Today I’m sharing my favorite baking tips for layer cakes. If you’re new to baking layer cakes, or even if you’ve been making them for a while, I think you’ll find a tip or two that can make baking layer cakes easier.
I’ve made several fun cakes for my grandsons’ birthdays over the last few years. During those years, my beautiful daughter’s become a very good baker. So I decided it was time to turn the cake baking duties over to her.
But before I did, she wanted to know my tips and tricks for baking layer cakes. Those things I just do automatically without thinking about it. Things that aren’t in the recipe.
She wrote up the questions and I answered them while we made the cake layers together; then she took the layers home and decorated the cake. She then emailed me the questions and answers so I could do a post. Then she’d have easy access to them for future reference, and I could share the tips with my Barbara Bakes readers.
Baking Tips for Layer Cakes
What do I need to know to get started?
- Before baking, use the pans to trace a circle onto the parchment paper, then cut the parchment so that the circles will fit in the pan. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with nonstick spray, then put the parchment inside.
- Have your ingredients at room temperature.
- To get even layers, I weigh the batter on my digital scale.
How do I know when my cake is done?
- The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, and when you gently touch the middle of the cake, it should feel firm but bounce back.
- To avoid overcooking your cake, stay in the kitchen while your cake’s baking. With practice, you can actually smell when your cakes are done baking.
Any tips for taking them out of the pan?
- When you take the cake layers out of the oven, let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
- The cake has probably already pulled away from the edges, but just in case it hasn’t, loosen the edges with a butter knife or a thin spatula.
- Place a cooling rack upside down on the top of the cake pan, then use two hot pads to grab the sides of the cake pan and the cooling rack at the same time, and in a smooth motion flip them upside down. The cake should fall onto the cooling rack.
- If the cake layer doesn’t fall on to the rack, flip the entire thing back over and use your thin spatula to gently lift the areas where it seems to be stuck.
- The cake will be upside down. Peel the parchment paper off, then put another cooling rack on top of the upside-down cake, then gently flip it over.
How early can I make the cakes in advance?
- I recommend freezing your cakes before decorating them. They’re firmer and easier to work with. As a bonus, if you choose to freeze them, you can make them up to two or three weeks in advance.
If I bake them at night after the kids are in bed, do I just cover them with a towel while they cool and then take care of them in the morning?
- You’ll get the best results if you stay up until they’ve cooled. Cakes cool pretty quickly—it should be cool within an hour.
Do I freeze or refrigerate the cakes after I’m done baking?
- You cool it completely on the rack. I like to put the parchment round I peeled off back on the cake and then flip it back over so the cake doesn’t stick to the wire rack. Then freeze uncovered on the wire rack.
- Once the cakes are frozen solid, remove from the freezer and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
How long do I need to thaw the layers before working with them?
- You actually don’t need to thaw the layers before you work with them—the cake will thaw really quickly and they’ll be easier to work with while frozen. Note: If you’re frosting with buttercream thaw first. A reader commented “I worked in a bakery and the cakes came in frozen. If I frosted them before they had thawed, the icing would crack as the cake thawed. The cake expands as it thaws causing the buttercream to crack.
I know you use a little thing under the cake while you frost it—what is that called?
- It’s called a cake round. I don’t always use them unless I’m going to have to transport it in a cake box to another location. You can buy them at a kitchen supply store, or I’ve even seen some in the baking section at Walmart.
- If you’re not transporting it, I like to place the cake on my cake stand with six little strips of parchment tucked under the edges of the bottom layer on the cake stand to catch any frosting that may drip down and keep the stand clean. Remove these papers once you’re done frosting. You can use a thin spatula to keep the frosting from pulling away when you remove the papers.
How do I place the middle layer of cream cheese/frosting on so that it doesn’t ooze out from the sides when the top is put on?
- Your filling has to be thick enough so that it doesn’t ooze. Spread the frosting almost to the edge, then place the layer on the cake and very gently press on the layer to push the filling just to the edge of the cake. If any does go beyond the edges of the cake, use a dry spatula to remove the excess or push the filling where it belongs.
How do I get the top layer on top of the cake without breaking it in half?
- Freezing it helps. If you don’t have time to freeze it, you can use a spatula to lift a tender cake. Most cakes will hold up to being moved just fine.
How do I frost it so it’s smooth on the outside?
- First, do a quick, thin layer of frosting to lock in the crumbs. This crumb layer will give you a smooth clean surface to work from.
- After you frost the crumb layer, place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the frosting is set to the touch. (The frosting will look like it has a hard coating on it.) Then remove from the fridge and quickly frost.
- Start on the top and place a big blob of frosting on top, then gently push the frosting in a circle in one direction, smoothing the frosting as you go. Don’t frost back and forth. Then place more frosting on and gently push the frosting over the sides. Work with a clean spatula—every so often, use a paper towel to wipe off the spatula. I prefer to use an offset spatula and a revolving cake stand to make this process a little easier.
