How Long Should You Wait To Cut Your Freshly Baked Cake?

Do you have a bit of a sweet tooth? If you do, then you know how hard it can be to wait on cutting into your yummy homemade goodies, like cupcakes, brownies, and cakes, and devour them right away. You want to taste your hard-earned reward right away, and who could blame you? But if you want to get the best desserts, there are a few tips that can help.

For one, Southern Living says that you should chill your cake layers before frosting them. Now, you probably already know that cooling the layers before adding icing is good because warm cakes will just melt the frosting and then it won't stick as it should. But chilling the layers in the fridge? Yep! After you cook your cake layers, let them cool at room temperature for a few hours, then wrap them in plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator before frosting them.

So now that you have the frosting part down for your perfect homemade cake, what about cutting the cake? According to Insider, your cakes aren't just easier to frost if you chill them, but they will also hold up better for cutting if you let them cool off overnight in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap. After the layers are chilled, you should frost the layers, assemble the cake, and cut into it once the frosting has hardened some. This will keep your cake together and makes your cuts neater.

Don't have time to chill your cake layers overnight? King Arthur Baking Company says that even 15 minutes in the fridge will help after you have iced the cake because it sets your cake's frosting so that it doesn't stick to the knife as you cut through it. According to lifehacker, another great way to ensure that your frosting doesn't stick to the knife is to run the knife under hot water before cutting into the cake. This will warm the knife and makes it glide right through the icing with clean, smooth cuts.

Speaking of knives, do you know which one is best for cutting your cake? You may think that something like a smooth-edged knife is your go-to, but BakeryCity reports that a serrated knife is the best one for cutting cakes because these tend to be thinner than smooth knives. They are also very sharp, meaning they can go right through your layers of cake without a lot of effort.

Another bonus to using a serrated knife is that you will cut with it using a sawing motion, so you don't press down onto the cake like you are more likely to do with a straight-edged knife. Pressing down depresses the cake, and you don't want it depressed because you want to serve up fluffy, perfectly sliced cake. After all of your hard work of baking, chilling, and frosting, you want your cake to look great at the time you plate and present it, after all!