Why is it that my chocolate cakes never come out (pardon my Martha Stewart talk)...Just "So". Never. French Vanilla, no problem. Chocolate, bad. I mean it tastes fine but during the cooking process in the middle it gets all gross and bubbly looking like brains. EEWW! Then it rises and breaks in the middle. I put wet wrags around my pans to even it out but it still acts up. RRGG!!! I can always cut the top off I know but still why can't it just bake right darn it!!!
Have you lowered the temperature of your oven? What about using something in the center for heat conduction? I usually cook my cakes at 325 and use a flower nail in the middle of the pan. Even with small pans I use the flower nail if the cake is chocolate to keep it from getting that undone center. (Unless the cake is for me and then the only piece I eat is that straight from the middle gooey piece 
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I notice I have this problem if I open up the oven at a certain time to check it, it's towards the end of the cooking time but I can't tell you exactly when. I am really careful towards the end because I have had this happen and it sucks because I only am able to salvage a thin section of the cake.
Have you lowered the temperature of your oven? What about using something in the center for heat conduction? I usually cook my cakes at 325 and use a flower nail in the middle of the pan. Even with small pans I use the flower nail if the cake is chocolate to keep it from getting that undone center. (Unless the cake is for me and then the only piece I eat is that straight from the middle gooey piece
)
does it mess up your cake trying to get the flower nail out? sometimes my cakes don't cook all the way through, and i don't have a heating core. but i do have a flower nail!! if its not too hard to retrieve afterward i may try that one....
Have you lowered the temperature of your oven? What about using something in the center for heat conduction? I usually cook my cakes at 325 and use a flower nail in the middle of the pan. Even with small pans I use the flower nail if the cake is chocolate to keep it from getting that undone center. (Unless the cake is for me and then the only piece I eat is that straight from the middle gooey piece
)does it mess up your cake trying to get the flower nail out? sometimes my cakes don't cook all the way through, and i don't have a heating core. but i do have a flower nail!! if its not too hard to retrieve afterward i may try that one....
It's incredibly easy to get the flower nail out -- you just pull it out the bottom when you take the cake out of the pan.
BUT, I use a flower nail and I lower the temp to 325, and I still have problems with the chocolate. The sides ALWAYS get overdone -- why oh why is this???? I've tried everything I can think of.
Sarah
I found that the cake forms "brains" when I overfill the pan. Now, if I want a 3-layer cake (1-inch high layers), I use 2 or 3 pans. A real pain, I know. but I only have to do this with chocolate. I've learned not to open the door until I can smell the chocolate, then I add 5 minutes, then I open the oven to check if it's done. I use a flower nail, strips and 325 degrees. For other cake flavors, I can fill my 3-inch pan 2/3 full and it cooks just fine--no brains or sinking. Then I can torte that into 3 1-inch heights.
Also, for all my cakes, I use an instant-read thermometer in the center (stay clear of the flower nail) to check for doneness. The temp should be around 195 degress F. Hope this helps.
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