Biscuit is the basis for sweet cakes, rolls and pastries. To create a culinary masterpiece, the foundation of the cake - the sponge cake - must be perfectly smooth. The ability to cut the cake into pieces is an important condition for the correct preparation of such a dessert.
Classic and chiffon (butter) sponge cake
The sponge cake is baked classic (that is, traditional) and butter, or, as it is also called, chiffon. The second type of sponge cake is moister and heavier in weight.
A traditional sponge cake consists of flour, sugar and eggs. When baking a chiffon sponge cake, butter (butter or vegetable) and baking powder are added to this set of ingredients, which “lifts” the heavy butter sponge cake.
If you don’t have store-bought baking powder, you can use soda, slaked with lemon juice or vinegar, or create a “homemade” baking powder using this recipe: mix citric acid, soda and starch in a ratio of 1:2:4, that is, for 3 g of citric acid - 6 g of soda and 12 g of starch.
If you are using pure soda and the recipe does not require it to be quenched, you should sift it. When baking soda gets into the dough, it becomes wet. Unsifted soda forms lumps and because of this imparts a specific taste to the dough. Butter biscuit is different from the classic one.
- Unlike a classic sponge cake, in which there is a clearly measured amount of ingredients, various fillers are added to a butter sponge cake - chocolate, lemon or orange zest, dried fruits, cocoa powder, coconut flakes, cinnamon or poppy seeds.
- When making cakes from butter sponge cakes, you don’t have to grease the cakes with cream, but cakes made from a classic sponge cake without cream will be a bit dry.
- There is no difference whether you cut a traditional or chiffon sponge cake into cake layers. The methods offered are the same, but oil crumbles less and is a little denser in texture.
How thick should the cake be?
If the height of the sponge cake is 8–9 cm, it is more convenient to cut it into 3 even layers. The minimum height is 5–6 cm. There are situations when a cake with a height of only 2–3 centimeters must be divided in half so as to obtain very thin cakes, but even and neat. This is possible, but quite difficult to do using thread or a knife. For such experiments, confectionery string is more suitable.
Which sponge cake is better to cut - hot or cold?
This is why the biscuit is called capricious because it requires a lot of attention. And it is important to note that it is not taken out of the oven at the same time as it is verified that it is ready. First, leave it in the oven for 15 minutes. The biscuit has an unpleasant feature - it settles. Therefore, you need to let it cool without removing it from the mold in which it was baked. Some housewives leave the sponge cake to cool completely in the oven, but there is a risk that after this it will become too dry.
Experienced chefs agree that only a cooled biscuit can be cut into cakes, and not immediately after it has cooled, but only after 6–8 hours. This way it will not crumble, and the cakes will turn out even.
Secrets of perfect slicing
Over its long history, the biscuit has acquired many ways to carefully cut it using a knife, thread or special devices.
Thread and knife
The first method is traditional and most often used, it allows you to obtain thin layers of sponge cake. We need:
- nylon or nylon thread of sufficient strength (you can use iris threads);
- thin and long knife.
How to cut?
- Using a sharpened knife, mark the width of the cakes, starting from the top.
- We wrap the circle of the biscuit so that it fits into the cuts made by the knife.
- We cross the thread ends, placing them in front of us and not on the other side of the biscuit.
- Slowly, pull the ends of the thread each in its own direction.
- Pull the thread towards you, cutting the biscuit into even pieces.
Video: how to cut a biscuit into cake layers using thread
If you don’t have thread at hand, but have fishing line, you can use it, the result will not change.
Fishing line and culinary skewers
The second method is similar to the first, but instead of a knife, skewers or toothpicks are used, and instead of thread, fishing line is used. How should you cut?
- We stick the skewers exactly around the circumference of the biscuit, taking into account the height of the cake that you want to get at the end. For a sponge cake with a diameter of 22 cm, 9 skewers or toothpicks will be enough.
- Place the fishing line on the skewers and wrap the biscuit.
- Cross the ends of the fishing line or tie a loose knot (it does not need to be firmly fixed).
- Pull the ends of the line until the biscuit is completely cut.
- Remove all the toothpicks from the remaining cake layer at the bottom.
Knife
With a narrow, long and sharp knife, you can cut the chocolate butter cake perfectly. It is more dense and will not crumble much from such “intervention”.
- Make notches at the same level on all sides of the “common” cake layer.
- Place a knife on one side of the biscuit, guided by the notches.
- Start rotating the biscuit counterclockwise (if the knife is on the right side) or clockwise (if the knife is on the left), moving the knife towards you.
Video: how to cut a biscuit with a knife
Special devices
The following methods are perfect if we need to get more than two cakes.
Ring-shaped baking dish without bottom
We need:
- form without bottom;
- plates of the same diameter as the shape;
- long thin knife.
