| How to Cut a Round Cake Posted: 11 Sep 2020 01:00 AM PDT Round cakes are tasty treats that, at times, can be difficult to cut into enough pieces to serve everyone. In addition to the typical method of cutting a round cake into triangle-like slices, round cakes can also be cut into small square pieces, smaller triangle slices, and even long, thin strips. One method was even designed by a scientist to ensure every piece of cake is fresh and moist. [Edit]Slicing Into Even Triangles - Select a knife that's big enough to cut across the entire round cake. For example, if the diameter of your round cake is , your knife should be at least that long. If you're unable to find a knife as long as the diameter of your cake, choose one that's as long as possible.[1]
- If your knife isn't as long as the diameter of your cake, you'll need to slide the knife along the top of the cake in order to make a complete line in the frosting.
- Soak your knife in warm water before using it to cut your cake. Fill a tall glass with warm tap water. Place your knife inside the water and lean it against the edge of the glass. Leave your knife in the water until you're ready to cut your cake. When you're ready to cut the cake, take the knife out of the glass and wipe the water off with a tea towel.[2]
- You'll need to make sure your glass is tall enough to hold the knife you're using.
- Use your knife to score a line through the middle of the cake. Hold your knife above the cake with both hands. Hold the handle with your dominant hand and the tip of the knife with your non-dominant hand's fingertips. Place your knife across the entire cake, going through the middle of the cake. Use a rocking motion with the knife, from the tip to the handle, to score a straight line across the cake.[3]
- Press into the frosting to score the line, only until you read the first layer of cake. Do not cut into the cake itself.
- Score a second line at a 70-degree angle to the first line. Start the second line from the middle of the first line. Move your knife so that the second line is at a 70-degree angle to the first line, which should create a piece that is about 1/3 of that half of the cake, or 1/6 of the entire cake.[4]
- The first 2 lines have now divided the cake into 3 pieces.
- Created a third line through the middle of the smaller triangle. One half of your cake will look like it's made of 2 triangles, one larger than the other. The third score line should divide that smaller triangle exactly in half, from the middle.[5]
- The first 3 lines have now divided the cake into 4 pieces.
- The 2 smallest pieces will be the size of all the final pieces.
- Score 2 more lines to divide the larger triangle into 3 pieces. The next 2 score lines will divide the larger triangle piece into 3 even sections. From a technical perspective, each of the 5 resulting triangle pieces should have an approximate 36-degree angle.[6]
- This entire process is based on estimating the size of the slices, but you're aiming to make all the pieces equal in size.
- Use your knife to extend the 4 half-lines across the cake. One half of the cake is now scored into 5 pieces. Only 1 of the lines scored so far goes across the entire diameter of the cake. Four of the lines scored so far only go halfway across the cake. Use your knife to extend those 4 half-lines so they go across the entire diameter of the cake.[7]
- The final result of this process will divide the round cake into 10 even pieces.
- If you have more than 10 people to serve, you can cut each of the 10 pieces in half to produce 20 even pieces.
- Cut your cake along each of the score lines to create 10 even pieces. Dip your knife in the warm water and wipe it off with a tea towel in-between each cut you make in the cake. Use your knife and cut through the entire cake following the score marks you've made. Cut from the middle point of the cake for each slice.[8]
- Pull the knife out of the bottom of the cake slowly.
- Scoop up each piece of cake with an offset spatula after it's cut, or wait to start handing out cake pieces once the entire cake is cut.
[Edit]Cutting into Small Squares - Warm your knife in water before you start to cut the cake. Put your knife into a glass or container filled with warm tap water. Leave it in the container until you need it to slice the cake. Whenever you take the knife out of the water, wipe it off on a tea towel.[9]
- Make sure the glass or container you use is tall enough for the knife you've chosen to use.
