Subscribe to thisRose’s Heavenly Cake Strip
I’m thrilled to report that after working extensively with the wonderful silicone bakeware of Lékué I have come to understand the advantages of its properties so well I was inspired to create my first silicone product—a silicone cake strip! It works like a charm and it’s everything I wanted it to be.
The strip fits a 9 inch round or 8 inch square pan. It is quick and easy to attach—NO PREPPING—You simply turn the pan upside down and slip it around the sides. It then works to insulate the sides of a metal cake pan, slowing down baking at the sides of the cake. You can even use it for a 10 inch round pan if you run the strip under hot tap water or wave a hair drier over it to make stretching it easier for the larger size pan. it will return to it's original size on cooling.
It produces better cakes:
* more even
* less doming
* less shrinking from sides
* less browning and drying of sides
Other advantages:
* it stays like new for years
* is dishwasher safe
* is oven safe up to 500°F/260°C.
(Do not subject to direct heat such as a flame or broiler)
Harold Import Company is the distributor for the cake strip. It will be in retail stores by Fall and I will list an on-line order site as soon as it’s available.
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Comments
This is great! (And I love the idea of "NO PREPPING"!) Thank you, Rose!
Posted by: Theresa | July 25, 2007 12:23 PM #
Can't wait!! My cake strips are too old and tired and require too much prep. You have my order as soon as they're available. Thanks for all you do!
Posted by: Kimberlie Robert | July 25, 2007 2:20 PM #
Thank you Rose! This is absolutely fabulous. I hope shipping to Canada will be available. Otherwise I may have to drive across the border.
Rozanne
Posted by: Rozanne | July 25, 2007 3:56 PM #
Rose, you are going to have huge backorders for this one! It is such clever design, and we are so glad you are the first to introduce it. I no longer have to destroy silicone pans just to keep the strips!
In my opinion, the Rose's Heavenly Cake Strip is such original that it will mark history the same way TCB has done!
What a simple concept, but beautifully done, with the Rose stamp and all!
Posted by: Hector | July 25, 2007 4:05 PM #
hey y'all: hector guessed this idea several months ago and was kind enough to keep it a secret when i told him it was already in the planning stages!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | July 25, 2007 4:07 PM #
Your second silicone product should be a wrist bracelet, the ones that everyone wore the past couple years. I use them to keep my silpats rolled and tucked away!
Posted by: Hector | July 25, 2007 6:05 PM #
honestly sometimes i think you're psychic! when i was at the fancy food show i wore my silicone strip around my neck and my friend ariane daquin or d'artagnon gave me a silicone bracelet that reads "carnivore"!!!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | July 25, 2007 6:11 PM #
Oh Rose. how ingenious! I hope the online order delivers to M'sia! What can be better than products dreamed up by a meticulous baker like you!
Posted by: Elicia | July 25, 2007 9:41 PM #
Excellent idea Rose - I can't wait for them to be available in more sizes!
Posted by: Patrincia | July 26, 2007 2:13 AM #
Oh, how excellent! I hope they'll be sold somewhere that ships internationally, too - I'd love to have one.
Posted by: Anne | July 26, 2007 3:41 PM #
I'd never heard of these till I found this site but I'd certainly be interested in using them if I can find them. Otherwise I will try making my own following your instructions which I've noted to see what effect it has on my cakes. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of your book which I ordered last weekend.
Posted by: Jeannette | July 26, 2007 4:22 PM #
Ooh, I need several of these. Cool!
What about 8-inch round cake pans? Will it slip off?
Posted by: Michaela | July 26, 2007 11:15 PM #
you can pinch it together with one of those metal paper clamps for an 8 inch round pan!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | July 27, 2007 10:39 AM #
Can't wait!
Posted by: Zach Townsend | July 27, 2007 11:13 AM #
Please make different sizes! This would make such a huge difference for square cakes!! Especially the larger sizes...
Thank you for everything you do to make baking such a pleasure! You're simply the best! :)
Posted by: Jeanne | July 30, 2007 10:49 AM #
What a great idea! I've used the magic pan cake strips for years but they get really ratty after a while. I will definitely buy some when they are available.
Posted by: Michele in Maine | July 31, 2007 9:40 AM #
OH YAY! Rose, this is the best - but everything you touch sparkles with creativity. I can't wait. Think I will make a mobile of them hanging from the ceiling just to make me happy when not in use! joan
Posted by: Joan | July 31, 2007 10:14 PM #
i deeply appreciate your enthusiasm. i actually wore it around my neck at the food show! (ariane daquin of d'artagnon gave me her little silicone wrist band that says "carnivore" on it!
funny thing--when i designed my mercury thermometers i thought a great display would be a mobile resembling rain drops but realized if there were a big breeze they could break and rain mercury!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 1, 2007 8:07 AM #
My brain is starting to work again (after the big cake day), so I have started to work on 2 things: bake the flaky pie crust on your pie plate and guess what will be the next Rose Levy Bakeware's item!