How should we proceed?
- Place the sponge cake in the mold on several plates stacked on top of each other.
- We lower the mold down over the plates so that the edge protrudes slightly.
- We measure the desired height of the cake and cut off the protruding part with a long knife.
- If you need several cakes, repeat the steps, replacing the plates.
Using a string
- Place the cooled biscuit on a plate.
- Select the thickness of the cake.
- We cut it with a string, having previously adjusted the height.
Video: how to use a string to cut cakes
Biscuit cutter
- We take out the finished cooled biscuit and place it in a special form for slicing.
- We cut half of the biscuit with a long sharp knife according to special markings.
- Rotate the pan 180 degrees and cut out the second half of the biscuit layers.
If you know how to cut a biscuit correctly, then dividing it into cake layers is an easy task. Follow the advice and you will succeed!
Biscuit is the basis for many confectionery products, pastries and cakes. It bakes quickly enough, it turns out tall, fluffy and tender inside. Difficulties for housewives most often arise only when cutting the biscuit into cake layers. They usually don't look very smooth. As a result, it looks sloppy and unappetizing. In our article we will tell you how to evenly cut a biscuit into cake layers. We will offer you a choice of several effective methods using a range of devices.
What should you consider when cutting a biscuit?
A fluffy, tall, perfect sponge cake that just came out of the oven is not a guarantee that the cake will turn out as beautiful. Firstly, it can come out dry, making it very difficult to cut. Secondly, the cake may fall off due to temperature changes. Therefore, during the cooking process, it is important to take into account all the points: how and when to take out the biscuit, how to cut it.
The basis of any sponge cake is eggs, sugar and flour. Additionally, other ingredients can be added to the dough: either butter, baking powder, etc. The most difficult to cut is the classic biscuit, which has a porous texture inside. If you make an inept attempt to divide it into cakes, it crumbles or pulls together in lumps. At the same time, butter and chiffon biscuits (based on butter and vegetable oils, respectively) are easier to cut.
In addition, the quality of the finished cakes depends on the diameter and height of the base, as well as their desired thickness. For comparison, cutting a sponge cake with a diameter of 20 cm and a height of 7 cm into three layers is much easier than a product baked in a mold measuring 26 cm. How well the sponge cake has cooled is also important. Before cutting it into cakes, it must “rest”.
How to prepare a sponge cake for cutting?
When preparing the cake base, it is important to follow the recipe exactly. In this case, both the diameter of the mold and the length of time the biscuit is in the oven are important. The readiness of the product is always checked in only one way: by piercing the cake in the very center with a wooden skewer or match. If it comes out dry, then the biscuit is ready.
The pan with the cake is removed from the oven immediately. The product should stand on the table at room temperature for a minute or two. The biscuit should move away from the sides of the mold on its own. After this, the product must be turned upside down onto the wire rack. After 10 minutes, the cake is turned over to the opposite side and remains on a wire rack until it cools completely. This will allow air to circulate around the product, causing it to cool faster. But it’s not yet time to think about how to cut the biscuit into even layers.
Before slicing, the cooled product is wrapped in cling film and placed in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Under such conditions, the biscuit will become more moist inside, and it will be easier to cut it into cakes. Ideally, the base will remain in the refrigerator overnight.
How to cut a biscuit using a knife
This method is considered one of the most common. To cut the biscuit into cakes, you need to prepare a thin, long and sharp knife. Many housewives choose a special bread knife with a serrated edge for this. It is important to ensure that the diameter of the product is not too large.
So, how to evenly cut a biscuit into cake layers using a knife? First of all, you must follow the following sequence of actions:
- Place the biscuit on a flat horizontal surface.
- Using a knife, make notches along the entire cut line, taking into account the number of future cakes.
- Press the biscuit firmly on top with your hand.
- Rotating the product counterclockwise, cut it into cakes along the previously made notches, moving the knife towards you.
- The knife should be held parallel to the table surface. Make sure that the cake is even and not cone-shaped.
How to cut sponge cake using a plate?
To use this method, in addition to dishes, you must have a springform baking dish, or rather a ring from it. It will serve as a level. Using a ring from a springform pan and several flat plates is the only sure way to evenly cut a sponge cake into 3 layers.
Actions are performed in the following sequence:
- The biscuit is placed on a flat plate. A split ring is lowered from above. The result should be that the product is on the plate, but inside the ring.
- Place enough plates under the biscuit from below so that the top protrudes above the ring to the required thickness of the cake.
- Holding the product with your hand, cut off the top cake with a long and sharp knife, using the ring as a support.
- Place a few more plates on the bottom and cut off the next cake in the same way.