- Slice the round cake into long, thin strips. Each strip should be about wide. Once you've sliced off a strip of cake, lay it flat onto a cutting board or plate. Remember to warm your knife between each large slice.[10]
- If you don't need as many pieces of cake, you can make the strips larger/wider.
- Cut the long slice into strips. Once the longer slice is laying flat on a cutting board, use your knife to cut it into strips. The end result will be a piece of cake that's thick and wide, with a length that's equal to the height of the cake.[11]
- You don't need to warm the knife in water to cut these small strips.
- You can also cut the flat slice into strips longer than if you'd like.
[Edit]Cutting Inner and Outer Sections - Heat up your knife in warm water before you begin. Allow your knife to sit in a glass of warm tap water before you begin slicing the cake. Wipe the excess water off the knife with a tea towel when you take it out of the water. Re-warm the knife between each major cut in the cake.[12]
- The warmed metal will cut through the cake quicker and easier than a cold knife.
- Cut a circle in your cake, from the edge. Slide your knife into the cake vertically in a spot that's approximately from the edge. Keep the knife vertical and cut a circle in the middle of the cake that stays from the edge all the way around. Essentially, you're creating a new round cake in the middle of your existing round cake.[13]
- This method will only work for cakes that are in diameter or larger. Smaller cakes should be cut into the typical triangle pieces.
- The end result will be an outer ring-shaped cake and an inner round cake.
- Cut the ring-shaped outer cake into wide pieces. Re-warm and dry the knife before proceeding. Use the knife to cut the outer, ring-shaped cake into individual pieces that are about wide. For an cake, this will result in 21 pieces of the same shape and size.[14]
- For cakes larger than , you can either keep the same slice width of , which will result in more than 21 pieces, or you can increase the width of each slice in order to still create about 21 pieces.
- Slice the smaller round inner cake into triangles pieces. Once the 21 outer slices of cake have been removed, you have a new, but smaller, round cake to cut. Start but cutting the inner round cake in half, through the middle. Then cut the cake in half again, at a 90-degree angle to the first cut. Depending on the size of the inner cake and the number of slices you need, you can either cut each quarter section in half (which will give you 8 slices, or you can cut each quarter section into thirds, which will give you 12 pieces.[15]
- For example, if the entire cake was in diameter, you'll have a mini-round cake left in the middle.
- Don't forget to rewarm and dry your knife before you start cutting the inner cake. However, you won't need to rewarm between cuts.
[Edit]Making Precise Cuts to Store Cake - Use this scientific method for cakes you plan to store. This method works best when you have a round cake that is not going to be eaten all at once, for example, at a party. If only a small portion of the cake is going to be eaten, and the rest is going to be stored in the fridge for later, this is the method that will provide you with the freshest cake day-after-day.[16]
- This method was created by a British mathematician named Sir Francis Galton and first published in the journal Nature in 1906.
- Make one cut across the entire cake, slightly off-centre. This first cut needs to go the entire diameter of the cake, but not down the exact middle of the cake. Instead, the cut needs to be off-centre because you're essentially cutting a strip out of the middle of the cake. Make this first cut about to the right of the middle of the cake.[17]
- The final piece of cake will be wide.
- If you want a larger slice of cake, cut the cake more than from the middle.
- Cut the cake again, to the left of the first cut. The second cut will create a long, thin slice or strip of cake directly through the middle of the cake. This slice of cake will be wide but will be the entire diameter of the round cake.[18]
- Again, you can cut a slice larger than wide, if you'd like.
- Use your knife to remove the thin slice from the cake. Slide your knife under the cake, just underneath the thin slice that you created with the first two cuts. Carefully lift the knife so you can remove the thin slice from the middle of the cake.[19]
- Serve and/or eat the thin slice of cake you cut out.
- You can cut this middle slice into small pieces if you'd like.
