That looks pretty neat, kinda pricey though. I have not used one though.

That is totally nifty! I wish I had one. Yea, it's a one thing gadget, but what a thing it does!

I was taught to tape unwaxed dental floss to two rulers and use a back and forth sawing motion to accurately cut cake layers.

Looks like a useful tool if you make a lot of layer cakes.

Price seem reasonable because you are getting three items.

dcarch

Way cool! Expensive but I wouldn't mind having one!

I have heard of the dental floss trick, also can use nylon fishing wire. I tried it once and it worked. I don't make that many layer cakes so not worth the price for me. What I did see that looks interesting to me on the same page is the Cuisipro Food Decorating Pen.
Clare

I bought several toss away aluminum 8" diameter cake pans at the dollar store and cut them down to 1" tall with scissors, then put in small amounts of batter each for making an 8 layer cake like the one on the cover of one of Martha Stewart's yearly cookbooks. They are much cheaper than the fancy-smantzy cake cutter you posted for $60 plus S/H. Once you get the filling in between no one notices how even the layers are anyway. I've used these pans for the last 10 years, maybe two or three times a year, and figure someone owes me a couple hundred bucks, relatively LOL.

Nancy

After my own frugal heart Nancy, love it!

Di

No, have never used that--it seems way over-priced when it does the same thing you can do with one of those $6 cake slicers. I've got one of those--the handle with the adjustible wire, that you just wiggle back and forth to cut your cake into layers of whatever thickness you want. And that--the fact that you can adjust the thickness--seems to me, to make the $6 gizmo a better option than the $60.00 one. And the fact that the $6 one takes up virtually no storage space is just gravy.

"---I've got one of those--the handle with the adjustible wire, that you just wiggle back and forth to cut your cake into layers of whatever thickness you want.---"

This?

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful:

azzales - I also have one of those, but I never use it. I measure the place where I want my layer and mark it with toothpicks. Then I slice the cake with a sharp bread knife. It's not perfect, but it's adequate.

Good buttercream will hide just about anything on a cake.

Cheryl

I have the thingy azzalea and dcarch mentioned. Works very well.

Looks interesting to me. I also have one of those wire cake cutters and it never works for me. Right now, I use a cake stand and a sharp knife, which is fine for doing a layer or two but I think that little gadget would be nice for multiple small layer type cakes. But then again it's hard for me to resist a baking toy. :)

Dcarch--that's the basic idea--mine has only one wire.

It's a LOT faster and easier than doing the toothpick thing.

Another trick I've used that costs nothing to get perfect slices... I have a deep platter, I put the cake on it, use a long knive (that reaches rim to rim on the platter) and just slide that across--makes a nice, straight cut, then I just repeat as often as necessary to slice the entire layer.

If I could cut down pans for the purposes of a layer cake, I wouldn't need the specialized pans. Right? I'd just cut across the cake, one layer at a time. But, having smaller pans does make the layers cook faster, so I would do it for that reason.

If I made multi-layer cakes on a regular basis (job, consistent volunteer, etc) I'd buy it in a minute. All of the gadgets and techiques mentioned work perfectly for the onesy twosy projects but if I did a few of these a week or daily like I did in school or various bake shops I worked years ago, I would have loved the time savings.

michaelp

"----Another trick I've used that costs nothing to get perfect slices... I have a deep platter, I put the cake on it, use a long knive (that reaches rim to rim on the platter) and just slide that across--makes a nice, straight cut, then I just repeat as often as necessary to slice the entire layer.-----"

In fact that's the trick I use also. I use my 12" long sushi blade for that.

dcarch

Would those of you who do the platter trick tell me what platters you have, or show me a photo? My platters are not flat enough or do not have the right rim for this to work.

It's very simple and gives you perfect end results.

Basically a plate that is the right depth and a knife that is longer than the plate.

I don't have a cake to show, but imagine the plastic container is the cake.

dcarch
{{!gwi}}

I also have the one that dcarch linked to, but I have about 8 8 inch cake pans, I've picked them up from Goodwill and second hand stores for about a quarter each. I just bake a bit of batter in each pan and voila! I have even layers. That's how I make the 8 layer "Apple Stack Cake" from Elery's Mom's recipe.

I've also used the "plate and long knife" trick, which works well.

Neat looking gadget, although I'd never find a place to store it.

Annie

Storage is definitely an issue here, too. I inherited that wire gadget in the 80s and have a sentimental attachment to it as my late mother was a far more accomplished baker than I, but the wire is a mess and I cannot use it anymore. Funny, people talk about the Chippendale chairs they inherit, but what really gets to me emotionally is going through Mom's recipes, in her handwriting. We'll all lose that connection with our computer files of recipes. Okay, I am officially off topic.

I don't make more than four layers so the wire one works well for me. What helped me even more are the Bake Even Strips. Overstock has them at a good price today. It makes a lot of difference when you are splitting layers to at least start with ones that are level on top. If you use these strips, be sure to soak them in water and run your fingers down them to remove the excess water. They are magic. But if I did make multi-layer cakes often (at at least several times a month, that gizmo would be worth the price and space.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bake Even Strips