Place toothpicks at the halfway point around the edges of the cake layer
Use unflavored dental floss, align the floss with the row of toothpicks. If you're making a particularly spongy cake, it helps to make a few cuts with a serrated knife along the toothpick row, in order to give the floss something to bite into.
know that when the floss is fully wrapped around the cake, cross the ends of the floss and hold each end in each hand. pull each end out and away from the cake, so the floss cuts through the cake as the circle of floss tightens up.
Now you have 2 layers of cake.
Slide a piece of cardboard or a baking sheet (with no sides) between the 2 layers and lift off the top layer.
Finished.