I have never had this happen before and I am baffled! The cake also feels like it weighs a ton, so I'm wondering if the consistency is like a brick...I guess I can taste a piece of the middle.

So! Any ideas why/how this happened??? It's so weird!

Thanks so much!

Are you sure you didn't leave something out of the recipe when you were mixing? Yikes, that is weird!

yeah, pretty sure i mixed everything...i've made the cake a bunch of times too and this never happened. actually i baked 2 layers and the first one had a little mound on top but underneath looked fine (this pic is from the bottom of the cake, i guess i should have mentioned that). i just hope it tastes good, i don't have time to make another layer!!

Omg--the pod people strike again~~Crop Circles!! er agh Cake Circles!!!



That's kinda cool though--three of 'em, not bad.

I had one like this yesterday, but I've seen it before in eggless cakes. I think that you either forgot one of the leaveners or some of the eggs. I know you said that you put everything in, and I swear that I put everything in the one I did yesterday, but sometimes when I do vegan cakes they look like this if the balance is off.

You might want to cut a plug out of the center to check the texture, because the one that I did yesterday was way too dense. I had to re-do it, unfortunately. I blame my husband, who came into the kitchen and was trying to have a conversation while I was measuring ingredients!

!!!!!!!I'm getting goose pimples all over my arms just looking at this!I'm sorry but I've never seen this form of turnout in a cake and I'm baffled Mine in times past has sunk in the middle slightly but 3 deep craters please I'll like to know why to avoid making the same mistake whatever it could be.

That is bizarre! One more reason to have my mise en place, um, in place before I start mixing the batter!

I wonder if they were just huge air bubbles in your batter?? Do you tap your pans after filing??

I had one of those the other day! Just one big sink hole! In the middle! WEIRD! But mine was ok. I mean, it tasted ok. And the customer never commented so, i guess everything was ok.

I think youy pushed a lil to hard checking for doneness.

Sorry, I think it's the leaveners also.

Mike

Whoa! That ain't right!

I've had that happen with pound cake before. Mine were from air bubbles and I assume yours is too. I don't know how bubbles that big can get trapped, but that's what it had to be. I know I didn't leave anything out of mine. I had to rebake.

are they bubbles or sink holes? i thought they were sink holes.

Holy pot holes Batman!!! That is some strange stuff!

OMG!!! That pothole just swallowed your cake!!! Did you put eggs in it? What recipe did you use?

That is really bizarre! I have never seen anything like that before!

No I never have, but I'm glad you showed us a picture!

They can't be sink holes, that would defy gravity (look at the picture, you can see where she took the cake nail out - that's the bottom of the cake) Which means it had to be bubbles. Unless it came out normal and then did that after?

i used collette peters' bourbon chocolate cake (i've made it so many times too!). definitely used correct amount of eggs, it was a double batch and there is a super slight chance i didnt double the baking powder but i reeeeeally think i used the right amount. didn't tap pan to get rid of bubbles, but i usually don't (will start now though). but really, that big? bubbles? i just hope that i tastes ok b/c then i have to run out and buy more chocolate

on another note, i'm glad everyone is getting such a kick out of my cake!! lmao....

Mine messed all up one time. Not exactly like that but was extremely heavy and funky looking. I put everything in but it was my baking powder...It was old.

I wonder if the recipe can be doubled? I know that some recipes cannot be doubled due to the leveners. To make two batches two separate recipes would be needed. Have you ever doubled the recipe before without any problems? I too think it has something to do with the leveners.

yes, have doubled before. wondering if the baking powder was old, like the previous poster mentioned... yes, i use it all the time but maybe it JUST expired? LOL

Its definetly your leveling agent. Sometimes if you are doing a recipe that is doctered even, you have to add an extra tsp of baking powder otherwise you get this type of result. Ive had it in the middle only, not in many places like yours though. So definetly check the experation date on the jar.

I replace my bkg powder every 6 months nothing doubting.

I just chuck the old one.

Feel it is it grainy at all?

Should feel like silk.

OMG!! I am such a dummy...yes, it was the leavening agent alright. I USED BAKING POWDER INSTEAD OF BAKING SODA! I started to make a new one tonight (looks aside, I tasted and it was like fugde...yum but not good for cake...) and I guess I actually read the ingredients this time. Oh boy...anyway, 4 cakes later and I have a winner! (I made a few last night b/c the first 2 didn't seem to rise...wonder why...and I needed more height). Anyway, thanks all for your input. And maybe I helped someone today? By showing/telling you what NOT to do? lol...

cheers,
cakelady11215

could it possibly be uneven baking,like from a bad pan? Only time I had something like that I over filled the cake pan and it was not done in spots....and it sunk in those places..won't do that again

Now you know what to do when someone wants the surface of the moon!
Did it taste good?

over filled pans? underbaked

Is it possible that your mixed didn't incorporate the eggs well?