This is an easy way to make DIY cake strips at home. You can use materials you already have lying around the house for this cost-effective method to bake level cakes!
I’ve had my struggles with cake layers. They always come out domed and I always trim off less dome than they really need, which means slidey cake, drooping frosting, and all around MESS.
To remedy this, I’ve read about using cake strips (strips that wrap around the pan and magically create flat layers) or baking the cake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. I think I’ve also heard something about baking soda. But I’ve never had the patience to wait EXTRA long for a cake to bake and I’ve never been willing to shell out $12 for two strips of metallic material. This is a good thing!
Because it turns out that you can make your own cake strips for FREE! And it’s so easy. Because here’s what cake strips do: they cool the outside of the pan so the cake bakes evenly. So all you really need is wet material wrapped around the pan.
Why Cake Strips Work
Let’s talk cake science for a minute: normally when cake layers bake, the outside of the cake bakes faster than the middle. By the time the middle starts to cook through, the batter has nowhere to go but up, which creates the dome. By putting moist material around the outside of the pan, you’re helping cool the outside, allowing the cake to bake more evenly.
What You’ll Need for DIY Cake Strips
- scrap material (an old T-shirt or kitchen towel will work well)
- scissors
- safety pins
Cut the scrap material into a strips long enough to fit around your cake pan. I only used one strip, but you can use several—more coverage is not a bad thing. Safety pin the ends of the strip together. When you’re ready to bake the cake, run the material under water and squeeze out so that it’s as wet as possible without dripping. Replace the strip around the pan and bake!
Note: the first time I did this, I tied my band of cloth into a knot instead of cutting to the right length and safety-pinning the ends. I think this caused a dimple in the cake:
Not a huge deal, but if you want a perfect layer, don’t do that.
But Do They Really Work?
And now for some close ups for those of you thinking: does it really make a difference?
I also dropped my cake pans on the counter a few times before baking. This helps spread the batter evenly and get rid of air bubbles.
And here’s what my final cake looked like!
Thank you to this lovely, humble blog for sharing this fabulous trick! I will be dismembering T-shirts and baking super flat cakes for decades to come.
Diana
you mean we can put this strip around the tin and into the oven and bake?
cheers
erika
Yes, exactly! Just make sure it’s tight enough so that it doesn’t fall off in the oven!
pl
doesn’t the fabric get “burnt” in the oven?
erika
Nope, it shouldn’t because it starts off damp. It will dry out a little in the oven, but it shouldn’t burn!
Tarah
I have a ton of those cloth headbands, they’re about 2″ thick and I never, ever wear them. After I read this post, I couldn’t imagine cutting up my clothing *gasp*… But those headbands came to mind! If you stretch them out, they fit beautifully around 8-9″ rounds! I’ll try it today and hopefully it’ll work, wish me luck! Thank you for your tip! My dad’s cake will be perfectly even!
erika
Tarah, that sounds like a brilliant use for them! Good luck–let me know how it goes (and tell me what kind of cake you end up making)!!
molly yeh
just did this and it worked marvelously!!!!!
beth sowell
holy cow! this did work beautifully. i actually had an old wife beater that i cut the bottom off of. i cut it into two strips and soaked those. i was able to wrap it twice around the pan tightly. my cakes are perfect! thank you so much.
erika
Awesome!!! So glad to hear it, Beth! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Amanda
This is great :] I was inspired by your post and instead of using t-shirts, I actually just used two of those fabric headbands, the ones that are super wide and never seem to stay your head anyway! They’ve been put to a much better use now instead of collecting dust in a drawer
Michal
Lovely!
Thanks
Estelle
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It worked 100% and I am so happy I want to sing and dance. I’ve been wasting so much cake and refuse to pay for bake even strips. My kids won’t like it because now they won’t get the cake I usually cut off. LOL 🙂
erika
Yay!!! So happy to hear that, Estelle! I always felt like those bake even strips are highway robbery 😉
Estelle
I totally agree. It was on my “buy when you have too much money to use” list but now it’s totally off. I am baking a Smurfs 2 cake and planned on using 3 layers for the stem but the cake is so high that I can use 2 layers. I am all smiles. 🙂
Jose
Will this work on a bundt cake? If not, any ideas on how to level one of those too?
erika
Oof that’s a good question. I honestly have no idea. You could certainly try wrapping some cake strips around the pan but make sure they’re fastened securely!
I just did a quick google search and it seems as though people do not recommend using cake strips on bundt cakes. Popular opinion on the best option seems to be trimming the bottom once it’s done baking (you can try using floss for this–I hear it works well).
Angel
Thanks for this I will definitely experiment and use your tips
christina @ smallkitchenchronicles
Huh! I never knew! What an awesome education, Erika, thank you! =) And what a super duper creative DIY idea — you better believe next time I make a cake, I’ll be doing it this way — thanks so much for sharing the knowledge, girl, you rock =)
xo
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
This is a DIY that I can actually put into practice! It´s got to be the best tip for cakes, love it. And the cake is stunning too!
Alex @ Brain, Body, Because
hahaha!!!!
I actually never bake cakes, but this is still a really good tip! Those layers are IMPRESSIVE! The OCD in me loves the even thicknesses and straight lines 😀
Nancy @ gottagetbaked
Erika, this is the most brilliant thing I’ve read in a long time. You are amazing. Everyone keeps telling me to buy cake strips (I mean, are my layers really that hideous?! Hmm…yeah, sometimes they are!) but I’m way too cheap. I am totally going to do this…although I’m also really lazy so I might just keep baking on the way I bake, lol.
Lianna
this is brilliant, thank you for sharing this tip!! I’ve never heard of cake strips before, but I’m glad now I don’t have to shell out the extra couple of bucks to get perfect flat cake layers! haha I’m actually laughing picturing you on your balcony mid-photography session feet away from your new neighbours..i wonder what they must have thought! whatever, your photos turned out gorgeous so it was definitely worth it!