How to cut cakes so well that different knives cut different cakes
After making the cake, besides thinking about how to cut the cake The cake is more beautifully decorated, and we will also consider an important question: how should the cake be cut so that the cut surface of the cake will be neat and not pitted?
This question is actually very simple. It can be summed up in one sentence: cut different cakes and use different knives.
So, what kind of cake and what kind of knife do you use? It can usually be attributed to three situations, which will be discussed separately below.
The first is the long serrated knife shown in the picture below.
The long serrated knife is one of the most versatile knives when cutting cakes. Generally speaking, a series of cakes such as chiffon cake, sponge cake, butter cake, etc. are all used for cutting.
The cake has a puffy and relatively soft texture. If you use a normal knife to cut directly down, the force of the knife will flatten the cake, and at the same time, it is difficult to cut the cake neatly because of the uneven force. Use a serrated knife and use a “saw” method to cut the cake and the problem is solved.
In addition, long serrated knives are often used to cut bread, especially sliced toast, it is also an expert. It should be noted that the toast is very soft when it is just out of the oven, and it is generally not easy to cut into pieces. If it is stored for a few hours and then cut into pieces, it will be cut more neatly.
We also encountered a problem when cutting the cake. That is, making a decorated cake often requires cutting the cake crosswise into two or three slices. So, how do you cut each slice of cake to a consistent thickness?
Take 8-12 toothpicks and stick them into the cake at the same height on the side of the cake. Then use a long serrated knife against a toothpick to cut the cake horizontally, and the cut cake slices are very flat and even. The tighter the toothpicks are, the easier it is to cut flat. Please refer to the picture below for details:
In addition to chiffon cakes, butter cakes and other cake categories, what kind of knife do you use to cut other cakes? In fact, ordinary knives can do the job. Like the utility knife pictured below:
These knives are great for cutting heavy cheesecakes (like chocolate cheesecake), mousse cakes, and rich, traditional recipes Brownies and more.
Heavy cheesecakes and mousse cakes are not as fluffy and porous as regular cakes, so just cut them straight off with a knife. But the biggest problem in cutting this kind of cake is sticking to the knife. Once the knife is cut, the cut surface is often terrible.
So, when cutting this type of cake, put the knife on the fire and bake for a while to heat the knife. Cut it while it’s hot and the cake won’t stick to the knife. After each cut, wipe the knife clean, reheat it and cut it again, you can easily cut the cake into the desired number of portions.
Finally, in some occasions, the texture of the cake is relatively loose, or the cake is very small, so cutting it with an ordinary long serrated knife may still cause the cake to be uneven or fall off. At this time, you can choose a finely serrated knife with finer serrations, as shown in the figure below:
The finely serrated knife is very good at these aspects, even for very small pieces of cake. Can be cut neatly. It’s especially convenient to cut one type of cake, the light cheesecake. Light cheesecake is also a puffy and porous cake, but it is much moister and softer than ordinary cakes. It is easy to damage the delicate cake with a normal serrated knife, but with a fine serrated knife, there is no need to worry at all.
Okay, writing this, let’s review and see how these three types of knives perform their duties:
Long serrated knives: suitable for cutting chiffon cakes, sponges Most cakes such as cakes, butter cakes, etc.
Utility Knife (or Medium Knife): Great for heavy cheesecakes, mousse cakes, brownies.
Fine Serrated Knife: Ideal for cutting light cheesecakes, as well as loose, or smaller cakes.
Finally, there are a few tips, please also pay attention:
1. For cakes such as heavy cheesecake, light cheesecake, brownie, etc., when they are just out of the oven, Both are very fragile and delicate, and the inside is very sticky. The cake is not easy to cut at this time. Therefore, this type of cake should be refrigerated for more than 4 hours in the refrigerator before cutting into pieces.
2. Traditional brownies are made without whipping eggs, without whipping butter, and without adding leavening agents such as baking powder. If you’re making a brownie that’s more cake-like with whipped ingredients, a serrated knife is better.
3. Many cakes are decorated with buttercream on the surface and interlayer. Before cutting, put these cakes in the freezer for more than ten minutes, and wait for the buttercream to harden when cold. Take it out and cut it, the cut surface will be more neat and beautiful (such as lemon cream cake).
