Chocolate Cake with Whipped Ganache Frosting

Professional cake makers have a little secret up their sleeves that they don't want you to know about. Next time you're enjoying a piece of wedding cake and wondering how the baker achieves such perfectly uniform layers of cake, here is one possible answer: the cake layers are actually punched out from single sheets of cake. Some layers may even be pieced together from the scraps left over from punching out other circles or squares.

I love this method because it calls for pans that you already have and which can be used for a million different things. It only takes a tiny application of butter to hold down a single piece of parchment, and as long as you spread the batter evenly, the three layers will all be of uniform thickness and flatness, no leveling required. The baking and turning process becomes a cinch with a single pan to watch, and, when it comes time to decorate, you can skip the leveling process that is usually required for round cakes because sheets of cake barely dome on top at all.

If you're a baker who hates fussing with cake layers, or who hates having tons of different pans around to accommodate different sizes (like me!), then this is a great method to know. Consider the time and money saved on buying tons of pans of different sizes, on cutting out rounds of parchment, greasing each pan, divvying up the batter with a scale to get uniform amounts in each, and fretting over rotating the pans in the oven so that each layer cooks evenly and at the same rate. It really adds up.

Have I sold you yet? Great! Let's go through the process step-by-step.

Prepare the Pan

Using a small pat of butter, smear a trail around the perimeter of the bottom of a sheet tray, then smear an X through the center. This will help hold the parchment in place.

Cut Your Stencil, Place the Parchment

For the first step, cut a stencil in the size and shape of your desired cake, then trace it onto parchment that has been trimmed to sit flat in the pan. Make sure that you will have enough cake to accomplish the task—depending on the size, you may need to increase the recipe and bake a second sheet or half sheet. Place the parchment on top of the buttered pan with the drawing side down, and pull it around until it is laying flat and in place. Press it all over—the butter will hold it firmly in place.

Spread the Batter

Using a large, flat offset spatula, spread the cake batter evenly over the surface of the parchment. Rotating the pan as you work will help make this job easier.

Test the Depth

To make sure that the batter is evenly spread, sink the tip of the spatula into the batter at each of the four corners to see how deep the batter is at each spot. Adjust as needed.

Even Out the Sides

Once the batter is of an even thickness, run a finger around the edge of the pan in quick, easy strokes, scraping the sides clean. The batter will run back into the sides, and this will help ensure that you don't have burnt edges that stick to the sides of the pan.

Bake and Test for Doneness

Here are two very important tips to remember when using this method:

• Be sure to start with a template that you will use to cut the layers, and be sure that you'll have enough cake to make the completed cake or cakes that you desire. I like to trace the layers onto the parchment liner before I apply it, just to be sure.
• For greater stability, it's a good idea to make the middle layer of the cake the one that gets pieced together—never the bottom layer, and only the top if you're not going to build tiers on top of it.