- Slide the 2 ends of the cake together and secure them. Once you've removed the middle slice of cake, use your hands (or a spatula or knife) to slide the two ends of the cake together in the middle of the cake tray. Make sure the inside sections of the cake are touching each other. Secure the two ends together.[20]
- The original method suggests securing the cake with a rubber band. However, this will only work if your cake has a harder exterior made of something like fondant (and isn't very big).
- Alternatively, you could use a ribbon, a thin piece of parchment paper, or a piece of plastic wrap to hold the two ends together.
- You could also avoid securing the cake, as simply sliding the two ends together have probably protected the inside of the cake well enough.
- Cut another slice from the middle, perpendicular to the first slice. When you're ready for another slice of cake, take it out of the fridge and cut another slice from the middle of the cake. However, this time, cut the slice at a 90-degree angle to your original slice. Then repeat the same process of sliding the ends of the cake together for overnight storage.[21]
- When storing the cake in the fridge, it's up to you if you'd like to cover the cake with a lid or plastic wrap.
- The key to this method is that the inside part of the cake, or the sponge, will stay fresh because none of it is exposed to the air.
- Repeat the process until the entire cake is eaten. Each time you want another piece of cake, repeat the same process. Each time you repeat the process, turn the cake another 90 degrees so you keep alternating the direction the slice is cut. (This will help ensure the two ends are always approximately the same size when they're slid together.)[22]
- Eventually, the pieces of cake left will be small enough to eat on their own and you won't need to continue cutting pieces from the middle.
[Edit]Things You'll Need - One or more round cakes
- Long knife
- Tall glass
- Warm water
- Tea towel
- Offset spatula
- Rectangular cutting board
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Do Weighted Push Ups Alone Posted: 10 Sep 2020 05:00 PM PDT Weighted push ups add weight to your back and shoulders, making this particular exercise even more challenging and beneficial if you're looking to gain muscle. The most important thing when doing weighted push ups by yourself is safety. While you can't stack multiple weights on your back without a spotter, that doesn't mean you can't still get in a good workout! [Edit]Choosing a Weighted Option - Strap on a weighted vest to increase the intensity level of your workouts. A weighted vest is an excellent investment that can be used in lots of different exercises, but it especially comes in handy with solo weighted push ups. If you're new to weighted push ups, get a vest that weighs somewhere between ; if you're more experienced and know what weight you can handle, you can buy a vest up to .[1]
- Some vests come with additional weights you can add on as you get stronger. Consider investing in one of these if you plan on increasing the weight over time.
- Weighted vests focus the additional load on your shoulders and upper body, which means your lower back should be safe while you work out.
- If you don't have good form and haven't mastered an unweighted push up, wait to use a weighted vest. It can injure your body if you aren't already a pro at regular push ups.
- In addition to benefiting your push-up practice, a weighted vest is great for cardio health. Try wearing it and taking a hike to get in an aggressive sweat-session.
- Use bands to challenge yourself and provide resistance during push ups. Long, thin resistance bands are easy to get in place by yourself, and there's no risk of hurting your back or shoulders from a slipping weight. Wrap the band between your first finger and thumb on each hand, so it's hooked across your palms. Position the band across your shoulders so that it's even with your elbows, and then assume your push-up position.[2]
- Make sure the band is flexible enough that you can extend your arms while the band is across your shoulders.
- As you get stronger, switch to tauter bands for even more resistance.
- If you're traveling, bands are a great option to bring along with you. They're lightweight, but they can do a lot to help you get in a great workout.
- Wear a backpack filled with water jugs for a makeshift weighted push up. Use a backpack with chest and shoulder straps so you can safely secure it around your body. Fill the backpack with as much weight as you want, then add towels to the empty space to keep the jugs from slipping around. Make sure to pack the backpack tightly with towels so the jugs stay balanced.[3]
- This method is fantastic if you're at home without any special workout equipment.
- Water jugs or bottles make it easy to adjust how much weight you're lifting. Use a jug for the main source of weight and add additional pounds with water bottles if you want to.
