I've never made a sheet cake before but I need to make a quarter sheet birthday cake and a half sheet Christmas cake this week.

I just made a quarter sheet with two Betty Crocker mixes and it domed up a lot in the middle and burned on the outside edges. I had to cut so much off there's hardly any cake left. I'm worried the same thing will happen with the half sheet cake and I'll waste more ingredients.

So, how many cake mixes do I need for the half sheet cake, how long should I bake it for and at what temp?

Any other tips would be really appreciated!

Thanks.

for an 11x15= 2 mixes
for a 12x18= 3 mixes
a 9x13= 1 mix (I use 1 mix plus the extender recipe)

If you use one or two flower nails flipped upside down inside of your sheetcakes you won't get a dome they bake nice and evenly. I usually bake mine at 325 1/4 sheet takes 35 min. 11x15 takes 40 minutes and a 12x18 takes about 45-50 min.

KHalstead gave good tips.

To add...this is the extender recipe...
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
Dash of salt
1 egg

You add these extra ingredients to your one mix, and it will make 1 1/2 mixes, which is perfect for 9x13. If you don't use extender, just mix 2 mixes and use 1 1/2.

To reiterate, bake your cakes at a lower temperature. Any time they are crusting/burning like that, your temp is too high. I bake all of my cakes at 325. Sometimes I use the flower nails, too. Be sure to grease them or spray with Pam.
Good luck! Give a holler if you have any more ?s

Great advice - Thanks so much. I'll try it out tomorrow.

Everything you ever wanted to know about making your 1st tiered/stacked/layer cake:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html

Above thread has links to Wilton's cake making/baking (how much batter required by pan size, etc.) and decorating help. Also has doctored cake mix and frosting recipes - and so much more.

HTH