how to cut a cake in half without breaking it?

[mousymouse]

I baked a cake (dh*s birthday) and the recipe says to cut in half, spread the icing between and on top of the cake.
how to you manage that without breaking the cake?
It is a 24cm round chocolate cake.

You put it up somewhere so you can get eye-height with it - you place one hand on top of the cake and you carve it with the knife held flat, halfway through, then turn the cake and keep cutting.

I'll see if I can find a demo on youtube for you - I watched it on a cookery show here and it was very good!

You bake two separate cakes :o

The trickiest bit is getting the top half off I think. I try to slide it across to a plate or board held up to the join.

My mum used to do it with a piece of cotton. Wrap it round the cake, cross the ends over and gently pull.
She would then get me to hold a plate halfway up the cake and gently slide the top half over onto the plate.

it is already baked, but thanks for the tip, will do that next time.
my worry is getting the half off and on again.
I guess I will have a lot disguising to do with the ganache :o

do you have a couple of fish slices? Or a spatula?

I've never really gone for the "baking two cakes" thing, surely it just makes the cake an odd shape?

thanks, the video is a good start.
I remember my mother had a fishing line which she used to cut the cake, but I think my bread knife should do the trick.

yup a bread knife and a steady hand will suffice!

and if you go a bit wonky just make sure you match the top back to the bottom properly so the whole cake is not on a tilt!

I use a bread board to slide the top half of the cake onto - once it's cut through (of course), then place the breadboard level with the lower half of the cake and ease the top half over.

So long as your cake isn't too crumbly, you should be fine. :)

good job then that my breadboard doesn*t smell of fish anymore :)

I was wondering just HOW MUCH ingredients you needed for a 24inch cake... then re-read your first post

I do same as soupy though- bake 2.

24 inch would be quite something, 24 cm is the continental standard size for cakes, I don*t have a 20cm one (yet), maybe if I get more into baking cakes...

it*s done and looks beautiful. tomorrow ds will decorate with smarties before dh gets up (I will let him sleep in tomorrow).
the top layer had a few cracks but they are not visible due to a generous slathering of ganache
the bowl and spoons are waiting to be licked clean :o

I read in a previous post of using dental floss???

Mousymouse, You would struggle to get a 24" cake pan. Even if you managed it, I am sure that you would not be able to get it into your oven!

I think I will try dental floss next time. it got quite uneven with the knife and the top half crumbled a little when putting it back on.