Cake Leveler or Knife?

This is a Wilton cake leveler that I’m using here. The cake is halfway between soft and crusty, so it does take the teeniest bit of work for that wire to get into the cake and start cutting. However, I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve been thinking of upgrading to the “professional” (read “more expensive”cake leveler for years, but after reading the reviews at Amazon, I think I’ll just stick with this cheaper one. I find that I switch back and forth — old method with knife (and toothpicks if necessary) and this cake leveler. Both has its uses and I just go with whatever I think best at the moment. I will disagree with the reviewer at Amazon that says you only end up with 1-inch layers — you can go much smaller than that. One trick is to put the cake on a surface, like a flat plate or tile, so that it’s raised, and your wire can be adjusted to whichever thickness you like. You have to be patient with it and learn its quirks, though, so don’t expect instant perfect results. And yes, there will still be times when you just decide the knife will do a much better job.

I say, the best product would be one that combines the two principles — a knife edge to do the clean job that only a knife can do, AND something to hold it sideways to keep it level. I hope there are inventors that get to read this and do something about it:D. The only problem with such a product, of course, is storage. But then again, there are ways around that — a) the knife blade should swivel so you can lock it into position so you can lay it flat in a drawer and b) have a case for it. Hey! I think I’ll invent this one myself, with a bit of help from mechanical-engineer hubby. And if you ever see this product floating around the shelves at your local baking equipment shop, remember, you saw it here first!

Amazon’s got 3 different ones — one from Scandia, and two from Wilton.