Never had this happen....when my cake came out of the oven it rather large split/crack in the top? What did I do wrong?

Your oven could hav been too hot or you overwhipped your batter. I think thats what I learned in my wilton classes. I think also they mentions not having enough liquid or having too much I forget which one I hope that helps.

If it makes you feel any better I've never taken a cake out the oven that didn't have 'ravines' on top! Lol I don't know why, I follow recipies exactly and the oven is fairly new, I always chop the tops off with a leveler, Taa daa perfect!

sometimes... it is your pan... i have learned that sometimes if you use those bake even strips it helps...
i learned somewhere that if you get those cracks it is caused ny uneven cooking temps..

but i always get those cracks... i just end up putting enough batter to go over the top of the pan, and then level the cake off, and with that i have left over... make more scrap sandwhiches....

I always have cracks too. I never questioned it. I thought it was normal! I did just learn from one of the other threads that I'm probably baking my cakes too long so that's probably my problem!

Your oven could be too hot, or too much batter in you pans. The crack comes from the the batter next to the pan edges baking fast and the center batter baking slow, which gives the batter more time to rise and eventually (sp?) crack . I'm sure part of it is from steam. In my oven I HAVE to use bake even strips or my cakes are a mess. You can also use a heat core, and some people use flower nails. They all help your cake batter heat up evenly. Maybe get a oven thermometer and check your temperature and adjust accordingly.

Jo

I also get cracks and just slice it off..I do use bake even strips often and that helps with the problem...

Try baking it at 325 and using a flower nail in the middle of the pan.

Overmixing can cause cracks, domes and tunnels (but there are more causes).

Cake troubleshooting charts:

http://tinyurl.com/2p5bdu

http://tinyurl.com/32goqe

HTH

Thank you!

I'm one of those whose cakes always cracks, too, and I, too, thought it was normal.

Just cut it off and serve to the family, that way they don't want the one I'm icing.

Thanks everyone. I do use bake ene strips and sometimes the flower nail for heating core. Oven is only 6 months old or so but I'll throw a thermometer in an see what happens! oh' and I was baking - or at least my oven was set at 325. ---Thanks again