Cutting a biscuit at home using a thread
This is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to get perfect sponge cake layers. You can learn how to evenly cut a biscuit into cake layers using a silk thread (fishing line, guitar string) from the step-by-step instructions:
- Using a knife, make notches along the entire cut line. You can also use toothpicks. They must be inserted at the required height around the entire circumference.
- Wrap the biscuit with thread, threading it through the cuts made with a knife.
- Cross the ends of the thread. Take them in different hands.
- Move the ends of the thread in opposite directions, cutting the biscuit in this way.
- If necessary, repeat similar steps with the second cake.
How to cut a biscuit into cakes with a string?
This device looks like a coat hanger with a string stretched inside. Its position can be changed depending on the desired height of the products.
How to cut a biscuit into even cake layers can be described in the following instructions:
- Place the cake base on a flat horizontal surface.
- Set the string to the desired height.
- Press the top of the biscuit with your hand.
- Place the string knife on the legs next to the biscuit. Without lifting them from the table surface, cut off the cake using sawing movements.
- Cut the following cakes using the same method.
How to use a biscuit slicer?
This method is more suitable for professional confectioners who often have to cut the product into cakes. Externally, the slicer resembles a springform baking dish, but with parallel holes around the circumference. The sponge cake is placed inside the split ring and cut into the required number of cake layers along the slots. The distance between the holes is 1 cm. This means that the question of how to evenly cut a biscuit into cake layers can be solved very simply.
Another advantage of the slicer is that the ring is adjustable in diameter, which allows you to cut biscuits of any size in it. The main thing is that the knife is long enough and sharp.
Chiffon sponge cake recipe
This biscuit is ideally cut into several even layers. It turns out tender and moist inside, so it does not require additional impregnation. Vanilla-lemon chiffon sponge cake is prepared in the following sequence:
- The oven is heated to a temperature of 160 °C.
- Flour (130 g) is sifted several times with sugar (80 g), a pinch of salt and baking powder (1 ½ teaspoons).
- Yolks at room temperature (2 pcs.) are combined with vanilla and lemon zest (on the tip of a knife), slightly warm milk (30 ml) and vegetable oil (65 ml). The resulting mass is whipped with a mixer until it becomes a fluffy and light foam.
- The yolk part of the dough is mixed with sifted dry ingredients.
- Egg whites (4 pcs.) are combined with sugar (25 g) and whipped with a mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Some of the proteins are introduced into the yolk-butter mixture and gently mixed with a spatula.
- The remaining proteins are added to the dough and combined with it in a similar way.
- The prepared dough is transferred to a springform pan with a diameter of 26 cm.
- The biscuit is baked in a well-heated oven for 30 minutes.
Biscuit is the basis of cakes, pastries, and rolls. A sponge cake for a cake is not difficult to make fluffy, light, and tender, but baking it is half the battle, and then you need to carefully cut it into layers to assemble the cake. Of course, if you have to deal with store-bought sponge cakes, then there won’t be any problems. And if a fluffy sponge cake 5-6 cm thick, taken out of the oven, has long cooled down on the table, then the question arises: How to cut it into thin cakes?
This task at home is not so simple, and it becomes more complicated in proportion to the number of cakes needed. Therefore, if you do not have much experience in this matter, then it is better to first stop at two or three layers. In any case, when choosing a method for cutting a biscuit, you need to realistically assess the height of the whole baked goods.
Method No. 1. Cut the biscuit with a long bread knife.
The most common, but not the most accurate (in the sense of smooth) way. Using a knife is convenient for cutting dense biscuits, but loose biscuits can crumble from such “interference.” Therefore, the knife must be long, sharp and with a very thin blade. First you need to make “notches” along the height of the future cake/cakes and make sure that all these marks are at the same level. Lightly holding the biscuit with your hand and slowly rotating it counterclockwise, use your other hand to cut with a knife towards you along the marked marks.
Method No. 2. Using a baking ring and plates
This method also cannot do without a long and sharp knife, but the ring from the baking pan is additionally used as an “assistant”. The biscuit is placed inside the ring; a plate or several plates of the same diameter as the mold are placed underneath it. The more plates, the higher above the edge of the mold the sponge cake will protrude, the thicker the cut cake will be. The essence of the method is that the ring of the mold acts as a measure for the layers of the biscuit. The main thing is that the knife is directed clearly horizontally at all times, without tilting. If you need to make several cakes, then you will have to add plates from below, and then again measure the height of the future cake.
Method No. 3. How to properly cut a sponge cake into cake layers using thread
A strong thin thread (nylon) or fishing line is, of course, thinner than any knife, so with their help you can make narrow layers of biscuit. Using the same knife, you need to outline the width of the cake and make a light cut, which can be continued with the help of thread. Tie the thread around the biscuit at the required height, cross the ends and slowly pull them in different directions, moving the thread/line through the thickness of the biscuit in a horizontal plane. It is more convenient to do this towards yourself, and not vice versa.