- Make sure to position the backpack up on your shoulders so that it doesn't strain your lower back.
- Slide a weight around your back, balance it, and assume a push-up stance. For this method, use a round, flat barbell weight rather than dumbbells or hand weights. If you can't lift the weight by hand, choose another method. Kneel on the ground and carefully grasp the weight behind your back. Balance it across your shoulders as you bend over, release one hand down to the floor, and then carefully get into position. Do your push ups while the weight balanced across your shoulders.[4]
- When you're done with the push ups, put your knees back on the ground, reach up with one hand to balance the weight, then carefully raise your chest and grasp the other side of the weight before moving it to the ground.
- This option is riskier because you're working with a heavy weight by yourself.
- You can generally only do this option on your own when using a single weight. It would be tough and potentially dangerous to load 2 or more weights on your back by yourself.
[Edit]Performing a Safe Weighted Push Up - Lower yourself onto your knees on an exercise mat. Depending on which method you're using to do a weighted push up, get your weighted vest, band, backpack, or barbell weight in position. Make sure you have whatever you need to start exercising.[5]
- The exercise mat provides a little bit of cushioning for your knees and can be used in many other exercises.
- If you don't have an exercise mat, use knee pads or even a pillow.
- Get down on the ground and place your hands shoulder-width apart. Position your hands so they're palm-down next to your shoulders. Make sure your weighted option is positioned across your shoulders and isn't putting a strain on your lower back.[6]
- If you decide the weight is too much, reduce it before you begin your push ups.
- Set your feet about shoulder-width apart and put your toes on the ground. Position your feet so the backs of your heels point toward the ceiling. At the most, set your feet apart. The closer together you put your feet, the more challenging your push up will be.[7]
- A great exercise to help get your body ready for push ups is the plank.
- Push your body up off the ground while keeping your back straight. From your shoulders to your heels, keep your body in a straight line. Extend your arms as if you're pushing the ground away from your body.[8]
- Focus on using your core muscles and thighs to help stabilize your body. You have extra weight on your shoulders, so you'll need to activate those muscles even more to keep your body straight.
- Don't let your hips sink down or come up too high. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your toes.[9]
- If you experience lower back pain, elbow or wrist pain, or heavily shaking arms, you may be using too much weight. You should be able to do 8-10 reps without experiencing pain, though you should definitely feel a burn in your muscles.
- Lower your body back to the ground while maintaining a straight line. Either keep your elbows tucked next to your side to work your triceps, or bend them out away from your body to work your pectoral muscles. If you want, bring your body back to the ground before doing another push up. Or, you could lower yourself so that your face is about level with your elbows before resuming your set.[10]
- Try touching something to the floor, like your nose, chest, or forehead.[11]
- If you feel like your form is about to break, go ahead and gently lower yourself to the ground and rest for a few beats. It's better to go slow and be careful than to risk injuring yourself.
- If you can, try to pause for 2-3 seconds before pushing yourself back up. This extended hold works your core and can add a lot to your muscle gain.
- If you're having trouble raising back up, find something higher to put your hands on, like a coffee table or a bench.[12]
- If pushups hurt your wrists, try pushup bars or even a pair of dumbbells to release the pressure on your joints.[13]
- Always focus on your form rather than speed when doing weighted push ups. [14]
[Edit]Warnings - If you're new to pushups, don't jump straight into weighted ones! You could injure yourself and have to take a lot of time off before jumping back into your training.
