No More Mess — Cakes Are 10x Easier To Cut With This Butter Trick

There's nothing more stressful than spending hours baking and decorating a stunning cake, only to struggle getting that perfect slice. Well, unsightly frosting smudges and crumbly edges are a thing of the past, thanks to an unexpected trick. Next time you bake a cake, hold on to the wrappers from your stick of butter instead of tossing them in the trash; they'll help you get perfect slices every time.

When you're ready to serve your baked confection, simply warm up a knife by running it under hot water for a few seconds and then dry it with a clean towel. Then take out your butter wrappers and rub the buttery side on your knife. Here's where the magic happens. The heat from the knife melts the residual butter from the wrapper, evenly coating the blade and creating a slick surface. Just as greasing a baking pan with butter wrappers makes it easier to remove your cake from the pan, they should make slicing through your cake effortless too. The butter keeps crumbs from sticking to the blade and glides through the layers of cake and frosting with help from the hot knife.

This trick utilizes the residual butter left behind on the wrappers so it's key to use ones that are room temperature, not straight out of the fridge. Ideally, the butter would be room temperature too when the wrapper was removed; refrigerated butter leaves behind significantly less butter, making this trick less effective. You'll also want to ensure your knife is hot enough to melt the butter. Test the temperature of the water before running it over your knife, and when in doubt, keep the knife under longer so it reaches optimal warmth. 

To save your butter wrappers for later use, simply fold the wrapper in half, buttered side facing inwards, then store it in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. Just make sure to pull your wrappers out of the fridge to come to room temperature before you use them — it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. For those who go through a lot of butter, you can even keep the wrappers in the freezer for longer term storage. Just be sure to follow safety recommendations for maximizing freshness when storing your butter.