Awk

$ cat basket.txt
Layer1 = cloth
Layer2 = strawberries
Layer3 = fish
Layer4 = chocolate
Layer5 = punch cards
$ cat basket.txt | awk -F= '{print $1}'
Layer1
Layer2
Layer3
Layer4
Layer5                   
$ cat basket.txt | awk -F= '{print "HAS: " $2}'
HAS:  cloth
HAS:  strawberries
HAS:  fish
HAS:  chocolate
HAS:  punch cards              
$ 

You can also leave off the -F if you are using a blank as a separator:

$ cat tictac.txt
X O X
O O X
X O O
$ cat tictac.txt | awk '{print $2 " " $1 " " $3}'
O X X
O O X
O X O
$