- Avoid doing weighted push ups every single day. Your muscles need some time to rest and recover between workouts, about 48 hours, if possible.[15]
[Edit]References |
| How to Do Dirty Keto Posted: 10 Sep 2020 09:00 AM PDT The keto diet restricts how many carbs you eat so that your body enters a state called "ketosis" and burns fat. Clean keto can be tough to follow because there are strict rules about food quality and where it comes from. Dirty keto is a little easier because it allows you to eat any foods you want as long as you stick the fat to protein to carb ratio. If you want to try keto but the clean approach seems intimidating, give dirty keto a try! You may not want to do dirty keto in the long-term because it isn't super healthy, but it can be a great way to lose weight before switching to a healthier diet in the long run. [Edit]Reaching Ketosis - Limit your daily carbs to less than 50 g per day. Slashing the number of carbs you eat every day is the foundation of keto whether you're doing it clean or dirty. To stay under 50 g of carbs daily, cut starches, bread, grains, and sugars from your diet. Carbs should make up no more than 5-10% of your daily calories.[1]
- Keto is a low-carb high-fat diet. The goal of keto is to put your body into a state called "ketosis" which forces your body to use fat as its primary energy source, rather than burning carbs and sugar for energy.[2]
- Other common carbs include baked goods, sweets, pasta, breakfast cereals, starchy vegetables like potatoes, beans, most fruit, and beer.[3]
- Make sure 70-80% of your daily caloric intake comes from fats. Eating fat is important because ketosis forces your body to use fat as its main energy source. Fat basically replaces carbs as your body's fuel. Clean keto has a lot of rules about the type and quality of the fat you eat, but dirty keto is more relaxed. Pretty much any kind of fat is fair game. Meat, butter, and bacon? Yes, please![4]
- The exact number of grams you consume depends on your weight, height, gender, and activity level. Use an online keto calculator to help you figure out exactly how much you need. For example, try https://calculo.io/keto-calculator.
- Dirty keto is a little controversial because it doesn't focus on healthy food options. You'll lose weight in the short-term, but over time you might run into issues like high cholesterol.[5]
- Even if you're not strict about it, it's still best to include healthy fats in your diet, such as avocados, olive oil, and almonds.[6]
- Adjust your diet so that 10-20% of your calories come from protein. Keto isn't a high protein diet, so don't go overboard with how much protein you eat every day. Protein should only make up about 10-20% of your caloric intake. If you eat too much, your body turns the excess into sugar, which is basically a carbohydrate.[7]
- Use an online keto calculator to determine exactly how many grams of protein you need to eat every day: https://calculo.io/keto-calculator.
- For dirty keto, get most of your protein from animal sources like beef, pork, chicken, and turkey.
- Be ready for a few temporary symptoms known as the "keto flu." Keto flu isn't actually a contagious virus, don't worry. It's just the name for the group of symptoms most people experience in the first 1-2 weeks of doing keto. Nausea, fatigue, headache, foggy brain, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and constipation are the most common symptoms.[8]
- Keto flu usually passes after a week or so, so hang in there and ride it out!
- In the long-run, you may find that following a keto diet actually gives you energy and helps improve your focus.[9]
- Use blood or urine test strips to measure the ketone levels in your body. To figure out if you've reached ketosis, use a test to measure your ketones. Urine and blood testing strips are available online and in many drug stores. Urine tests are cheaper, but blood tests are more accurate.[10]
- The recommended range for ketosis is 1.5 to 3.0 mmol/l.
- You might test your ketone levels weekly when you're first starting out. Once you get the hang of keto, you only need to test yourself occasionally to make sure you're on track.
- Allow occasional cheat meals if you do dirty keto. Going over your carb allowance kicks you out of ketosis, but dirty keto does make room for occasional cheat days and slip-ups. If you can't resist the cravings, allow yourself to indulge without guilt. It's important to get right back on your diet, though! The goal of keto is to maintain ketosis.[11]
- Remember: if you cheat and eat carbs, you have to start your diet again to regain ketosis.[12]
- Cheat days and cheat meals aren't allowed in clean keto.
