake? A friend of mine taught me this great trick for baking level cakes. It gives you a perfect cake every time | Ask Anna

Did you know this is one of my most popular posts!? To see more of the posts people love click on the titles below:

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  • How to Organize DVDs (you will be shocked at how much space it saves!)

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Cakes// Desserts// Other// Recipes

About Anna

"Hi, I'm Anna! Wife, mother, child of God, and the founder of Ask Anna. I have always enjoyed cleaning, organizing, decorating and helping people, so I've put that all together on the pages of this blog. I truly hope my tips help you in your home and make sure to contact me if you have a question!"

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Comments

  1. Jan says

    July 24, 2012 at 6:23 am

    Does this work for 9X13 pans as well?

    • Anna says

      July 24, 2012 at 9:33 am

      I’ve never tried it but I think it’s worth a shot! Basically you just want to cool down the outsides so that the cake bakes evenly. Good luck!

      Anna

    • Holli says

      January 23, 2014 at 3:09 pm

      This does work for a 9×13 pan. Wilton makes what is called “bake even strips” that you can purchase that are the same thing, but a little nicer than a towel. I have used them on 6″, 8″, 9″, 10″, 16″ round pans, heart shaped pans, and 9×13. It is fantastic!

  2. Erica says

    August 8, 2012 at 5:42 am

    WOW! I am giong to try this on a cake I have to make this afternoon. Amazing!

    • Anna says

      August 8, 2012 at 8:09 am

      Awesome! Good luck. 🙂

  3. Christina says

    August 12, 2012 at 10:15 am

    Wow! I wish I would have known this a week ago BEFORE I baked a wedding cake! My family loves the scraps, but I’d rather not have to level them off. Thanks for the amazing tip!

  4. Tracy says

    August 14, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    I did this trick and they nearly caught on fire!!! Tea towels are not made to withstand this type of heat. Please be so careful. I even soaked them in cold water but they were dry and charred. Wilton makes the strips in heat resistant material. They are a little costly but worth the peace of mind.

    • Anna says

      August 17, 2012 at 10:22 am

      Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t use tea towels. The towels I used were very thick dish towels and they weren’t even that hot when I took them out of the oven.

      Anna

      • Bunny says

        September 27, 2012 at 5:22 am

        Maybe it’s because I’m from New Zealand… but what’s the difference between a tea towel and a dish towel??? We use the terms interchangeably here!

      • Anna says

        September 27, 2012 at 8:16 am

        I think tea towels are much thinner. Maybe it would be better for me to say cut up an old hand towel from the bathroom. It just needs to be a thicker-type towel. 🙂

  5. Erica says

    August 19, 2012 at 5:00 am

    This is amazing! to be honnest, I really didn’t believe it would work, but it did! My cakes were perfect!! I did not have to trim anything off the top. I did have a few complaints that there wer no cake scraps to nibble on though. Thankyou!!!!

  6. Maha Lub says

    October 3, 2012 at 4:59 am

    i’ve been looking for a tip like this one for years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    love you 😉

  7. Laura says

    October 3, 2012 at 11:53 pm

    I’m surprise cake makers don’t know this…I took cake classes from michaels 14 yrs ago…I bought their strips…that you wrap around the cake pans…you wet them first..at the time I paid around 7 dollars…I love it…still use it 🙂

    • Anna says

      October 4, 2012 at 12:13 pm

      I didn’t even know they made those! That’s a great solution for anyone that doesn’t want to use the towels.

  8. Emily says

    December 25, 2012 at 4:28 am

    Hello!

    I have tried this and it’s worked wonders. Also, I usually turn the oven to just 325*F and watch it closely, about 35-40 minutes at 325* allows the entire cake to cook at the same time. Just tried this for a trial run for my son’s 3rd birthday party on Saturday!

  9. Swanky Diva says

    January 13, 2013 at 7:06 am

    Yes, it worked!!! Thank you for the idea. I just baked an angel food – pineapple cake at 7 am on a Sunday – but I have a good excuse: I am prego and Zoey wanted it; HA HA blame it on the pregnancy cravings as long as possible!
    I did use a bathroom handtowel as suggested. Cake is gorgeous!!!

  10. Michelle Womack says

    February 6, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    I use this technique and love it. I also flip my cakes upside down to cool. That will level off any remaining high spots. If you are using a really large pan, I would still put the cake pin in the middle to help with even cooking.

  11. Angela Shadduck says

    February 17, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    I might just have to give this a try. When I baked professionally for weddings I used the Wilton ones and they worked great but they got lost. Want another tip from my grandmother (who did wedding cakes for over 35 years) is to make cake goo to coat your pans. Equal parts flour, shortening, and oil. mix it once and it will last for ever (1 cup or a 1/2 cup equal parts depending on how many cakes you normally make. Does not need to be refrigerated and will last forever. So much easier than greasing and flouring pans.

    • Peggy says

      May 23, 2013 at 3:23 pm

      Not sure what you mean shortening & oil????
      PLEASE written receipt.

      • pat suchek says

        March 16, 2014 at 4:17 am

        I would like to know also I am very confused did she mean either oil OR shortening

      • Carol says

        July 6, 2014 at 11:02 pm

        Equal quantities of
        1. flour,
        2. firm shortening (think crisco), and
        3. liquid oil (think canola)

  12. Rachel O says

    March 19, 2013 at 7:57 pm

    Thank you so much for this tip. I am in a temp rental inbetween homes and the oven is horrid. There is a difference of 20oC between the high and low of the oven eg if you set the oven to 180oC it won’t turn on to heat up until 160oC and then will not switch off till 200oC. This is basically the temp of a slow and hot oven. I find that at least I am able to cook a cake (not much else) without it cremating the bottom and sides and leaving the middle wet.
    Once again thanks you have saved my sanity.

