I tried the bake-even strips for the first time and I followed the instructions on the package and wet the strips. Of course the strips never touched the cake but it smelled kind of like chlorine when the cake started baking and when I went to level the cake and slice off the top...(I always taste a bit to make sure it tastes ok), I swear it tasted just like it smelled!) Did I do something wrong? Has anyone used these with any success or problems? I didn't really notice a big difference that the strips made, anyway. Please help![/i][/b]

I bought some, but never used them. I find that if immediately after taking the cake out of the oven you cover the cake with a damp paper towel, then place a slightly smaller cake pan on the cake and apply gentle even pressure for 20-30 seconds, you get rid of the dome and get a nice level cake. Much easier than messing with the strips IMHO!!

Berta

The only time I use the strips is on my 8" x 3 round pans. Comes out nice and flat on top..never had the chlorine smell though.....that is really strange!

Thank you for that tip blittle! I will definitely give it a try.

Mrs. Missey..it's really odd. I baked some rounds at the same time using a yellow cake recipe and they tasted ok. But the big sheet cake is the one that tasted odd and it was chocolate. I wouldn't think the flavor would have anything to do with it. But I did have to use two on the large sheet and wrap over. Maybe it was that and since it baked longer..they dried out?

ive never had this problem but now i just use my flower nail and it works just as good

Hmm...you could be right! I've never used the strips on my sheet cakes..I just reduce the temp to 325* and bake for about 35-40 minutes!

Thanks everyone so much for your tips. I always find them useful and I aways follow them. I don't think I'll try the strips again though.
Donna

I use the strips for everything. I found that if you do'nt have them COMPLETELY soaking wet, they will dry out quickly and even start to melt....and that really smells bad! For me, they really do help the cake rise evenly. I hardly ever have to level them with a knife. I really hate doing it; its a pain to me....but it works!

Try putting them in a bowl of water while you are mixing, then squish them in the water really well to be sure all the air bubble are out of the stips and they are totally saturated. Then run them through your fingers lightly so that they are not dripping and wrap them around.

try once more...see if this helps!

littlebubbieschocolates, you said you use your flower nail. Could you tell me a little more about that??? Do you just stick it in the cake mix or what???

..grease/flour you metal flower nail and put it in the center of your pan, point side facing up, pour in your batter as you normally would and that's it. The metal in the nail helps conduct heat to the center of the pan, thereby, helping the center to cook more evenly! Once baked, invert you pan as usual and remove the flower nail!

Thank you MrsMissey. I appreciate it!!!

Just thought I would share my first experience with Bake-Even Strips. As my house is always full of chaos, with 3 children, I followed the instructions on how to use the Bake-Even Strips and attemped to use them. Everything seemed to work out just fine, I thought they were a little odd to use though. When my cakes were done, I let them cool down for about 15 minutes or so, and then I attempted to remove them from the pan. That was a little hard to do since I didn't read the part that the strips go on the outside of the pan. lol. Needless to say, everytime I use them now, I have to laugh at how studid that was.

Lol @ putting them on the inside. I have done some seemingly silly things too. It's all in the learnimg I suppose. Sunlover..thank you for the tip. I am guessing that I probably didn't have the strips wet enough and that is what happened. And Mrs. Missey, the flower nail sounds like a good idea to me! That's why I rely on you guys. Thanks folks!

I use the strips all the time. They work great for me. I also use the flower nail in my larger cakes along with the strips.
Sherry

MakeItYours....that is too cute!!

I have never used the flower nail, does it help keep the cake from having the dome top, or is it just for helping the baking process

I also use the strips and have always had good luck. For larger pans I also use "flour sack" towels that are wet and folded down to fit around the pan. Then I just use a safety pin to hold them in place. They work very well too.

oh my goodness! Thank you sooo much for giving me a laugh! I really needed that. The strips on the inside... I'm still laughing! That totally sounds like something my cousin would do. You rock!

I use the strips on my rounds, they work good. I tried a half sheet last night for the first time and I couldn't get the strips to stay on. So I did without. I lowered the temp and baked 40 minutes. There was a rather large dome. I just doctored it up! My cake ended up being very tall. Oh well, the parents loved it! I posted it if ya wanna take a peek. I'm just learning this art!

I am definitley going to try the flower nail.

I also use the strips. I've noticed that they do make a difference on the cakes I've made, although sometimes I can smell a "burning" smell. I'm going to try the tip about soaking them in a bowl of water. Thanks!

I always use the bake even strips, and in my large pans I use them with the flower nail. One tip I learned on here (Sorry I forget who mentioned it to begin with) that I want to pass along is to use the office clips to clip them to the pan. I think they are called Bulldog clips? Someone posted this eariler and I started doing it, let me tell you how much easier it is to get the strips to fit any size pan!!! They are the metal paper clips that are usually black metal with two ends you press on to get it to open. LOVE IT!

The directions also say cold water. I also do the soaking method.

Before I even get out ingredients to make a cake the first thing I get out is the baking strips. I just fill a plastic container with cold water from the tap, then put my strip in the container, This is when I squeeze out all of the air bubbles. If the water doesn't come all the way to the top I add some more.
I then Put the lid of the container on and stick it in the freezer or Fridge depending on how long I am going to be mixing my cake. This helps get it really cold (not sure if it makes a big difference haven't tried it any other way, but it works great for me.
I highly recommend making sure you do have a lid on your container because those strips want to float and it keeps them "in" the water.

When i'm ready for the strips I remove them from the container and as I do I just run them through my fingers lightly to get any dripping water off. Wrap around my pan and i'm good to go.

Hope this helps, don't give up yet.

atkin600 if you have the burning smell they probably are not wet enough. Long story short I left mine in the oven one time and went to use the oven the next time, forgot they were in there and then smelled a really bad smell. I ruined 3 of my bake even strips They don't like heat without water.

Leily

Thanks! I will definitely try soaking them!

Putting them on the inside! That is soooo funny!! We all do things like that sometimes. Thanks for sharing!