When i made my round cake the other day, instead of being flat it had a hump. Im not sure what else to call it. Im new to cake decorating so im not sure of the lingo yet. lol. Does anyone know what i did wrong???
That is how they cook. You can use a flower nail, press it down when it is hot, or cut off the excess with a knife or a cake leveler.
I use the baking strips (Wilton's) and a rose nail as already mentionned. I know a lot of people are not a fan of the cake strips, but I swear by them. They work every time, without fail. Just make sure they are well saturated before you apply. I even made a cake last year for a friend's granddaughter's bd while I was camping in my trailer in the middle of nowhere. I didn't have my bake strips, so I used a very wet tea towel in place and popped it in my small RV trailer oven. The cake turned out beautifully. I've found through the years, many times it's a case of trial and error. What works well for one may not for another. Hope this works for you . Good Luck!
well i bought the big wilton kit so i have all of that stuff, i just dont know how to use it. lol. i am also wondering, what does the flower nail do? (i mean other then used for flowers!!)
My hump, my hump, my lovely lady humps
It's a Fergie songI bet some of you were wondering who was going to say it first
Too funny...I was thinking the same thing and was reading through the posts before I wrote the same thing as you! LOVE that song!!!
The flower nail acts as a heat conductor and cooks the cake more evenly. It doesn't cause the cake to "hump" as much. I only use it in larger cakes though...anything over 10".
I use the baking strips (Wilton's) and a rose nail as already mentionned. I know a lot of people are not a fan of the cake strips, but I swear by them. They work every time, without fail. Just make sure they are well saturated before you apply. I even made a cake last year for a friend's granddaughter's bd while I was camping in my trailer in the middle of nowhere. I didn't have my bake strips, so I used a very wet tea towel in place and popped it in my small RV trailer oven. The cake turned out beautifully. .....
By the way the baking Strips that lilscakes mentioned do a similar job, either way what ever you have on hand, or well greased flower nail or a wet tea towel, That should take care of the hump in the future.
I have learned of another way, but until you are more comfortable with your cake baking, I would wait. I would hate for you to loose a batch of cakes. 
You can check this out:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811842401/?tag=cakecentral-20
There is a book I borrowed from the library "Baking from Scratch in 1/2 the time" They say to bake at 400 in alumnium pans and it takes 1/2 the time and you get a beautiful cake. I used the cake mix with the extender recipe 1 and did this and it worked beautiful too. It took about 2/3 of the time and it was great. But then again, you may not want to play with this until you are more comfortable with your baking. 
Also I did not see anyone mention that when your cake is uneven, you simple take a long serated knife or a cake leveler and take off the hump. It took years for me to figure that out, but since I got that, my cakes are nice and level! It seems like a waiste but it's not.
Also like jenbenjr said in her first post is to always put your cake upside down. If you have a 2 layer cake you even out both cake, you put the bottom cake top up, spread BC or filling, then you put the top cake top down (so they are head to head) I hope this makes sense.
So that as jenbenjr said, you have a perfect surface for decorating!
What I do is as soon as I take it out of the oven I press the cake down with a clean tea towel. This will make the hump disapear and then when I decorate, I always decorate the bottom of the cake because it has a perfectly smooth surface!.
Good Luck! 
Hello Jacobsmommy,
I also use the baking strips and they are wonderful. I have used them for years. I make sure to soak them good and then I put the strip between my thumb and index finger and take the excess water off. I put them around my cake pan and stick the little pin they give you to hold the strip on. Works like a charm. No hump. Give them a try. Inexpensive, lasts for years.
Great, now I'm going to have that song in my head the rest of the night.
Love Fergie, she's the Bomb (do they still say that?)
I always get in trouble for saying Cool and Groovy.
I already have that song in my head and my kids think I'm lame for saying groovy!!!
The baking stips come in my kit i just dont know how to use them. I will definately read the instuctions and figure it out. Also, when i use my cake leveler, it only leaves like an inch of cake. and thats just not enough for me!! lol
I baked a 10" cake yesterday (scratch) it took over an 1 1/2 to bake. When it finally was done it had a huge hump in the middle. I had used baking strips. The cake is dry. I am hoping with filling and frosting it will make a difference.
I would defenitely use some simple syrup to take the dryness away.
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water - boil to disolve, let cool a bit add flavoring 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of extract. 
You should be good.
Good Luck.
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