Hello all!

I seem to be having a persistant problem with my cake tops going soggy. Yesterday I made cupcakes, cooled them on a rack and the tops still got really sticky. Same thing with cakes. I turn them out onto cooling racks and then when I turn them over to level them what should be the 'crust' is anything but! It's almost goopy. The rest of the cake is fine, just the tops, the area that is supposed to be domed while cooking, turns really weird.

I am using cake mixes doctored up with an extra egg and mild instead of water, butter instead of oil. However yesterdays cupcakes were straight from the pkg directions.....

Anyone else have this happen? How can I avoid this?

When I used to live in ON, I had this problem often. I think it's the humidity. Not sure what to do about it. Maybe a little more flour in the mix or dust them with powdered sugar as soon as they come out of the oven?

this happens to my cakes and i make them from scratch.
i doesn't bother me though..i just crumb coat it and put it in the fridge and go from there with my decorating
it is very possible it's the humity.

Ashiana

ya, i have the same problem too!!
although, when i cut it off, we love eating it! LOL tastes yummy!

I used to have the same problem, then I tried to bake all my cakes at 325 for a longer time. Now they come out done without having the borders hard. HTH Try it, there's nothing to loose....right?

I also bake my cakes at 325 and do not have this problem anymore. Also, when you turn them out--are you cooling them top side down? If so--it would seem to me that the steam from the cake was going back up into the cake and making the tops soggy.

Now--I also have been known to cool my cakes topside down having turned them out from the pan and then lightly placing the pan on top. I saw it on Food TV once that this helps them stay moister. I, hoever, haven't really noticed much of a difference. The main reason I do it is so that I don't have to worry about them sitting around with my kids in the house. LOL!

Lisa

I never had that problem either....
Whether I bake a box mix as directed on pkg 350 degrees....or with the cake extender...at 325 degrees and a longer baking time with this one....but I'm going to use the 325 temp from now on because my cakes are almost level when done baking...and that's with no strips either... I can't use them with my oven.... hubby just got me this oven last yr. and it bakes uniformly... I love it!!!!
Try baking your cakes at 325 for a longer time and see what happens.
Happy baking.
cakegal

Could be a number of things. First of all, not cooking the cakes enough, the toothpick coming out clean when inserted in the centre along with the sides of the cake pulling away from the sides of the tins is usually a good indication of doneness. For deeper cakes, use a wooden skewer.
Also adding an extra egg, well that adds much more liquid. Now normally when you add an extra egg, you are also adding a pudding. You see for whatever extra liquid you add you have to compensate somewhere else. So perhaps the amount of liquid in your cake with the additional egg and such, makes for a chemical reaction.
You mentioned adding butter, well, butter is fine in a recipe where butter is meant to be used. This is because the butter is set into the correct balance of other ingredients that will cause it to react in the correct way. So the butter may also be contributing to the issue.
Is your oven working correctly, that could also be another issue.
Would you like to list the recipe you are following exactly?
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Thought I would post a couple of ways of doctoring cake mixes.
The first one came from the Duncan Hines site.
1 Duncan Hines Deluxe White Cake Mix - This recipe makes a very thick batter and you will have to smooth it into the pan.
1 Jello Instant Pudding Mix - 4 serving size
4 large egg whites
I added 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water - I use whole milk instead
1/3 cup oil
Mix on low for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes. Then bake in greased and floured pan as per the box directions.
I tripled this for a larger sheet cake and I have to say, as much as I am not a big cake mix fan, it was darn good. It does sink a bit after it comes out of the oven, but it has a great texture and is nice and moist. So I would do it again. If you haven't tried out this site, it is pretty good. Probably would give it an A in my search for the best white cake. That would be A out of a rating that might possibly come up with an possible A+. Still, pretty darn impressive
Now this next one from Aussi may be more to your liking. Go with the additional 1/2 cup of butter, I think this will be what you are looking for. It will give you about 6 - 6 1/2 cups of batter.

Auzzi From the Wilton Site's Extendacake Pound Cake
1 pkg of any kind of cake mix to which you add all of the ingredients called for on the box
In addition:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Crisco oil - she substitutes 1/2 cup softened butter instead and so did I - wonderful!
2/3 cup water ( I used milk instead of water where water was called for)
I beat the butter, then added all of the ingredients the cake mix called for and then all of the other ingredients. Then I blended on low for 1 minute, then 2 minutes on medium, scraping the bowl down. Gnerally, cook at 325F for the larger cakes, 350 for smaller and you will need to add baking time, perhaps about 10-15 minutes to the times given on the cake mix box. I checked ever 5 minutes or so over the cake mix times. Also a wonderful cake.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

I don't have that book. But I would say that because of the fact it is only 6 inches around, it makes it harder to cook. I find that is true with cakes under 8 inches in diameter and particularly true with the 3 inch deep pans. It sounds to me like the cake isn't cooked all the way through.
We push the limits as cake decorators because we are using non-standard pans. Standard pans are 8 or 9 inch round or squares or 9x13 inch pans. Originally pans were also between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 inches deep, not 2 or 3 inches deep the way the decorator pans are now. So it affects the way they cook.
I think you will need to add some cooking time. Generally, I will reduce the temperature to 325F if I feel that the centre isn't cooking as fast as the sides have. This usually helps.
When you doctor up a cake mix, you are changing the way the volume will rise, in some cases you need to adjust the amount of batter that is called for. Now I use the Wilton charts as a guideline, but I find in recipes where I use milk instead of water - for example a white Duncan Hines cake, well it creates more volume so I use a bit less batter than the chart says. For some cakes, like a chocolate cake with sour cream, I add more batter, as much as a cup.
No two recipes or cake mixes that are doctored, produce the same volume and so you have to adjust as you see fit.
I find that the 4, 5, and 6 inch cake pans, I have the 3 inch deep ones, well they are hardest to cook. Mainly, because if you think of it, the height of the cake is half and in some cases more that of the actual diameter and so this makes it hard to cook. The fact that it cooks fine for you in a sheet pan, tells you that this is likely the problem.
Plus round small pans are more likely to get bigger crowns and sheet cakes are more likely to cook more level so the centre is about the same height as the sides when you use a sheet pan.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes