Tip: Insulate your baking pan to produce a uniform and flat top cake

Have you ever wondered why your cake sometimes comes out hard, dark, and crusty on the outside, and a dome and a crack on the top? The outside bakes faster than the inside because it is exposed to the heat of the oven, which causes it to lose its moisture, whereas the inside bakes slower because it is insulated by the cake batter surrounding it.

In order for your cake to bake uniformly and with a flat top, you need to keep the outside cool. To do this, you can either purchase a cake pan strip (which is a little expensive, plus it is only 2″ wide) OR make your own with aluminum foil and paper towel.

Create your own by cake strip by soaking paper towels in cold water and wring them out just a little. Place the paper towels on top of the aluminum foil and fold the foil up and over the wet towels into a long strip. Then wrap the pan with the strip and fold the edges of the foil together to secure.