Ok, I am hoping some of you out there will have some wisdom to pass along to me....I only bake cakes as a hobby, but I have a wedding cake to do in April, so I need to find some answers before that.
Here is my problem: Every time (and I do mean every time) I bake a cake it seems to be higher on one side than the other. Now, I have tried somethings I have heard here on CC...the flower nail, baking at a lower temp, ect. I have a brand new oven (which I am sure is level) When I bake the cakes, they rise higher towards the inside of the oven, not the front or back.
Leveling a cake is the bain of my existence & I have a huge slice out of my finger from leveling to prove it , so I'd rather have it come out as even as possible. Could it be my pans (wilton dec preferred), or what?
Please, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Not sure what would be going on. My first thought was double check to see if your oven is level. Sorry I can't be of help but here is a bump.

Sounds like you need to make sure your oven is level. Never assume it is, new or not. Mine wasn't. I ended up wrapping some aluminum foil around parts of it just to raise the rack up in spots to make it level.

I would check that before doing anything else. Put a pan in the oven, and put the level on the pan, NOT the rack. Hope this helps!

I would definitely put a carpenter's leveler on you oven to make sure it's level. It could appear to be with the naked eye, but a level would be the best way to be sure. Good luck.

I also agree that your oven does not sound level. If you can't change that, try rotating the cake pans a few times while they are cooking.

yep as everyone else has said......most likely your oven (OR the floor!) is not level.
You may have to make unusual adjustments

Thanks for the quick responses you all! Sounds like I need to make sure the oven is level. Oh, how I hope that solves my problem!

I know that my oven is off a little and what I do is rotate my cakes every 15 minutes. I only do this bc hubby is able to take the time and level it, so I deal with it.

SILVERCAT wrote:

That must be nice...my dh tries to disapear whenever I am baking (at least, he does after he licks the bowl!)

Just a thought, maybe one side of you oven isn't working. Check your heating elements (one may be out) or try using two oven therm one on each side of the oven and try checking them through the window.

Probably your floor isnt level so you need to adjust your oven to accomadate it.

Another possibility, are you leaving the oven light on? I thought one side of my oven was hotter than the other because one layer would always bake quicker. But I had read about that on here, the extra heat would make it cook faster (duh, should have known that ) and ever since I haven't had a problem now that I leave the light off.

Serious_Cakes wrote:

Um, yes, I do leave my oven light on for most of the time! Never even thought of that.... I'm gonna try the level-in-the-pan thing first and go from there. Thanks again everyone!

From your description (cakes rise higher toward the inside of the oven, noton the sides) it sure sounds like you're describing doming. It's not unusual at all.

Solutions to try: turn down the temp to anywhere between 300 - 325. Use bake even strips or strips of toweling, both soaked in cold water and fastened to the outside of your pans.

Of course, you can level after you take your cakes out of the oven. The best and easiest way to level a cake is with an Agbay. Barring that, a long serrated knife resting at the top of your pans will cut an even line.

Ok, gang, this cracked me up! Why would you leave your oven light on? Are your cakes afraid of the dark?

Sorry .... couldn't resist it!!

Hey, it's nothing to laugh about! My poor cakes suffer from claustrophobia! Leaving the light on makes them less scared

ME TOO! I don't want them messing around while in the dark....it's not play time, its serious baking time.... hee! hee!

I have to turn my cakes around after 12 minutes in the oven, just when they start to rise but the batter isn't set on top yet because my oven heats more on one side than the other.....it's not unlevel the heating element is! lol you learn to work around it! My oven also bakes about 35-50 hotter than the dial reads.......I set my temp to just under 300 degrees......how rediculous is that??

My oven sits level but my racks don't. I guess I should have thought of leveling them with foil, as suggested, but I never thought of that! I end up turning my oven timer on for 15 minutes and rotating the cakes around so they're level. Once I remove the cakes from the oven, I immediately place a clean dish cloth over them and flatten them with my hands or a flat object to get a level cake. Works like a charm and gives a nice dense crumb, great for wedding cakes.

Have you tried Wilton's Bake Even Strips? Edit> OOps! Sorry- I just saw that Leahs recommended that.