The most important person at a birthday party is arguably the designated cake cutter. No one’s getting any cake before it’s properly sliced.
But once “Happy Birthday to You” is sung, the candles are all blown out and the clapping is over, everyone looks furtively around the table at each other.
“Who wants to cut the cake?”
“You cut the cake.”
“No, you cut the cake.”
“OK, fine, I’ll cut the cake.”
If this scenario sounds familiar and you’re afraid of bearing the responsibility of serving everyone at the party pristine wedges, here are several tips from expert Rose Wilde, pastry chef and owner of Red Bread, who shares the best way to cut cake.
Use a large knife. It should be a 6- or 8-inch chef’s knife. It should be as long as the diameter of your cake, so the blade easily cuts through in a single pass without your hand smashing into frosting.
The knife does not need to be serrated. The teeth can snag or rip delicate cake instead of cutting cleanly.
Keep your knife warm. This helps the knife to through the cake with less effort, so you aren’t cracking your buttercream or tearing your cake. Prepare a container that’s tall enough to dip your blade into, and fill it with hot water. Place the knife in the container and let it warm for about a minute.
Use a clean towel to wipe your blade before each slice.
To cut, start at the center of the cake with the tip of the blade and pull the knife down. Let the weight of the knife do the cutting for you.
Pull the blade straight back toward you (not back up) to remove the knife.
Clean your knife before returning it to the hot water. Warm it again. Wipe again. Keep cutting.
To wedge or not to wedge?
Wilde says you can let go of the idea that every cake should be sliced into wedges. For cakes with softer frosting, a wedge might be necessary (such as for the Ultimate Birthday Cake). But for cakes with stiffer buttercream (such as a Swiss meringue buttercream), horizontal slices, or “event slices,” are easier even for round cakes. And you get more servings. Here’s how:
Cut down the middle. Slice the entire round cake straight through the middle to split it into two halves.
Then make parallel slices. Cut even strips perpendicular to the center cut on one half. Repeat for the other half.
As Wilde says: “There’s more than one way to cut a cake.”
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