Maybe it's just me, but I constantly overbake chocolate cakes? I have a complex when someone asks for chocolate. Anyone else have issues with chocolate cakes? What do you do?

Choc. seems to bake faster for me than other cakes. I always bake mine at 325 anymore and set the timer for the same amount of time as usual and check from there.

I don't dread choc. cakes anymore once I figured that out. I do dread white and choc. cakes in the same pan though. The choc. side is always done before the white and I worry about it drying out on that side.

My chocolate WASC is the opposite. It takes freakin forever. Today, at 325, it took 75 minutes per batch-forEVER.

If you want the recipe, let me know. I've never overcooked it.

i think its the recipe. the fudge layer cake on cc is great. moist and nice. i just did the mile high chocolate cake from epicurious...it was dry. not nice at all. try another recipe and see.

Do you mean to get the center baked all the way thru, you have to bake it longer, causing the sides to be overbaked? Try reducing your oven temp, adding baking strips and/or the flower nail. This helps the cakes bake more evenly.

I haven't found them more difficult to bake, but I despise to ice them...especially with white icing.

I always use a flower nail..So it is baking even. It just seems too dark in spots when I popped it out of the pans. I guess I'm spoiled with white cakes. I'm doing it over anyway..I'm afraid I dried it out. Seems like I make everycake twice anyway! LOL...either by rebaking, or scraping off the icing and starting over.

If you're not sure whether it is dried out or not, level and check the scraps from the center of the cake, that is usually a pretty good indicator. I also use a WASC version of Choc. cake with bake even strips (flower nail for over 10") and don't have a problem, if I pay attention.
I did overbake a very expensive scratch gourmet chocolate cake once, to hockey puck status because I completely forget it was in the oven when I went to console my toddler who woke up screaming from his nap. He got all cuddly on my lap in the rocking chair, I totally forgot about the cake, and before I knew it, the cake that had 5 min. left was in for another 35 min. That one I bake 2 1/2 times, because my next round I finished after midnight and had 1 layer fine and the other broke completely when it came out because I was in such a rush to get to bed that I didn't let it cool long enough before removing it from the pan. ARRRGH!!! Live and learn.