I've read that some of you fill the pans a bit more than you otherwise would to get the cakes to rise just over the edge and then you can level the cake while in the pan.

I'd love to do that, but I'm wondering what kind of cake you are using. My scratch white recipe, for example, will not rise over a pan if it's overfilled... it will actually sink if over filled. I know for sure that box cakes will rise over the edges, as I've used them often when needing a cake for classes, but I don't use the box cakes when making cakes otherwise (just a personal preference).

Is anyone using this technique and using a scratch cake recipe? Is there a particular type that works well? Does it need to be a denser cake to rise over the top instead of sinking? (My white cake is really really really light and fluffy, so I'm guessing it just doesn't have the structure to support the height over the pan?)

Nobody?? Shamelessly bumping my own post in hopes of an answer.

Indydebi had a chart which gave number of straight box mixes to use by pan size which allowed the cake to rise right to the top of the pan.....

However, I don't believe I've ever seen any posts on scratch bakers doing this.

Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

do you have a link for that chart?

Thanks anyway, Jan! Yeah, I figured it might be easier to calculate when using box mixes... I was just hoping a scratch baker might know at least what type of cake recipe would work without sinking. Like maybe cakes that use sour cream or cream cheese have more density, or maybe those with more butter, or only those with all purpose flour instead of cake flour, etc.

If not, I'll just have to do some testing myself, I guess!

Well, it has been my experience that scratch pound cake recipes are pretty indestructible (don't sink for sure).

My favorites for extra moistness and a nice tight but delicate crumb are made with either sour cream, cream cheese or whipping cream & lots of butter.

Also, it makes a very big difference if you're not using cake flour to use a bleached all purpose flour. (Why you ask... Because all cake flour is bleached but not all AP flour is bleached. Using unbleached can result in a cake that has a greasy appearance and mouth feel toward the lower portion of the baked cake.

Rose Levy Beranbaum explained that the bleached flour particles have rough edges that hold the butter in butter rich recipes in better suspension than unbleached flour. Did my own side by side testing - and it was definitely true.

Here are some great scratch pound cake recipes:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-2765703-.html

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-403803-.html

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-7317-11-Elvis-Presleys-Favorite-pound-cake.html

HTH

Interesting, regarding the flour. I have read that before, too, and wondered how true it was. I think (have to go check) that my flour is bleached... I have a massively giant bag of it at the moment.

I have a favorite pound cake recipe, but those you posted look lovely, too. I have not yet ever used pound cake as a layer cake... mostly just served it as a coffee cake.

Come to think of it, the chocolate cake I like best does rise without sinking and uses sour cream. Maybe that IS the secret... will have to play with replacing milk with sour cream in some recipes to see if it works.

Thanks!