Ok, I always run into this and I hate it. I always use the amount of batter specified for the type of pan I am using based on the Wilton chart. BUT my edges never bake all the way to the top of the pan so I end up with a 1 and half inch cake that I end up needing to bake another to get the layers even. I've tried adding more batter and it seems like such a waste because I end up cutting a large dome off the top. In any case, I end up with a lot of wasted cake and time. Sigh, any advice?

Flower nails and baking strips will go a long way to helping you fix your cakes.

Try this and see if it helps.

The nails alone work miracles for me!

I even put nails in my 6" cakes if they are deeper, and always in 8" and above. Same with baking strips, on every cake.

These steps really do make a difference. So do good pans. They will also help with even baking.

By the way, for the 12inch cakes, I have been putting four nails in the center, about 4 inches apart in a square pattern. Every cake has been flat.

All of my cakes get a nail. No dome!

I also use flower nails and bake even strips for most of my cakes but the one thing that has helped me get taller cakes is the parchment collar. Here is a link for the tutorial:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-7174953.html#7174953

I use the cake strips alone on up to 15" cakes.

I lower the baking temperature for the larger cakes, after the first half hour.

The Wilton chart is right on for batter amounts, regardless of what recipe.

I've just read that for square cakes (using magic line pans) you need to add 1/4 cup more batter to get the corners to bake up as even as the rest of the cake. I am going to try this this weekend. I have been having the hardest time trying to figure out how much batter to put into these pans. (just started using ML)