Cake Cutting Made Easy: A Guide to the Best Knives and Tools

When the time comes to cut the birthday cake or even a wedding cake, do you just reach for the first knife available, or do you have a specific knife that you cut cake with in your household? Not many folks actually know this, but cutting cake requires different kinds of knives than we use in some of our regular everyday kitchen tasks and these knives can either have serrated or non-serrated blades.

For cakes that are less dense and have a harder outside and softer inside, a serrated knife is your best bet. Meanwhile, if you have a cake that doesn’t have any texture differences when comparing the inside and outside, then you would use a non-serrated knife.

Knowing which kind of knife to use for specific types of cake is important, but it’s also just as critical to know how to use the knife to achieve clean and even slices of cake. For example, in between the cutting of each slice, it’s recommended to wipe down the knife with a warm, slightly wet cloth. Plus when you’re slicing a frosted cake, this is best done when the cake is cold.

Now that we’ve gotten this component of cake knives out of the way, let’s get more specific and break down the perfect knife for slicing the perfect slice of cake, no matter what kind it is.

The Best Knife for Cheesecake

When you’re cutting into a cheesecake, you want a non-serrated blade, preferably on a knife with a sharp and thin blade, or a knife that has a hollow edge. This is because this type of knife significantly cuts back on drag. As advised above, clean the knife between cuts, making sure that any little bits of cheesecake left behind on it are completely cleared away.

The Best Knife for Meringue-Based Cakes

Meringue-based cakes often have a crunchy texture and are layered with buttercream or a whipped cream frosting, so you’re going to want to cut it with a serrated knife. This is because the teeth of the knife working in a slow sawing motion is the most efficient way to cut into a cake like this with minimal mess, as long as it is properly cleaned between slices.

The Best Knife for Soft-Crumb Cakes

Cakes such as pound cake, layered cakes, and any other kind of cake that has soft crumbs are best cut with a non-serrated slicing knife that has a sharp, thin blade. This is because these types of cake are more delicate, so they need a gentler touch in order to achieve a clean slice of cake without dragging crumbs up into your frosting. Just make sure it’s wiped clean in between slices for the best results.

The Best Knife for an Angel Food Cake

For light cakes such as angel food cake, you want to use a more specific cake slicer such as an angel food cake cutter, which has tines like a fork. This works by gently sinking the cutter into the cake with a slight wiggling motion. For cakes like this, you want to use this kind of slicer because a normal knife will smash the cake as you are cutting it, leading to a concave and rather messy cake. It’s also recommended to clean this kind of cutter between slices as well for best results.

So now that we know what kinds of knives are the best for each kind of cake, we’re going to list off our top picks for the best cake cutting knives that you can find on amazon.com specifically, but knives like these may also sometimes be found at specialty stores and some big-box stores as well. We’ve also included some interesting tools that can be used for the job that you may have never heard of before, giving you a total of five of our top choices for knives and tools for cake cutting.

10-12 Inch Stainless Steel Cake Knife with Plastic Handle

This is a serrated blade knife that is great for slicing cake as well as bread, making it a great multi tool to have around.

Feishiong 13 Inch Cake Cutter Wire Cake Slicer Non-Toxic Stainless Steel Cake Leveler

This isn’t necessarily a knife, and we didn’t cover anything like this in the above text, but this tool is a great idea if you’re one that may use dental floss to slice your cakes. Not only can it cut smooth, even slices of some of the most delicate cakes, it can also cut beautifully clean slices of bread and even be adjusted to cut cake layers with ease!

Ultimate Cake Knife Set including Professional 14 inch Stainless Steel Serrated And Non-Serrated Cake Knives – By Bakehouse Trading Co.

Get the best of both knives with this set that includes both a 14 inch serrated and non-serrated knife. Made of solid steel and both razor-sharp, you’re guaranteed clean, even slices no matter what kind of cake you’re cutting with either of these knives in this premium set.

Professional Pie Server Set – 100 Percent Stainless Steel – Set Includes Cutting Spatula with Serving Knife – Perfect for Serving Cake, Pizza, Pies, Dessert, Lasagna, and More – Black Handle

This is a serrated-edge blade perfect for cutting those cakes with more solid outsides and tender insides, and it even comes with a triangular server to slide up under the slice of cake and remove it from the serving plate with less mess than trying to do so with a fork or other apparatus.

CREPUSCOLO Cake Slicer, 2 Pairs Adjustable 5 Cake Layers, Leveler, Slicer for Bread, Toast, Cake, Kitchen Fixator Tool

Although this isn’t a knife specifically, we wanted to include this because this tool is one that is extremely handy and incredibly easy to use when it comes to slicing a cake into layers when preparing and frosting it. You get two pairs of this tool when you order, and to use them you simply position your knife in between the two tools, securing them in the tools themselves, and you’re given a perfectly level knife that you can slowly work through the cake without trying to bend your wrists at odd angles.

We hope that this overview of the best knives and tools to slice certain kinds of cake has been a helpful guide and that you’re able to find the perfect cake slicing knife or tool to suit your needs.