Baking Problems Solved, #1

They always says cooking is an art and baking is a science. I guess that's why I've always had more luck with baking. I'm a perfectionist; If there is a series of precise steps to follow, I can follow them to a T. That being said, there are some tricks that I have learned over the past few years that can solve many common problems. I'll post these periodically, 1 at a time. If there is something you want to see that I haven't posted or a problem you have that I haven't addressed, let me know!

Problem #1: My cakes aren't flat!
I HATE domed cakes! And I do not have any desire to carefully slice off the top, rounded part of my delicious cake I just spent hours making and throw it away. Not to mention accidentally cutting too deep and having my cake fall apart! No thank you. The rounded top happens when the outside of the cake bakes faster than the inside, so the inside has longer to raise in the oven. So how can we keep the outside from cooking faster?

Enter, cake strips! You already have these lying around your house. Simply take a dish towel or other old towel and cut it into 1-2 inch wide long strips, like this:

I didn't say they were pretty. Just run them under some cold water, and wrap them around your cake pan using a safety pin. They keep the outside edges just cool enough, to allow for a perfectly flat cake!