Bake Even Strips - What are they and why should I use them?
Bake Even Strips are strips that you wrap around your cake pan before baking. They work by cooling down the outside of the cake pan so that the edges of your cake do not bake faster than the center... in other words, your cake bakes evenly and in turn you get perfectly-level and flat cakes, every time. Say goodbye to high-rise domed centers, cracks on the tops of your cake, and over baked/dark cake edges.
For confetti cakes this is so important because you want to see the beautiful colors in the sprinkles shine through the sides of the cake...especially if you're not a frosting person and prefer naked confetti cakes.
You can buy Bake Even Strips online from several shops, but I prefer to make my own. This is how it's done...
DIY Bake Even Strips - simple & cheap!
I make my own Bake Even Strips and use them every time I want a flat cake. They're very simple and cheap to make and I re-use each strip at least twice.
You'll need:
- The cake pan you want to bake your cake in
- Aluminum foil
- Paper towel
- Wooden clothespin or clothes peg
How to make it:
- Roll out a sheet of aluminum foil and gently wrap the edges around the circumference of your cake pan to see how long of a sheet you will need, overlap the edges a bit so that your sheet of foil is about 10 cm larger than the circumference of your pan.
- Size a piece of paper towel so that it is a bit shorter than your piece of aluminum foil.f
- Fold it so that it is as wide as the sides of your cake pan. I'm using a 20cm cake pan and my paper towel was folded into thirds.
- Scrunch the folded paper towel like an accordian and place it into a bowl of water. (I find it's easier to unfold it neatly this way.) When it's full soaked, take it out and squeeze it out slightly... just until it no longer drips. You want the paper towel to hold as much water as it can without dripping. Lay it back onto your sheet of aluminum foil and fold the foil around the wet paper towel. Be sure to keep it the size you folded your paper towel: the same width as your cake pan.
- Wrap your bake even strip around the sides of the pan, folding the edges underneath the pan so it is fitted nice and snug. Secure it with your wooden clothespin or clothes peg.
Your pan is now ready! Spray it with non-stick spray, add your batter, and place it in the oven. You may need to bake your cake for a few more minutes, but it's totally worth it!
You'll know your cake is ready when you gently touch a finger to the center and your cake springs back into place.
Happy BAKD’ing!