Layered Cake Trick

An easy layered cake.

I received a birthday cake request for a cake with "lots of layers like a torte," and filled with raspberry, cream and chocolate ganache.

"Lots of layers" on a cake can be tricky if you bake regular sized cakes and then slice them to achieve more layers. Slicing cakes can be frustrating. It's a task to get them cut evenly, even if you use a serrated knife and really concentrate.

Then there are the crumbs that fall everywhere and the hold your breath moment of lifting the layers apart without them breaking.

Well, you don't need to stress because of this simple trick: bake thin cakes to create the individual layers.

I used two batches of "The Greatest and Easiest Chocolate Cake," to bake five thin 12-inch cakes. I filled the cake pans just 1/4 full and reduced the baking time by half. Let the cakes cool a bit in the pans before inverting them onto cooling racks and letting them cool completely before stacking.

These cooled layers are a breeze to lift and stack. Yeah! A cake with "lots of layers like a torte," and it didn't induce tears.

A just baked layer. It's just about half the height of the pan.

It's important to let the cakes cool completely before stacking. It is ideal if you can make and bake the cakes the night before and stack them in the morning.

Raspberry filling on the first layer.

Chocolate ganache on the second layer.

Vanilla cream on the third layer.

More raspberry filling on the fourth layer and a coating of light chocolate buttercream.