The Decorating Tool That Will Help Your Cake Bake More Evenly
We've all been there. You're baking a cake for tomorrow's party, and the layers bake up perfectly, at first. Then, as they cool, you start to notice the centers sinking in. According to KitchenAid, while some recipes with too much baking soda or baking powder can cause the centers of your cake to fall flat — seeing that the excess gas can inflate your sweet treat too quickly and send it sinking once the heat escapes — oftentimes it's not the recipe that's the problem.
Some other variables can cause this, such as not baking your cake at the correct temperature, opening the oven door before it's set, whipping too much air into the batter, and even using a different size pan than what the recipe calls for. However, the most common reason is that your dessert was under-baked or cooked unevenly. When you place batter-filled cake pans in the oven, the outside of it bakes first, and the leavening agent causes the center to rise while it's cooking. Because of this, it's common for them to have an inconsistent texture throughout. However, there is one small tool that could help every part of your cake cook at the same rate.
A flower nail
Resembling a thumbtack, Wilton states that a flower nail is essentially a nail with a flat base. The purpose is to hold the nail and twirl it in a circle as you pipe buttercream flower petals on top of the base, which then allows you to easily transfer the flower onto parchment or the surface of a cake. However, according to Taste of Home, this tool can be used for more than just frosting.
When placing a flower nail base-side-down in the center of your batter-filled cake pans, it actually conducts heat in the center due to its metal coming in contact with the material of the pan, allowing the inside to cook at the same rate as the outside. This method holds in all the desired moisture you crave in a dessert and even speeds up the cooking time slightly. Furthermore, a flower nail takes up much less space compared to cake strips, which are damp towel-like strips that attach around the outside of your pans when baking. So, the next time you're making a sweet treat just remember this simple hack and you'll get the perfect cake consistency.