Posted by: Hector | August 1, 2007 1:41 PM #
oh--so you were able to get the decaled version?! i think the phrase "you take the cake" was invented with you in mind!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 1, 2007 1:46 PM #
love this blog. I read it during lunch break each day. Love comments from Hector & Patricia. Am anxious to purchase the cake strip as I am not overly fond of the other ones I have. May I suggest that the next Rose bakeware should be just that. High quality cake pans with handles and loose bottoms would be wonderful. I buy most of my bakeware from Chicago Metallic but no handles and All Clad is too expensive. I have all Rose's cookbooks & use them for all my baking. Can't wait to see the new cake cookbook. Best wishes from the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Posted by: Patricia Simonds | August 10, 2007 1:16 PM #
Hi there Patricia (Great Name) - Looking forward to you posting more in the future!
FYI - I love All-clad cookware, but I have a friend who purchased some of the All-clad bakeware and I think it's safe to say she wouldn't recommend it - the gold colored non-stick coating started peeling right away. She purchased them when they first became available, so maybe they have improved since that time, I don't know...
Posted by: Patrincia | August 10, 2007 2:25 PM #
Hi Rose,
Please, for those of us who bake wedding cakes, therefore using larger pans, please make some larger sizes: 10,12,14,16. These are the cakes that definitely need insulation.
Regards,
Ruth Cave
Grand Finales
New London,NH
Posted by: Ruth Cave | August 12, 2007 6:01 AM #
please note that the ones for the 9 inch also work perfectly on 10 inch if run under hot tap water.
if they do well, i'm sure my distributor will be willing to do larger sizes!
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 12, 2007 8:39 AM #
I have found that when baking cakes from scratch, as we call it here in the mountains, I experience little of the doming that occurs when baking cakes from a mix, etc. I haven't used any of Rose's mixes so am not sure how they would perform in the oven. Only problem I have is in the layers not being perfectly level because I bake three layers on the same oven rack. I have always been afraid to open the oven door to turn the pans around. When I stack the layers, I just pay attention to the high/low sides and match the layers so that my cake is straight. This method works but being the perfectionist I am, would prefer the layers be even! As I am sure most people do, I always wanted something I could excell at and baking is my thing. I love it and do a lot of baking and making candy to sell to benefit cancer victims. It makes me feel good to know I can help other people even if I do not know them! To all of you out there in blog land, have a wonderful day. Pat
Posted by: Patricia Simonds | August 23, 2007 12:04 PM #
Pat - is "here in the mountains" in a high altitude location? I'm sure you've made all the necessary high altitude changes suggested if is.
Don't be too afraid to open your oven during baking. Just be gentle with you cake pans and don't slam the oven door closed.
I like my cakes to look nice and even too. If any of my cake layers come out of the oven with a slight dome, I simply cool them upside-down on a rack and they usually "settle" nice and even. If not, I simply cut the domed part off (the kids love the scraps). I know you can fudge how even the cake looks on the outside, but you can never fudge how even the layers look when you slice into that cake. :)
Happy Baking!
PS - baking strip make all the difference in the world.
Posted by: Patrincia | August 23, 2007 12:18 PM #
Patricia, when you cool your cake layers upside down, don't they crack if they are slightly domed?
Rozanne
Posted by: Rozanne | August 23, 2007 2:25 PM #
Hi Rozanne - No, I've never had one crack. I suppose they might if the dome was very tall, but I only do it if the cake is slightly domed - like the one pictured at the top of this thread (or a even a little bit more).
Posted by: Patrincia | August 23, 2007 6:46 PM #
Rozanne, your concern is valid and it has happened to me when the dome is BIG or when the cake type is delicate. There is a simple way to prevent this. Line your pans with parchment! The parchment will stay attached to your cake, so it will prevent cracking when you flip it out.
Posted by: Hector | August 23, 2007 10:51 PM #
Good point Hector. I use parchment too, maybe that does help keep the cakes from cracking? I remove my parchment right away, while my cakes are still hot. I guess I should have mentioned that I do this with sturdy butter cakes, not more delicate types.
