I hade made cakes and some turn out pretty well. Others kind of rise in the middle and have a lower hard edge. What am I doing wrong half of the time?? My oven temp reads fine.

hmm i wouldnt say you are doing something wrong...maybe its just the recipe your using. My chocolate cake bakes pretty level but my white cake bakes high in the middle and low on the sides

Have you tried different recipes to see if you have the same problem with them. It could be the recipe.

thank you both. i have made this recipe before and it was perfect. some other cakes have done this also. hummmm thanks anyway

Sophie691, this has also happened to me - on only ONE cake out of two baked exactly at the same time, both poured from the same batch of batter.

I think know EXACTLY what happened. For me, it was flour from the side of my pan. I had gently dropped one of my two pans on the counter to get rid of an air bubble, and some of the flour fell down onto the outer edge of the batter. I noticed probably only because it was chocolate cake, so the flour stood out.

When both cakes were baked, one was lovely. It baked and rose evenly as usual with only the slightest doming. The one that I dropped to get rid of the air bubble had a crusty flattened ring around the outer edge that didn't seem to have risen much at all, and the center was WAY more domed than the other cake.

Had this not happened to me with one of two cakes in the same batch, I may have never known what the problem was. Of course, if you don't grease and flour your pans the old-fashioned way, this probably isn't your problem. But I really hope his helps!

Have you ever used "bake even" strips? I can't live without them - especially on my larger cakes.

Bake even strips will help a lot, you also might want to try using a flower nail also it will help the center cook and reduce your bake time a litlle.

And reduce your oven temp. But I'm a true believer in the bake even strips.

I've not floured my pans in over 30 years. Grease only.

Yes I use the release and it works great. Maybe I used to much? I did forget to use the baking strips though. I put 2 pans in at the same time and one was a bit better than the other. I guess I should just pay attention next time. Thanks again

I use 3" pans, bake even strips, flower nail in the middle and lower baking temperature. Cakes turn out perfect everytime. (Now watch ~ I probably jinxed myself *** knock on wood. )

I use Pam's Baking Spray. It's got flour in the spray. Can be hard to fine, though. (I need to hide it from my DH ... he likes to use it when he makes Sunday morning muffins.)

Yes what pp stated: using bake even strips, I use a baking spray that has flour in the spray (unsure of the brand). I have noticed a difference when I don't use the strips or a damp towel wrapped around the pans.

do you use safety pins to pin several baking strips together to make it go around the rectangular pan?