What tips do you have for decorating it so the decorations stick to the frosting? What can I do if the frosting starts to dry before I finish decorating?
- You have to do it while the frosting’s still wet. As you’re decorating, you can usually wipe away a little frosting to make it sticky again.
What should I do with the cake once it’s done—do I leave it on the counter, or do I try to put it back in the refrigerator?
- It depends on your filling. If you have a filling that needs to be refrigerated (cream cheese fillings, pudding fillings with eggs in the ingredients), then it needs to go back in the fridge until about 30 minutes before you serve. Otherwise it’s fine to sit out on the counter, covered with a cake dome.
Any tips for actually cutting the cake??
- Always clean your cake knife between cuts.
- Warm the knife up under warm water, dry, cut, then rinse your knife again in the warm water, dry, and cut again.
Layer cake recipes you might like:
Triple Layer Chocolate Cake with a Coconut Cream Cheese Filling, Barbara Bakes
Chocolate Oreo Construction Cake, Barbara Bakes
Chocolate Cheesecake Cake, Barbara Bakes
Raspberry White Chocolate Layer Cake, Completely Delicious
The Best White Cake Recipe, Add a Pinch
Anita
I stack my wedding cakes using dowel rods and cake boards, but when removing the cake board from the tier beneath it, the frosting is removed with the cake board. Is there a technique to prevent the frosting from sticking to the cake board?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Anita – I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience making tiered wedding cakes. Perhaps Annalise can help https://www.completelydelicious.com/another-wedding-cake/
TERESA AUSTIN
PLEASE HELP….HOW DO YOU STACK A 3 LAYER CAKE,I NEED TO KNOW DOES THE BOTTOM LAYER GO ON SMOOTH SIDE UP OR DOWN AND WHICH WAY DO YOU STACK THE OTHER 2 LAYERS.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Teresa – Typically you’ll stack the two bottom layers right side up (flat side on the bottom) and the top layer upside down (flat side on the top.) If they’re domed, then you’ll trim them so they’re level.
Amy B.
Just wanted to say thank you!!!! Freezing cakes in wax paper worked amazingly, and made using fondant SO SO much easier!!!! Cakes turned out brilliant!!!
Barbara Schieving
Great – thanks Amy!
Lezlie
How much filling do you use between layers so it looks nice a even when cut through?
Barbara Schieving
The easiest way to divide the filling evenly is to use a digital scale and weigh it.
Sang Dsouza
Hello Barbara,
Thank you for all the wonderful tips. I am sure many have asked this question, when you say freeze the cake after it cools. Do you mean keep it in the deep freezer? Wer it wud get super hard?
I am using a box cake mix to bake a cake on Wednesday, cool it and freeze it. Then Thursday once I return from work Frost it and refrigerator it to celebrate on Friday. Is this correct?
Also can u please share some easy frosting buttercream recipes.
Thanks
Barbara Schieving
Yes, I mean a deep freezer. Cake does not freeze super hard and thaws quickly. Baking it on Wednesday, decorating it on Thursday and serving on Friday should work well. I am not a fan of buttercream. In fact I did a round up of decorating cakes without buttercream https://www.barbarabakes.com/cake-decorating-ideas-without-buttercream/ Here’s some good posts about buttercream if you love it https://www.handletheheat.com/6-secrets-perfect-buttercream/ https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/perfect-buttercream-frosting/
Quinn
Can you tell me why once I bake make cakes and try to stack them for frosting they are not the same siZe and I usually have to fill in the sides with more icing? Should I stack them in a certain way?quintina
Barbara Schieving
Hi Quintina – Some cake pans don’t have straight sides so the sides won’t match up. Some cakes dome so much in the middle that there is a big gap between the layers. Professional bakers trim their cakes to get more even layers. Here’s info on trimming of the top if your cake is domed in the middle. https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/05/how-to-level-a-cake.html Although if my cake layer had as little dome as the one in the video, I would not bother trimming it. 🙂
Jane
This has been so helpful as I’m preparing to make a layered cake for my daughter’s birthday soon. A couple of questions.. I plan bake the cake on Thursday, decorate on Friday, with the party on Saturday. Would you freeze the cake from Thursday to Friday and icing it while frozen? Or let it thaw before icing? Or just keep it in the fridge from Thursday to Friday?
Once finished on Friday, should I keep it in the fridge? It’s a white cake with buttercream icing. Thanks in advance!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Jane – glad it was helpful. I would freeze the cake because it will be easier to handle on Friday. You can do the crumb coat on a frozen cake – no need to thaw. Generally the cake will thaw while you’re doing the crumb coat and waiting for the crumb coat to set in the fridge. Yes, I could keep the cake in the fridge when it’s finished on Friday. I’d love to see the cake. You can share it on my Facebook page or Instagram. Have fun!
