How To Get A Flat Top When Baking A Cake

[fabemmy]

Is there anything I can buy to stop a cake baking with the dome shape on top.

Im baking a novelty cake for my husbands birthday and it needs to be a perfert square without curves on it.
I know I could just slice the tops off but when ever I do that I always seem to break the sponge the cake involves quite a few layers so the sponge needs to be even.

[Retrochic]

When you put the raw mixture into the pan put a 'crater' in the middle, this will help it rise with a flat top. When you take it out of the pan turn it over so the bottom of the cake becomes the top -and voila! square flat cake!

[Retrochic]

colinandjess wrote ''yes there is Lakeland do one its a bit like a cheese wire that you run across and it costs about £20'

the OP wanted a tip to stop the cake rising in the middle like a dome, not how to cut it.

[grasscarp]

all you need is a bit of thread or some safety pins, and an old flannel, to create a wrap, like a headband, for your cake tin. Then, simply wet it and wring it out, wrap it around your cake tin, and cook as normal for a perfectly flat-topped cake.

How does it work? The wet towel stops the sides of the cake from getting hot, so it doesn’t bake early on – instead, the whole cake bakes at the same time, and so rises to the same height.

I found this on the internet and apparently it is all that is happening with the special strips you can buy for the same purpose.

[Retrochic]

colinandjess I'm sorry if your found my remark offensive, I apologize. The point is sometimes people only read the last post on the thread and if someone read yours then they would be giving out information the OP had not asked for while ignoring the real Question. (like someone already has done) -and its chic not chick lol! cluck cluck

[Ric.ror]

Turn it upside down when you turn it out

[Old_Geezer]

Can't recall my ever trying to bake a cake, but can it not be done with something with a metal lid, so if the centre hits it, it tends to move out rather than up ?

[UKSWF]

Can't you just turn it over when it is cool and use the flat bottom?

[atalanta]

Old Geezer - I reckon that if the idea of a metal top-plate would work, it would be on sale already. But the most likely result of such a "lid" would be a very soggy cake, as the moisture/steam would have nowhere to go.

[Prudie]

Turning it over or putting some lid on it might squash it a bit but will not make it perfectly flat. I've read the OP wants a perfect square flat top. Slicing the top seems the only foolproof way to me.

[cecil39]

making sure you have the right size tin for the amount of mixture is a big help as well fabemmy, but we don't all have the right tin, so slicing the bump off and turning it upside down once cool is the best bet, use the bump up in a trifle, never try cutting a warm cake, try and wait till the next day, good luck.

[Old_Geezer]

It might go soggy but if there were steam holes around the edges ? Maybe no one has thought to market it yet. Cut me in for a 10% payment when you make your fortune with it. :-)

[mariostewart62]

Flat, even cake layers begin with equal amounts of batter in each cake pan. The best way to do that is with a digital scale.
Baking at a lower temperature slows the spring in the leavening, which prevents a dome from forming on your cake. Most cakes bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit*. Reducing the temperature to 325 degrees is all you need to do to get a flat-topped cake.