I Used to Hate Making Layer Cakes, but This Pro-Approved Tool Changed My Mind

When I began my baking and pastry career, I hated making layer cakes. They were never my thing, and so when I was at The Culinary Institute of America I never really focused my full attention on them (which my grades reflected).

It wasn't until post-grad, when I decided to make a career switch to journalism, that I gave layer cakes a real chance. One day, I got the urge to make the richest, fluffiest chocolate cake I could imagine. Since I didn't devote much energy on cakes in school (don't be like me, soak up as much as you can) the only thing I was completely confident in was that I absolutely needed the Ateco revolving cake stand.

To buy: Ateco Revolving Cake Stand, $62 (originally $67) at amazon.com

This turntable makes cake trimming, layering, crumb coating, and icing so much easier. Even when I struggled slicing through the softest cakes in school, or trying to get the smoothest layers of icing imaginable, I would have struggled even more without this turntable.

It's taller than most cake turntables, standing roughly 5 inches. The stand is built with a very sturdy, heavy iron base which is key for layer cakes. The last thing you need is for the turntable to move around while you're working,disrupting detail work or shifting the cake layers as you ice.

Atop the base sits a smooth detachable aluminum top. The surface is big enough to ice a variety of cake sizes, since it's a foot in diameter. The removeable turntable makes it really easy to clean as well.

It glides quickly with just a small push, and there's no skipping or wobbling at all. The stand comes with a reusable rubber non-slip pad that you can place between the cake and the turntable so the base doesn't slide around, though I find that I don't usually need it.

Shoppers and pastry chef's alike love the Ateco stand, which has over 2,600 five-star ratings. "I am a pastry chef myself and have been using these for almost seven years. The only reason I bought a new one was because I relocated and couldn't bring it along. Great durable product and best quality," one person wrote.

"This is the one. I knew it was going to be a good product but I didn't expect it to be this good. It doesn't just spin. It glides effortlessly. My only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner. It feels like it will last a lifetime," another reviewer said.

As soon as I got this cake turntable in my hands, it opened a whole new door to my relationship with baking. I found a new love for layer cakes, and it reinvigorated my love for food, motivating me to graduate with my bachelor's degree in journalism and eventually land myself here. While I can't guarantee the Ateco revolving cake stand will also change your life, I can tell you that it will surely make any layer cake-making incredibly easier. Snap it up now on Amazon ahead of the holiday baking season.

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