I've just baked a madeira cake in the 3D house pan, and it has come out like a brick! The corners are rock hard and I'd say 2ins all around the perimeter is as dry as a bone! I'm dumping this cake, I'm going to bake another (using a different recipe I think!). How do I protect the outside from over-cooking before the middle is done? Should I put a flower nail in the centre (I don't really need to see the pans details), so the middle cooks quicker - help! I don't have time to do this again if it goes wrong a second time!

Are you sure your oven isn't too hot? Or did you leave it in too long?

do you have a heat rod from the babie pan? Some kind of heating core would work.

I baked it at 325 for an hour and a half (recipe said 1 1/4 hours - but the middl;e was still mush at that stage!), if anything my oven is actually on the cold side! I'd prefer to use a flower nail as a heating rod, it causes way less damage to the cake and this one needs to be stable as it's standing on top of another in the final cake!

I remember that my mother used to cut into 2" strips an old thick bath towel (clean of course), soak them in water and then wrap them around the edges of the cake pan and pin it together with a safety pin. This allowed the outer edges to cook slower so the middle had time to bake as well. I would also use a heating core or inverted flower nail to assist with the middle getting done.

Hope everything goes better for you this time!

I woud definately use a flower nail. Maybe even try the wet towel strips. I know my grandmother always uses them.

Wouldn't the wet towel strips dry out and take a chance of catchin on fire?

The towel strips never caught fire on my mother. I have used this method several times and never had any trouble. Although when I first did it, I was worried, but the cake came out fine and no fires.

Good luck!