    • Tara Bilbao says

      June 7, 2013 at 9:59 pm

      I must try this. I always have to use my cake leveler to create the flat cake, but my daughter loves the cake “pancakes”. I have also read that reducing the temp by 25 degrees will also help. So… next time I will try the towels and a 25 degree reduction and hopefully have beautifully flat cakes:)

  13. Kristen says

    July 2, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    My grandmother taught me this trick! It works great!!

    • april says

      August 16, 2013 at 6:43 am

      Hi just wanted to say i just tried this last night and used paper clips worked great love the idea.

  14. Audra says

    August 18, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    And to think I almost bought the metallic looking ones they sell with the cake decorating section of craft stores!

  15. Marlene Waldbauer says

    September 8, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    Thank you for the tip of wet towel strips around the cake pans. I will give it a try. I too serve an awesome God.

  16. Leatrice says

    December 4, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    Anna,may I still place a layer on 2nd rack? I bake 2 layers on 1st rack third layer on 2nd rack.

    • Anna says

      December 4, 2013 at 2:57 pm

      Yep, that’s how I do it.

  17. Shirley Wilson says

    February 15, 2014 at 7:39 am

    I am thankful for this site and find it very inspirational. I love to homemake but due to factors in my life I find cleaning, organizing my home a challenge. I have many resources to have a beautiful and clean home, but my time is divided by other things. I hope to make time and be spiritually inspired by such a beautiful website that you have. I want to say a “special thank you”
    from, swilson

  18. June says

    April 12, 2014 at 12:06 pm

    Just tried this tip and disaster. 8 inch tin and used a hand towel cut into a strip.. Browned in the centre no colour on outside and it sank and was soggy around the outside! !!!!!! Was flat though……

    • Anna says

      April 12, 2014 at 1:44 pm

      Bummer! I’ve never had it not work, sorry. 🙁

      • Elle Cummings says

        September 13, 2014 at 9:34 pm

        I just tried doing this for the first time , and the results were amazing !!!!!!! I baked 5 perfect cakes for my little ones party this weekend!! Thank You so much for sharing.

      • Anna says

        September 14, 2014 at 9:25 pm

        Yay!!! I’m so glad to hear that. 🙂

  19. catlady says

    June 21, 2014 at 2:07 pm

    Why did I take 40 years baking to learn that? all my cakes loose the crown now.. thanks for post.

  20. Belinda says

    August 12, 2014 at 8:53 am

    Anna thank u so much. It feels so good to try something out for the first time and it works out perfect. This has made my baking life so much easier. Thank you

  21. dkelly says

    September 20, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Hello Anna,
    I came across your website and was truly amazed, I tried it on a 14×2 square cake pan and the towel kept touching the back of the oven, I’M GOING TO KEEP TRYING UNTIL i GET IT RIGHT! WHY NOT SAVE MONEY & GO THE LESS EXSPENSIVE WAY.

  22. Leslie says

    April 17, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    Can you use the strips over again? And do you have to use a cookie sheet to set the cake pans on? I do not have cookie sheets large enough for my some of my pans. Thanks!

    • Anna says

      April 18, 2015 at 9:29 am

      Yes you can use the strips over and over again, I’ve had mine for years! And no you don’t have to use the cookie sheet, it just makes it easier to take them all out of the oven at once. 🙂

  23. Jane says

    September 2, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Great I dear

  24. Jo says

    September 3, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    You can achieve the very same result, so much easier just by lowering the oven temperature by 25 degrees. Bake at 325 instead of 350 for the recommended time.

  25. Roseanna S. says

    September 10, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    Oh my stars!! it worked!! My grandson’s layered birthday is level all across. This is a tip I will always be using from now on, thank you so much!!!

    • Anna says

      September 10, 2015 at 11:12 pm

      Yay! I love getting comments like this, thank you for coming back and letting everyone know it worked. 🙂

  26. Temmy says

    September 27, 2015 at 11:56 pm

    Wow! This is really nice , does it work for number cake tins?

    • Anna says

      September 28, 2015 at 9:26 am

      I think it would work on any shape, it just prevents the outside edges from cooking took quickly. 🙂

  27. Michaela says

    October 6, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    Brilliant to, Anna. Thanks so much for taking the time to share that with us.

  28. Maryam says

    October 17, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    This is the most wallet-friendly trick, especially for an amateur baker (like me).

    Thanks Anna (:

  29. elffin says

    October 23, 2015 at 8:57 am

    Wow! I just made dome cake last week.
    Anna, Do I need to reduce temperature and use this trick in the same time?
    if I need to, How many degree?

    Thank you so much 🙂

    • Bethany Davis says

      October 30, 2015 at 11:20 am

      Hi, I’m Anna’s assistant, Bethany. Just bake the cakes as you normally would and make sure you soak the cloths well. Hope this helps! 🙂

  30. Bec says

    December 17, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    Just tried this technique with a 9″ (23cm) round cake. Usually the sides always cook quicker than the middle in my oven even at 150 deg. C. I used an old bathroom hand towel as thicker than a tea towel, as suggested above. It worked a treat & I will definitely do this again! Thank you!

    • Anna says

      December 17, 2015 at 7:19 pm

      Awesome! I’m so glad I could help. 🙂

  31. Darcy says

    June 30, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    One can achieve a similar result by reducing the baking temperature by 25F and increasing the baking time but I don’t recall by how much. I’d just keep checking after 8 minutes and make notes on the recipe once the cake is properly baked.

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