Posted by: Patrincia | August 23, 2007 11:34 PM #
I find that it is mostly the impact from dropping the cake upside down on its dome which causes the crack. Once the cake is upside down and already dropped out of the pan, then you can safely remove the parchment even right away. If you want to be absolutely safe, wait about 5 to 10 minutes before removing the parchment on butter cakes, I don't think there will be much harm.
Posted by: Hector | August 24, 2007 2:04 AM #
Thank you Patricia and Hector. I always wondered what would happen if I tried turning the cake upside down but was too afraid to try. I guess I'll try it the next time. My cakes don't have a big dome anyway so it should be fine. Of course you only have to worry about it if it is a butter cake b/c a genoise or biscuit is always flat on top as there are no leavening agents.
Patricia, today I was thinking about what you wrote about your son's b'day menu request. My kids decided they wanted cake with chocolate buttercream today. Fortunately I had a 6" genoise in the fridge. I didn't have chocolate buttercream though so I ended up mixing mousseline buttercream with ganache and frosted the cake with it. It tasted really good. My kids are so spoiled when it comes to food, but I encourage it. By the way do you have daughters?
Rozanne
Posted by: Rozanne | August 24, 2007 10:05 PM #
Hi Hector - I place my cooling rack upside down ontop of my cake pan and then hold the pan and rack together as I flip them both upside-down. My cakes don't fall too far that way.
Hi Rozanne - Yes, our 2 youngest are daughters, and we also have 2 sons - the oldest of which just left for college today. Half of me was ready to see him go, but the other half was really sad :(. I already miss him - he says he won't be home any time soon, but I'm sure he'll be ready for some good home cooked meals in a week or two - at least I hope he will!
Your kids sure know how to request a good cake don't they? Our youngest will be turning 10 in about a month. She hasn't decided what she'd like for her birthday dinner yet, but the cake is a different story... about a month ago she submitted a drawing, complete with color preferences and accessory placement! :)
Posted by: Patrincia | August 24, 2007 11:15 PM #
Patricia, don't worry your son will definitely be back SOON for home cooked meals. Sounds like your daughter knows exactly what she wants in terms of her cake.
Rozanne
Posted by: Rozanne | August 25, 2007 4:08 PM #
Rose, have ever given it a thought to make cake strips for a 9x13-inch pan? Also, 8 and 9-inch square pans? Just a thought.
Posted by: Judy | September 5, 2007 4:12 PM #
the ones i've started with will work with an 8 inch square. if they sell well we will surely do other sizes too.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 5, 2007 6:10 PM #
Hello Rose,
Like others in Australia and New Zealand who have posted, I have never seen any type of baking strips here sadly! Can't wait 'til I can get some "Rose Silicons!" online one day (please!! let us know when you do of stores who ship internationally ) but whilst I am waiting I was going to try making my own as you suggested on another thread. One silly question about using the strips (which applies to both types!): Do you need to have them covering the depth of the sides completely (e.g. if you have a tin with 3 inch high sides, do you need 2 x 1.5 inch strips) or do you just put the strip close to the bottom/middle/top of the pan?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
Posted by: Cate | September 11, 2007 6:51 PM #
Cate,
I use cake strips all the time, too, for layer cakes. The cloth strips that are available now are about 1/4" smaller than the height of the pan, so it's not necessary if you're making your own to make it exactly the height of the pan, but you should come close (I wouldn't go less than 1/4"). Place the strip centered from the top and bottom of the pan once you get it in place.
Zach
Posted by: Zach Townsend | September 11, 2007 7:27 PM #
...I mean I wouldn't go MORE than 1/4" in size difference between pan height and width of the strip you're making.
Posted by: Zach Townsend | September 11, 2007 7:28 PM #
Hi Cate - when making your own strips it important to remember that the strips are meant to keep the cake pan walls cool enough that the cake batter that is touching the walls doesn't cook and set too quickly. If your stips are too short, they won't be effective, so make sure they are tall enough to protect that rising batter.
Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 9:52 PM #
Thanks so much Zach and Patrincia :)
I will definitely follow your advice as I make my own strips whilst I try to wait patiently for an online retailer to put us poor deprived Aussie's out of our misery and sell us some of Rose's amazing ones!!)
Posted by: Cate | September 12, 2007 12:54 AM #
I just have to report that the old and trusted 9x2 inches round cake pans made by Magic Line, differ in construction by as much as 60 grams. I have 3, all Magic Line, one is which considerably more lightweight. I haven't measured the outside diameter, but I think it can be an issue for cake strips.
Posted by: Hector | May 7, 2008 6:40 PM #
shouldn't be a problem. they expand and if too large can be clamped smaller with a metal clamp.
Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 17, 2008 3:20 PM #