Assembling and decorating are the very last steps in cake-making, which should present no difficulties even to the least experienced of cooks. It does not take much time to assemble a cake but, for many people, seeing the fruits of their labor finally come together is the most creative and fun part of cake-making. They enjoy taking their time because there is nothing more thrilling than anticipating the spectacular result that follows! Although the assembly procedures are pretty straightforward, here is some advice and useful tricks that can speed up the job and make professionally-looking results not only achievable, but also surprisingly easy.

• The most important rule for cutting a cake horizontally into several layers is to first let it cool completely. Otherwise the cake may break and crumble, resulting in complete disaster.
• Before you start cutting a cake into layers, mark layer widths with a small serrated knife. These should be just shallow cuts marking the thickness of the layers. Once you choose the correct width of the layers, extend the shallow cuts all around the cake. It helps to place the cake on a turntable or piece of foil or paper so it is easier to rotate the cake while making the markings. Now you can proceed with the cutting.
• There are two ways to cut cake layers: by using a long serrated knife or a piece of string or dental floss.
  To cut cake layers with a long serrated knife (shown in photos 1, 2), keep the cake on a turntable or piece of paper as you will need to rotate the cake a few times until it is completely cut through. Begin with the top layer. Place the knife at the top layer’s marking and cut with a see-saw motion, just a little bit deeper than the initial marking. Keep turning the cake and cutting along the marking. After the first full circle, the layer will be only partially cut. Make more circles, each time cutting deeper into the cake, until the knife gets all the way to the middle and the cake is cut. Repeat the procedure with subsequent layers.
  To cut cake layers with a piece of string, use a piece of a string or dental floss long enough to encircle the cake and have some length left to hold it tightly. Place the string around the cake, as if placing a belt around your waist, positioned into the top layer’s markings. Cross the remaining ends of the string, hold them tightly, and pull the ends in opposite directions from each other. The string will cut the cake. Repeat the procedure with subsequent layers. This method works well with dense whole-egg cakes, such as chocolate cakes or nut-rich cakes.

• To avoid a cake tilted to one side, try to cut the layers evenly. However, if you end up with uneven layers, thicker on one side and thinner on the other, make sure to assemble the layers during the filling procedure in the same way in which they were before you cut them. In other words, the layers should be aligned properly during the procedure of filling and assembling, so you do not end up stacking them in such a way that the thicker layer parts are all on one side and consequently ending up with a lopsided cake. The trick to perfect alignment is to mark a vertical line/cut down the side of the cake before cutting the layers. During assembly, align the segments of the vertical line and the layers will perfectly match.
• To keep your serving tray clean during filling, assembling, and decorating, use the following trick. Cut out 4-5 paper rectangles and place them around and partially beneath your cake. The paper strips should go slightly under the cake and cover (and thus protect) the visible part of the tray. Once the strips are positioned, cut out the edges that stick out of the tray so they do not distract you during the filling and decorating steps (photo 3). After completing the filling and decorating steps, leave the cake for half an hour in the refrigerator to become firm and only then remove the paper strips one by one, as shown in the last photo. The serving tray will be spotless. This trick works very well for buttercreams but not so well for Italian meringue or whipped cream fillings since they stick to the paper strips, making them difficult to remove.

• Before you start filling a cake, set aside a portion of the filling that will be used for decorating. Then, divide the rest of the filling into as many parts as you will need: one part for each layer and one for the sides. To cover the layers, first put the filling in the middle of the layer and then spread it outward, towards the edges, with a spoon. To cover the sides, use a tablespoon of the filling to cover a vertical strip on the side of the cake, upward, from the tray to the top of the cake. Continue moving along the perimeter until the entire side of the cake is covered.
• Evening out the icing (on the top and sides of the cake) is probably the task that requires the most skill. A turntable can help enormously, but you can do without it. If you wish to produce a perfectly flat surface, you will need a long, flat knife, preferably longer than the diameter of the cake. The longer the knife, the easier the job will be. There are also special tools for the job, such as long spatulas, including offset spatulas (long, angled spatulas, shown in photo 6), which can be very helpful. Slowly and carefully spread and even out the icing until it is flat. However, a perfectly flat surface is not a must. Decoration can always be creatively used to cover uneven surface spots or the surface can be left uneven on purpose and finished in an interesting structure or pattern.