Janet Kaufman
I recently baked a red velvet cake and I used wooden toothpicks to check for doneness. The toothpick came out clean but the cake was still jiggly. Why didn’t the batter stick to the toothpick? I baked it several minutes longer till it stopped jiggling.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Janet – I find the toothpick test is often inaccurate that’s why I recommend the other ways for checking when your cake is done. However, it’s usually the opposite for me, the toothpick comes out wet when the cake is actually done cooking. Your toothpick must have just found an air pocket or something like that.
Monikka
If stored in the fridge, can you frost the cake a couple days in advance of eating it?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Monikka – you can frost it the day before, but a couple days in advance I wouldn’t recommend.
Marcie
Great tips. Very helpful.
marylou harmeling
when baking 3 layers, how are the pans placed in the oven?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Marylou – I talk about baking the 3 layers in this post https://www.barbarabakes.com/triple-layer-chocolate-cake-coconut-cream-cheese-filling/
Pilar barrios Farmer
Another way to bake even layers, especially larger cakes I use metal flower nails spray them completely with non stick spray and put them into the center of cake pans filled with batter. They get hot and help bake the center of the cake evenly.
I use 4 for 12″, 3 for 10″ .
Barbara Schieving
Thanks for sharing!
Dawnitha
I have not heard of flower nails. Do you put them into to cake pan and then pour batter into cake pans. What happens to the flower nails, do you pull them out. HELP, EXPLAIN! Dawnitha
Barbara Schieving
Here’s a good tutorial on use the flower nail http://www.cakecentral.com/tutorial/20232/cake-baking-flower-nail-method-tutorial
Jess
Thank you for these tips. The one that has helped me and is so simple is after the crumb coating to put it in the fridge to harded before adding the next layer. Not doing this has caused several headaches through the years of me frosting cakes. Thanks for that! So simple!
Ellen
I need to make a cake(without frosting) and bring with me in a suitcase to Europe. Do you think freezing would help – any suggestion??
Barbara Schieving
Hi Ellen – cake thaws pretty quickly so I’m not sure freezing it would make much difference unless you had it packed in a special refrigerated box. If you want it in a suitcase you’re going to have to package it super well. I’d probably buy some sturdy cardboard cake rounds for the top and the bottom. Maybe use some dowels to give it support. Put it in a plastic cake container if you have one, or wrap it in foil and bubble wrap. I’ve never actually done it, but that’s what I would try. Good luck!
margaret
my round cakes always rise up in middle when baking so i have to cut off top of each cake. . yours look flat. is this a step you have forgotten?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Margaret – I have some favorite cakes that don’t dome very much when cooking. So I rarely have to trim the top of the cake. https://www.barbarabakes.com/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake-with-maraschino-cherry-filling/
My friend Annalise from Completely Delicious uses this technique to avoid doming: I reduce the heat from 350 degrees F to 300 degrees F and increase the baking time. The lower temperatures bake the cake slower, which prevents it from doming. A good rule of thumb when you reduce the temperature is to bake it for one and a half times as long as the recipe originally suggests. So if the recipe says 60 minutes at 350 degrees, it will take approximately 90 minutes at 300 degrees. But keep an eye on it! Check it periodically after the original suggested time to be sure you don’t over bake it.
They also sell baking strips you can wrap around your pans that are suppose to help doming. http://amzn.to/2lpQGIb
Hope that helps.
Diane Wolff
Lower you baking temp by 25 degrees, and purchase some oven baking strips that wrap around your baking pan. I have been baking cakes for 35 years and swear by them. You moisten the strips and wrap the outside of the pan to help keep the heat evenly moving around you pan. The strips help the layers bake evenly. D
Bhumika
Thankyou so much for your wonderful tips.I am new to baking and these tips have really sorted me out.I do have one more question.I have a small opening which I can put only one cake.But if I want to make two cakes with the same batter can the remaining batter (For 2nd cake)wait for 40-45minutes till my first cake is baking.I was wonderingthat the air trapped in batter will sit.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks – glad they are helpful. It really depends on the cake – if it’s a sponge cake with lots of eggs that is the cake’s leavening you may see a big difference in the two cakes. But if it uses chemical leavening, baking soda or powder, there probably won’t be as much of a difference.
Eman
Thanks very much for your tips …
Do you have a youtube channel or facebook page or any way to communicate?
Thanks in advance …
Barbara Schieving
Hi Eman – yes, I have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBakes/ and a You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKczRRMaTL1_16Jp3VGujYg/videos.
KELMA
I JUST GOT A NEW GAS STOVE, I’M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKE YOUR RECIPES THANKS
Zarina
Thank you for the lovely helpful tips
Kasandra
Thank you for the tip’s. I will be looking for the cake strips you called them? I never knew I could bake in advance and freeze. This is going to make it so much easier on me. I make cakes all the time from scratch and end up taking all day to do it. So again thank you so much.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Kasandra – it really does help to break up the process. Decorating seems so much more fun when all the work was done another day. Have fun!