The Cake Cutting Hack That Has TikTok Buzzing

Cutting a cake can be a frustrating endeavor. The results are either messy with frosting and bits of cake going everywhere, off center, or all different-sized slices. However, a user on TikTok has found a smooth, easy way to cut cake that will prevent the mess and uneven slices.

Janette Ok, who goes by the username @inmyseams posted a video on TikTok of cake being cut using a long piece of string. Set to a fun soundtrack of "The Hustle" by Van McCoy, you can watch as the cake is cut, first in half, then quarters, and so on, with no mess.

To pull off this hack, take a long piece of string or thread and hold it taut across the top of the cake. Using your thumbs to keep the string taut, bring the string down into the middle of the cake, pulling it back and forth in a sawing motion, cutting it in half. Move the string perpendicular to the first cut, and do the same thing, cutting the cake into quarters. Continue doing this until you have the number of slices you need.

There are multiple advantages of this method of cutting, and not just for cake. Good Housekeeping tested many common kitchen hacks, awarding this one a check for being useful. By using the string, you avoid squishing the cake. If the cake has any kind of filling, using a knife causes the filling to spill out the sides of the slices, which the string avoids by making clean cuts.

In addition to using it for cake, this method works well for baking cinnamon rolls. Cut the dough into rolls using the string method. The reason the string is a better method is that much like the cake, the knife squishes the roll, causing the contents to spill out before you bake it.

They also recommend this method for goat cheese, because the cheese sticks to the knife, and the string goes right through it.

Basically, this method works for any soft food that is easily squished or messy to cut. Using string is easier and cleaner, and you can just throw the string away when you're done, leaving you with your food neatly sliced, and no clean up.