I made the chocolate version of Rebecca Sutterby's WASC and it sank in the middle! I've never had that happen before, what went wrong?? I used Betty Crocker cake mix.. I'm praying will look normal once its leveled and covered in fondant..

Is the cake cooked through? Clean toothpick with just a few crumbs attached?

It is still in the oven. The sides are nice and high and seem done, but the middle is more dense and sunken. They're 9" heart pans and have been in at 325 for about an hour now. Ugh.

Could it be because it was underbeaten? The batter pretty much filled up my mixer bowl and may not have been mixed as well as it should've. Could that cause it to sink?

Um, it could be the mixing.

Did you maybe fill the pans too high? I would recommend doing a toothpick test or touch the cake with your finger to see if it springs back. Is it pulling away from the sides of the pan yet?

I did overfill the pans a bit, about 2/3-3/4 full, I was afraid it might overflow but it didn't. The sides just started to pull away so I took it out. It looks great upside down on the cooling rack! Didn't collapse at all.. We just put the extra batter in an 8" square pan and put it in - looks like it is also sinking in the middle. Weird. Tastes awfully good though!

Well that's good that it tastes good! lol

Check your leavening to be sure it's still fresh and active, that could be part of the problem.


Good luck!

Thanks for your help! My fingers are crossed!