Hi everyone, I tried this new vanilla cake recipe, followed the recipe and here is the out product. They are in a 8 by 2 pan, both went into the oven at the same time and both came out of the oven at the same time. I used Wilton's baking strips on the outside, the one on the left (darker) was in the left side of the oven with a strip that has not been washed. the cake on the right was in the right side of the oven with a cake strip that I had washed previously. could this have made such a difference in cooking the two? any insight would be great. thank you.

i think it's more likely that your oven is hotter on one side than the other. even the lighter cake looks like it's darker on one side. 

many ovens have that problem. if you purchase an inexpensive oven thermometer you can figure it out by moving the thermometer around and recording the temps.

that is what I was thinking as well. what if I was to switch the two around halfway through baking, do you think they would be more even in colour by the end? or should I just monitor the left side more? thanks so much.

either way would work., i think

ADid you use identical pans?

yes, the pans are the same,

A

I get that in my home oven. No matter what, the bottom shelf darkens the cake and the upper shelf is perfect. It's definitely uneven heat in your oven.

both cakes were in the middle of the oven side by side. yeah, I think it's a temperature issue.

My oven has a hot spot on the left side, too, and my cakes look exactly like yours. I compensate by rotating pans halfway through their bake time.

after rotating them, do they come out perfectly fine then? or at least closer in colour, how about the texture of the cake no issue after opening the oven door in the middle of baking?

I would guess that your oven is hotter on the left rotating them half way threw would probably be the easiest fix, also if they are going to be decorated and covered up why dose it matter if they are different colors?

I set all cake pans on a baking sheet. Then halfway through the bake time I gently turn the baking sheet around. My cakes come out fairly similar.

well I guess having two different colours is not a big issue, but I do like to make them consistent.  I haven't cut into them yet to see if the texture of the cakes are different. we will see. thanks so much everyone.
 

Really easy trick to check for oven hot spots... cover a baking sheet in flat slices of white bread, stick them in on 350 until toasted, then check and see if they evenly toasted or if some are darker than others.

(What us lazy people do when we break our oven thermometers and don't want to go to the store :P)

When I worked at Maytag Appliances we used canned biscuits for testing ovens. The browning patterns showed even minor hot spots. But I would never do this at home or people would think I had no life. (Is this the right thread or am I lost in ForumLand?)

wrong thread Mimi!! So tell me as the Maytag lady, were you very lonely?

AHa ha ha you guys are hillarious!

Well I am sure your appliances always worked perfectly and were always evenly browned..After al they were Maytags. I used to pretend my Maytag was broken just so that repairman would come visit me...what a HOTTIE!!! (kidding...come on now. Even I have standards!)

Quote:

as you wish:  unmatched pans did this same thing to me last week! I was surprised what a diff it made.

Yup, talking about high standards, I would never purchase a Maytag Appliance. 

AHi everyone, thanks for all the advice, as fior this first cake it actually tasted really good from both halves. Made the same recipie again tonight, switched them around and one of the halves was a complete dissaster. One was really really brown and the other a sick pastey colour. So frustrated, and to top it off, the stove is a maytag!!! Ugh!