TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAYER CAKE• Dip the spatula in hot water to keep cake crumbs from getting into the icing. This is especially useful for red velvet cakes.• Use heavy pans with 2-inch metal sides.• Measure out the batter for even layers.• Make sure the oven rack is level.• Let the cake cool completely before frosting. You can wrap warm cake layers in plastic and freeze them until needed.• Spread filling a quarter inch to the edge of the cake, not all the way, to prevent oozing.• Don’t push down on the layers after you add filling.Sources: From Vanessa Rocchio, Nancy Adams, Rick Adams
Step aside, cupcakes.
Layer cakes are making their way back to the dessert table.
In a recent “Today” show interview, James Oseland, editor-in-chief of Saveur Magazine, counted layer cakes among the top food trends for 2012, describing the marriage of cake, filling and frosting as “the quintessence of sweetness.”
“It’s nice to see cake no longer relegated to cupcake size but instead rearing up to its full height, its true, towering self,” Oseland wrote on “Today’s” food blog, titled “Bites.”