A spare video showing in more detail how to cut a sponge cake using regular thread:
Method number 4. How to cut a biscuit into cakes with a string
Method number 5. Slicer form for cutting cake layers
The slicer form for slicing cakes is a convenient device that allows you to cut into 6 perfectly even cakes. All cakes turn out smooth and of the same thickness. The cutting process is very simple and takes very little time.
Remember that the sponge cake can only be cut and decorated with cream when it has cooled down!
If you are unable to cut the biscuit into even layers, we will tell you how to do it correctly using improvised means and original devices.
When baking a biscuit, know:
- Buttery and chiffon will not be difficult to cut.
- The most difficult thing to cut is a classic sponge cake; it is airy and crumbles, so you need to be patient and careful in your work.
- The sponge cake is easy to cut and has cooled well.
- A small diameter biscuit is easier to cut than a large one, and a round shape is easier than a rectangular or square one.
Cut the biscuit with a bread knife
The most commonplace way is to divide the sponge cake into layers using a regular bread knife. It’s better to first leave the biscuit for 8-10 hours in the refrigerator, and before cutting, put it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, then:
- make cuts with a knife around the circumference from the base of the biscuit to the desired height
- We move the knife with our right hand clockwise, towards ourselves
- Hold the biscuit with your left hand, twisting it counterclockwise
- hold the knife parallel to the table surface
Knife with lock for cutting biscuit
For the convenience of cutting the biscuit into individual cakes, use 2 clamps and a knife:
- use the button on the latch to set the height of the cake
- the clamps are spread to the length of the diameter of the biscuit circumference
- moving the blade with the help of clamps, cut the biscuit into thin cakes
Cut the biscuit using a springform pan
If you don't have clamps, you can use a round springform pan and plates
- Place the plates in a springform pan and place the biscuit on top
- Use a long bread knife to remove the top of the biscuit
- increasing the number of plates under the biscuit
- lift it above the mold, cut off the cake and repeat the procedure
Toothpick and dental floss
The toothpick can be replaced with skewers for canapés, and the dental floss can be replaced with strong and thick cotton or silk thread, some use fishing line
- Use toothpicks to mark the height of the crust
- Place the thread on top of the toothpicks along the diameter of the circle
- We pull the ends of the thread in different directions and begin to gradually tighten, cutting the biscuit
Biscuit cutting string
A simple device for cutting biscuit - a string that acts as a knife. For convenient use, the string has: a handle, a steel frame on which notches are applied to select the height of the cakes. To cut the biscuit:
- determine the height of the cake by adjusting the string
- put the string on the legs next to the biscuit
- We begin to slowly move the string deeper into the sponge cake
The biscuit is easy to cut and produces a minimal amount of crumbs.
Slicer mold for cutting biscuits
A very convenient device for producing thin and neat cakes is a slicer. Externally, the device resembles a split mold with horizontal slits. The diameter of the mold is adjusted to the diameter of the biscuit. The slicer makes it possible to cut several thin cakes using a bread knife. To make it convenient to transfer them to a dish and not break them, a steel spatula is used.
Now you know how to cut a sponge cake into perfectly even cakes, saving time, nerves, and beautifully decorating the sponge cake, delighting your loved ones and friends.
How to cut a sponge cake so that the cakes are perfectly even? In pies, it is often recommended to cut the sponge cake with a long, sharp knife with a serrated blade. The photo shows a terrifying-looking tool, which, apparently, is not easy to cut the cake evenly.
Meanwhile, if you need to cut a sponge cake in half exactly horizontally, there is a simple and accurate method that does not involve fussing with knives and other devices. With just string and a few toothpicks, you can cut the cake perfectly in half with ease.
So, take the biscuit cake completely cooled. This is important, since the hot sponge cake can “crawl” behind the thread, and the beautiful fluffy structure of the sponge pulp will be crushed.
Insert toothpicks into the sides of the sponge cake exactly in the middle - along the entire circumference of the cake, as shown in the picture.
Take dental floss (or silk) and place it on the toothpicks, “surrounding” the sponge cake. If your crust is a fairly dense dough, you can use a sharp knife to make small horizontal cuts along the row of toothpicks so that the string goes straight into the “groove” and doesn’t have to cut through the hard outer crust of the pie.
Once the string is completely wrapped around the sponge, cross the ends and hold each end in one hand. Pull both ends of the string until it begins to separate the cake into two parts. You can move the thread a little from side to side to help cut the cake. Usually this happens very easily.
You now have two layers of sponge cake.
Slide a piece of cardboard or tray (without sides) between the two layers of cake and peel off the top layer.
Ready. Start assembling the cake.
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