I am having trouble with my cakes rising and the batter isn't consistent either. One time the batter seems thick, another time a little soupy, I always blame it on the weather, have to have something to blame it on. Also, the cake ALWAYS sticks to the pans, last night , I used wax paper, greased the bottom of the pan put the wax paper down, greased and floured that. Help !!!!!!

I have no idea why its not rising, but about the sticking: have you tried to use 'cake release'? its a wilton product and you can get it in the spray or in a bottle that you squirt onto the pan and use a pastry brush to get it in all the little corners. It works wonders!!!!!! I never bake a cake without it, and if you use enough, the cake comes out perfect EVERY time! I have NEVER used it and had the cake stick to the pan!!!! just my 2 cents. Good luck

Try baking at 325 for alittle longer (normally it's 350). Maybe your oven is baking fast or really hot and not letting the cake rise.

After you take the cake out of the oven, let it cool only for 10 min. then take the cake out of pan, and put it on a cooling rack to cool. Are you doing it like that? Because if you let it cool longer in the pan then it will stick to the pan.

I used the Wilton pan release and it's great! But alittle expensive. So, what I did was mix a mixture up, like the wilton's pan release and I will never use anything else. Because you can make it in your own own and be way cheaper. I leave the mixture out in a tight closed container. Here is the recipe:

Pan Release
Like the Wilton Pan Release
An excellent pan coating mixture, which reduces crumbs on the side and bottom of baked cakes.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup vegetable oil


Directions
Combine all ingredients and mix completely. Coat the bottom and sides of the bake pan using a pasty brush. Coat pan until you do not see any shining metal of the pan showing. After cake has cooled 5 minutes turn over onto a board. Cake will release completely from the pan. Note: do no allow to cool more than 10 minutes before removing from pan (pan release must not be allowed to harden).


Additional Information
Recipe can be adjusted by just using equal amounts of each ingredient.

Hope I helped alittle!

~Josie

I have found that it helps to have an oven thermoniter and preheat the oven for 45 mins to an hour. As far as sticking, I have tried everything imaginable and for me it's the wax paper with the grease and better than parchment too.

I was having that same problem with the cake not rising and found the following:

DH cake mix does not work for me, BC is much better I substitute the oil for butter water for milk add 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp baking powder an extra egg and bake at 340 as opposed to 350. The other thing I make sure to do is not over fill the pan, I rather have 3 thinner layers that rise than 2 thicker layers that sink.

Pam cooking spray and then dusting with flour works great in regular shaped pans, cake release in character pans.

Hope it helps.

Thanks for all of the tips, they were helpful. I will certainly try them out the next time.

Hey Dustypaint, if and when your cake does stick to the pan after baking the best way to release them other than using pan release etc. is to reheat your oven at 350 wait for the oven to get hot enough and stick the pans right back in the oven for 2-4 minutes and the heat will soften the bottom so that your cake will come right out of the pan. Try thisand let me know if I was able to help you.

Ileana

Or turn the cake over and place a hot, moist towel on the bottom of the pan for a minute or so. Or, fill a cake pan half full with boiling hot water, then place this plan on the bottom of the other upside down pan.

Forgot to mention: add 1 T. of meringue powder to your cake mix to help it rise.

Thanks for the tips lsawyer and thank you to everyone else for their tips as well !! BTW, I made cupcakes last night and the batter turned out excellent, I think it has to do with the butter, if I don't get it completely softened when I start then I have troubles from the get go.

I love the cake release. When my bottle is gone I think I will try to make a small batch of my own to see how it works. thanks for the recipe AmberCakes, this will save money.
I tried the wax paper once, but didn't put anything on the sides and one came out perfectly and one stuck so I decided to stick with the cake release.