I am making my first 10 inch cake using DH mix. The cake was cooking beautifullly (or so I thought) until I noticed that it sunk in the middle! What may have caused this to happen? I used baking strips and 1 flower nail in the middle. I checked for doneness after one hour so this may have something to do with it and baked at 325.


I'm hoping to be able to uses ome of the cake and just try to bake another tonight to get the height needed.
Thoughts...

Can't say for sure what happened without being there. Two weeks ago, I had 4 cakes to do in 3 days, so I had lots of baking to do in one day. I had about 6 cake pans in the oven baking, and they all fell! All of them! I was so upset...then I looked at my flour and realized I had used self-rising instead of all-purpose (I bake from scratch). I was so upset - had to do everything over. Waisted time, money..... If you used box cakes, I don't know what could've happened, but it happens to all of us. I'm sorry for your trouble, and I hope the second cake came out great!

I use a metal flower nail head in anything 10" and bigger. Just invert it in the centre, spray your pan and pour your batter. Cakes get so big that they need the help in the middle cooking.

Was it chocolate? I have had this same problem with choc. cake when I open the oven to check on it. Not sure why, but it happens often with choc. Hope you have beyyer success with the next one.

Just butter DH mix. Maybe opening the oven and checking it had something to do with it.

You know those box mixes are supposed to be full proof. But when I went to make some just to do some practice decorating I had all sorts of trouble. And before I switched to scratch baking I had been using them for years with no problem what soever. When I went to use them for practice cakes one sunk and the other got a huge bubble that started at the bottom of the pan and ccreated a huge bump all the way to the top.

I'm beginning to believe that something in the formula of box cake mixes has changed.

It's that butter mix. That thing falls in the oven every time I try to bake it in a 8x3 in pan. I'm not sure what it's deal is. I love the taste and texture of it, but it is a moody mix.

That explains a lot. That butter mix one is new since I started making scratch.

Wow, I've never had that problem with a box cake, only with my spice cake recipe (even with the flower nail). My nieces still prefer the box cakes (weirdos) so I keep them around. If you had the flower nail in the middle, that's a good thing though. Maybe vary the temp a little? I'm not sure with a box cake.

I finally resolved the problem with my spice cake by cooking it longer and the middle rose back up.