Office cakes 101: The best way to cut a cake
The best way to cut a cake seems a little simple right? But anyone who's watched their colleague pick up a butter knife and hack at a glorious celebration cakes knows the true horror. Worse still, when the birthday person clearly isn't cutting enough slices for the group, or overdoes it on the first slice, leaving you with a slither. Fuming. One slicing method doesn't fit all and depending on the number of people sharing, different methods can actually help your cake go even further. Better still if you have that 'small piece' at the start, then you have the perfect excuse for seconds... or thirds.
Cake cutting tools
That dodgy knife in the draw that no-one is too sure where it came from won't cut it. Neither will a plastic picnic knife. Research has shown, and yes people research this, that a small serrated knife like the one you use for tomatoes is the best way to cut a cake. The serrated edges act as a saw giving you a clean cut. Although every wedding film would lead you to believe a big straight carving knife pressed down is the right way, you are far more likely to squish the cake, have uneven slices and get crumbs everywhere. Use a small serrated knife or in second place a bread knife. *TOP TIP: If you want a cake that's ready for the 'gram, rinse your knife under hot water and then dry it between each cut. You'll get much cleaner slices.
Classic triangle vs the column
Cutting sponges... it's a piece of cake. Sorry, we couldn't resist. However, the classic wheel shape isn't always right dependant on how many people you are feeding and whether or not you plan to finish it in one sitting. We've created a diagram below, but here is the gist of things.
How to cut 8 to 10 servings of cake: go for the classic triangle cuts.
For 8 servings, first cut down the centre of the cake leaving two equal halves, then one horizontal cut, followed by two diagonal cuts. For 10, first, imagine a pentagram (5-pointed star) on top of the cake. Cut from each point of the star to the centre of the cake, leaving you with 5 slices. Half each of these and you have 10.
How to cut 11 plus servings of cake, use the column cutting method
This cake cutting method has been around for over 100 years but it caused quite the stir on Instagram a couple of years back. In this case, we'll show not tell.
Adapt the number of cuts based on how many people you are serving (check out our diagram below). What's great about this method is by cutting the cake in half first, should you have any leftovers you just push the two slices back together before sealing. This helps to stop it from drying out. On the other hand, you could just grab a fork and get going...
