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12/18/2015

Bake-Even Strips - Why You Should Use Them

Perhaps you have heard of bake-even strips and didn't think you needed them. Or, maybe you have never heard of them, and don't know that you need them. Regardless, there is a very good chance that your cakes will greatly improve if you use them.

Unsure what a bake-even strip is for? Simply put, it is a strip a specially designed material that is meant to prevent the outer edges of your cakes from baking faster than the middle parts. They are excellent for helping cakes bake evenly throughout, and for preventing high-rise centers or cracked tops.

Cracked tops aren't a common problem for bakers, but cakes that have raised middles are. When this happens you need to cut off the dome, which is a waste of cake (unless, of course, you eat the removed top). If you want level cakes that aren't cracked, then bake-even strips are a must for you!

These strips come in a variety of sizes, to accommodate the many different cake pans that you might use. Sizes include Small, Medium, and Large. You can use them on round pans, or square and rectangular pans, all with the same great results. Unless you are a professional baker who makes large wedding or birthday cakes, the small or medium sizes will probably be sufficient for home use.

You may have heard that you can make your own baking strips, but that is a hassle that proves to be more difficult than it is worth. Why bother making them when you can buy them inexpensively. Save yourself time and aggravation by investing in pre-made strips that you can use over and over.

You use the strips by first getting them wet. It is important to thoroughly wet the strips for maximum benefit. Once wet, you will need to secure them around your cake pan. The strips that you can purchase typically come with straight pins, like the kind you would use for sewing, to secure the strip around a pan. However, most people complain that straight pins are too cumbersome to use. You can solve this problem by using small or mini metal binder clips to secure your strip around your cake pan.

In case this doesn't seem obvious, you will put the strip around your cake pan before you bake your cake. Yes, that means they will go into the oven and be exposed to extreme heat. Because of this you will want to make sure that you didn't replace the pins with something that might melt at high temperatures.

So if having flat topped cakes sounds like a great idea to you, be sure to invest in your own bake-even strips. They are sure to improve the way your cake looks when it comes out of the oven. Article Source