When Do You Need to Torte Your Cake? That's a question I see a lot. The general rule of thumb is if your cake is 2 inches or taller, you want to torte it. My layers are all 2 inches in height, so with a 4 inch cake I end up with 4 equal layers.

Do you level a cake when it's hot or cold?

Leveling works best on a completely cool cake; a warm and fragile cake will shed a mountain of crumbs as it's sliced. It also depends on having the right tool for the job—not a senseless, unitasking cake cutter, but a nine- or 10-inch serrated knife.

Why do you torte a cake?

Torting, or dividing a cake into layers, creates height once filling is added. Torting also ensures that the cake will stack evenly. Torting a cake can be done on a flat surface, but using a turntable makes it easier to slice uniform layers.