[Edit]Choosing Keto-Friendly Foods - Prioritize the carb/fat/protein ratio every time you make a food choice. Dirty keto provides wiggle room when it comes to your actual food options, but properly balancing the number of carbs, fat, and protein you eat every day is non-negotiable for both clean and dirty keto. Remember, 5-10% of your daily calories can come from carbs, 70-80% should come from fats, and proteins should make up that final 10-20%.[13]
- Use an online keto calculator to figure out exactly how many grams you need for each food group.
- A keto app can make it easier for you to track your carbs, fat, and protein every day.[14]
- Eat keto-approved packaged or processed foods in moderation. In clean keto, these types of foods are a big no-no. Thankfully, dirty keto is a little more relaxed and much more convenient! Keep in mind that prepackaged and processed foods aren't good for your long-term health, though.[15] Enjoy foods like:
- Plain cheeseburgers without the bun
- Artificial sweeteners
- Processed oils and proteins
- Low-carb snack foods, like potato or tortilla chips and cookies
- Pork rinds and beef jerky
- Watch out for bloating and inflammation since prepackaged/processed foods tend to be high in sodium.[16]
- Consume your daily fat grams by eating any high-fat foods you want. Eating enough fat every day is important because your body is using that fat as fuel. Dirty keto doesn't have any restrictions on where you get your fat grams. Butter, margarine, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, full-fat dairy, and nuts are all on the menu. As long as 70-80% of your daily calories are coming from fat, you're in the zone![17]
- It's important to work some healthy options in there, too. Healthy sources recommended for clean keto include olive oil, ghee, coconut oil, nuts, nuts, seeds, and avocados.
- Get protein from high-quality sources but don't stress over it. Dirty keto allows any kind of protein you want. Protein is only 10-20% of your diet, though, so don't stress too much over making perfect choices as long as you meet your daily requirement. Pretty much any kind of poultry, dairy, red meat, lunch meat, jerky, fish, and eggs is fair game on dirty keto.[18]
- Consider including healthier protein options in your diet occasionally. "Clean" protein includes organic poultry, dairy, meat, salmon, and eggs produced without hormones or antibiotics. Ideally, meat is minimally processed and ethically sourced.[19]
- Try to incorporate some high-fiber veggies every day on dirty keto. If a diet without any vegetables at all sounds too good to be true, that's because it is! Even if you're doing dirty keto, you still need to eat some vegetables so that you get plenty of nutrients and fiber. High-fiber veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, romaine lettuce, and asparagus are the most nutrient-dense options, so aim for those.[20]
- Cooking veggies in butter or adding a little cheese on top can make them more palatable and help you meet your daily fat and protein requirements.
- Small portions of strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries are also approved for dirty keto if you want a fruit fix.
- Eat foods to replenish your electrolyte levels every day. Low-carb diets, including both clean and dirty keto, deplete your body of 4 important electrolytes: sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. It's important to eat low-carb foods that are high in electrolytes to rebalance your levels and avoid feeling fatigued and ill.[21]
- Sprinkle pink Himalayan salt on your food to replenish your sodium.
- Salmon, nuts, avocados, leafy green veggies, and mushrooms are high in potassium.
- Eat calcium-dense foods like dark leafy greens, broccoli, salmon, and sardines.
- Replenish magnesium by eating leafy greens, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, Swiss chard, and nuts.
- Drink plenty of liquids to stay hydrated on dirty keto. Keto can make you dehydrated, so fluid intake is important. Juices and sodas are off the table, even if you're doing dirty keto, because they have carbs and sugar. The best choices are water, herbal tea, and green vegetable juice.[22]
- Occasionally drinking chai or coffee drinks made with coconut milk and sugar-free syrup is fine for dirty keto.[23]
- Check out keto-friendly food lists online or keto recipe books to add some variety to your diet and prevent boredom and cravings.
[Edit]Warnings - Most experts don't recommend dirty keto as a permanent diet solution because it isn't healthy enough and the long-term effects aren't well understood. Use it to lose weight in the short-term or work with a dietician to ensure you're meeting your nutrition requirements.[24]
[Edit]References |
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