plug - cake making

I case you didn't know, I like to bake. Not cook, mind you, but bake. If you like to make cakes (or do so despite your distaste), I highly recommend buying this Wilton product: Bake Even Strips.

A friend tried to make a cake using the same cake mix I had, but she said it didn't come out as moist. The only controllable difference (we can't share an oven) was that I use the Bake Even Strips. They aren't super cheap (about $8 for two), so I was hesitant to recommend them, but did anyway. You may be able to get them cheaper at WalMart (even the small one here has them) or Hobby Lobby using one of their 40% off coupons.* I've had mine about three years and use them at least every other month, and they are still in good condition.

I made a cake last week, and thought it would be the perfect chance for a little experiment to test whether or not it was a fair recommendation. I was making a two layer cake (with ice cream in the middle), so it'd be fine if the top layer had a dome on top instead of being mostly flat - the perfect opportunity.

I prepared the batter, sprayed both pans with cooking spray, and then added the same amount of batter to each pan. (I feel like I'm at work and should be saying, "The batter was prepared as done previously (Peebles 2005). The sides and bottoms of two non-stick nine inch pans (Wilton) were coated evenly with cooking spray (HEB). After resting two minutes at room temperature, 375ml of the batter was added to each of the pans." If you're not screaming at me to stop, you should check this site out. It's great. Also know that I'm holding back to not make figure legends*.)

Anyway, I put a baking strip on one (just wet it and then pin in place) and not the other, then baked the cakes under the same conditions. Just in case you didn't already think I was nerdy, I also took pictures. (If you've been reading for a while, this really shouldn't surprise you.) But at least now you can see for yourself the difference and not have to take my word for it! On the one without the strips, the center rose and cracked and the outside pulled away from the pan. It was also drier around the edge. I guess it works similar to putting the pan in a larger pan of water (like you're supposed to do to keep cheesecake from cracking).

So buy Bake Even Strips!

*I feel ultra-cheap saying something that costs less than $10 is expensive. Oh well.

** Legends should be spelled ledgends. I've felt strongly about that since about 2nd grade, even willing to sacrifice my grades on spelling tests in efforts to support the cause.