Why Trimming A Warm Layer Cake Is A Mistake
Can you imagine it? The warm sponge of your cake releases a beautiful swath of steam through the sunlight, and the smell of chocolate, vanilla, pumpkin, or strawberry permeates the air in your kitchen. Cake is a powerful force and symbolizes many different things, like celebration, wealth, sweetness, and happiness. The evolution of the cake has come a long way, and after the past several centuries of indulgence, it's safe to say that we've come as close to perfecting the bake as we can. However, there's always room for human error (via Easy Food Handlers).
When it comes to patience, humans often struggle with delayed gratification. So, when we see that gorgeous, toasty cake fresh from the oven, we immediately want to dig in. Many people do end up giving into this desire, and in doing so, prematurely spread the frosting across the cake, which immediately melts off and rips the delicate skin. Other people try to cut the cake before it has fully cooled, which ruins all their hard work leading up to that point. If this cake is for your eyes and taste buds only, do whatever you want! If this bake is going to be proudly shared with friends or family, though, we'd suggest cooling your heels before trimming a warm layer cake.
Trim your cakes when they've had time to cool
Attempting to work with a warm cake is no joke, especially if you're trying to trim it. The crumb will not be fully set until cool, so when you cut into it, the sponge will be prone to falling apart, or it'll tear completely, which harms the intended shape of your cake (via CupcakeJones). If you've ever watched a competitive baking show, odds are that you've seen contestants rushing to refrigerators with their freshly baked cakes. This usually happens because they're under a time restriction and need their cakes to cool quickly before they attempt to trim or decorate them.
In cooling your cake, you are helping to firm up the sponge, which allows for a cleaner cut (via The Kitchn). Always make sure to chill your cake before trimming — this can easily be done by placing your bake in the freezer. Recipe Tips suggests leaving your cake to freeze overnight before cutting, but if you must trim it up the day of, about three hours in the freezer will suffice.