I have used several brands of cake mix...all with the same results. They do not rise higher than 1 inch. I have tried to do different add-ins like pudding, extra egg and sour cream....and it still doesn't rise. The same thing happens when I try to make strawberry cake mix. I wonder do I need to decrease the eggs to 3 instead of 4 or maybe increase the temperature from 325?

Your Help would be greatly appreciated.

I beat my eggs a little before adding them to the cake mix. This incorporates are into the eggs which adds volume to your cake when it is baking. I also add two tablespoons of meringue powder to my cake mix.

That is so weird that it doesn't rise. Have you always had that problem? I wonder if it has something to do with climate?

Hmmmmm

One box of cake mix does not make a high 9x13 cake if that is what you are trying to do. It bugs me too. You really have to use an extender or 1 1/2 mixes to get a nice high 9x13. I know what it says on the box, but we have both learned the hard way that it just is not quite enough.

Are you filling your pans at least half way? I there isn't enough batter in the pan it simply won't rise very far. Don't put much more than half though or you might overflow. Also, the additon of pudding and sour cream and etc. will only make for a denser/moister cake not a higher rising one. 325 is a good temp to bake at and you could try 350 as well. This will bake quicker and higher in the middle (hump). Using a bake even strip will eliminate the hump. A typical mix will yield 4-6 cups of batter. I find two 8 or 9 inch pans are the perfect size for this amount of batter. Large pans may not leave enough batter to bake into a full 2 inch layer.

Amalia

Re read your post and since you are using chocolate cake mix which is typically denser than white or yellow you could add more than half to the pan. That is to say, fill the cake pan more than half way. Again, be careful not to overfill as you will overflow!

Amalia

are you using the straight box mix as it says on the back of the box? also what size pans are you using and do the sides slope outward at all?

Here are my ideas - could try out one at a time or all at one time...

1. check your pan sizes. I used to have the Wilton 9" pans that came as a set stacked together. They are able to nest perfectly inside one another because the sides are slightly sloped outward. I've read that this may keep cakes from fully rising. I switched to 2 8" Magic Line pans and a mix fills both nicely

2. Check that your oven temperature is accurate with a thermom. inside the oven. I always bake at 325 but have to set my oven to 330 to get there according to the oven therm.

3. Try a cake mix extender to get more batter out of the mix:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1599-Enhanced-Cake-Formula.html

4. Add Meringue Powder to the batter to help it rise a little more as suggested above.

5. Mix for exactly as long as it says on the box. 2 minutes usually. I set the kitchen timer.

If none of those help, maybe try a different brand of eggs? Or check the date on the cake mixes? These are just guesses that could affect the rising of the cake?

Good luck and let us know what helps!

In all my cakes I fill my pan to the half way mark except in chocolate. I fill the pan a little over 1/2 because they don't rise so great for me either. I'm baking a 10" square right now & filled the pan a little over 1/2 full & it's rising perfect. I have the problem of my chocolate cakes taking a lot longer to bake then other flavor cakes. Do any of you have that problem? I did a white 10"square before the chocolate one & it took 30 min to bake. This chocolate one has taken about 15 min longer to bake. Go figure~

Jannie92869, i have that same problem too! i dont know what i do wrong either. i used a 11 X 7 pan...or whatever that size is and it was like 1 inch thick. I just used the recipe on a DH Devisl food. weird.

aren't cake mixes designed for 2 8" round pans?

two 2" high 8" round pans = total volume of 200ish cubic inches.

a 9x13 pan that is 2 inches high has a volume of 234 inches. which is why the same amount of batter won't make as high a sheet cake. you are spreading the batter out a little more so it isn't going to rise quite as high.

I am using the 9 x 13 Wilton cake pan. I have not tried to add extra mix to make it a box and a half. I will try that tip this weekend. My one box DH yellow will rise higher than the one box chocolate. I will try adding more mix. And yes, it is always moist but just short so I end up using two slabs and making it a 2 layer to get the right size.

sometimes I add 3/4 a tsp of baking powder to the box mix. makes a box mix rise nicely.

I only use 3" pans and I use two mixes (Duncan Hines) for the 9 x 13. I bake at 325 degrees and it usually takes 65-75 minutes. Also I spray the pan with Pam and line with wax paper, this along with the lower temp gives a more level cake. Good Luck

Ok, I used a tip above about using a box and a 1/2 of cake mix. I made two chocolate cakes in seperate mixers...poured one complete bowl in the 9 x 13--2" pan then added more from the 2nd mixer bowl to make it a little more than 1/2 full. (I wasn't for sure if I could put both mixes in one bowl) And it does say on the back of the box that you can make a 9 x 13 with the mix. I am able to do that with yellow but not chocolate. I will let you know how it turns out once it comes out the oven.

OK.................made the 2 boxes of mix as I stated above. I have a higher cake!!!!!!!!! Yea!!! I have tried so many different recipes and did not get it to be this high. The only problem is the sides got a little hard. I baked the cake at 325 for about 65 minutes. I had to bake it longer at that temperature because the toothpick check was not clean until that time. Maybe the next time I should try adding the additional mix and bake at 350 instead. Maybe that way the sides will not get hard.

I know I was going to wait until this weekend to try but just couldn't wait. Glad I didn't, this gives me some piece of mind!

Thanks again for all your assistance.

If you still get the hard sides when you raise the temperature, you might try using baking strips. (Make sure you follow the mfg directions)

When I do chocolate mixes I always fill it a little more than half full and if I get a hard outer edge it usually is cut off when I level the cake. (That is if I don't use the baking strips.)

65 minutes seems awfully long....

try putting a flower nail in the middle

don't raise the temp - you could even lower it slightly. I second the idea of using the baking strips. Also - make sure your oven really is at the temperature it says it is.

I use bake strips too and it comes out perfect every time. Meringue powder also works great if you want your cake to rise!

That sounds odd, especially since my chocolate mix cakes always rise higher than the white. When I've done cake decorating demo's, I've even taken baked white and choc cakes (same size) to show them that a choc cake will rise higher.

Agree with the previous posts .... baking strips and using the correct size pans will help.

Ok, I know this sounds weird, but if I use a dark coated pan my cakes dont rise very well either....but if I use the light colored pans Tada!! Sounds crazy, but every cake I've done in the dark pans whether it's an 8" or 9x13 it never rises. Hmmm...strange but true.

You didn't do anything wrong.  The answer is 3 ounces.  Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker used to be 18.25 oz and is now 15.25 oz.  They are putting in less but charging the same if not more.  My 88 year old mother who has used her same cake pans since 1957 is having the issue of a 1 inch (if not less) cake height.  My sisters and I and my daughter - we have all noticed a big difference.  It's because of deception, not because of the pan, the eggs, the temperature.  It's because 3 oz is missing!  So add more flour, or powdered meringue, or baking powder, but we shouldn't have to add anything if Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines just put back the 3 oz themselves.

This is exactly the problem, @whiteangel and @bakerwannabe! Why can't they just charge more for the same product, rather than hoping we'll decide to buy two mixes, for the missing 2-3 cups of prepared batter that those three ounces translates to. This may be shocking to learn, but when I got married in the 70s, those box mixes were 21oz!!! When we made a bundt cake, it rose to the top! With the gyppo mixes, those bundt cakes look about 1/3 the height of the pan. So disappointing.

BTW, your "1/2 gallon" ice cream is now something like 1.58 quarts. (and costs $7.99!!! AND WE PAY THAT, WILLINGLY!) Your OJ is only 1.3 quarts, they fool you with the deceptive bottle shapes.

DUNCAN HINES! (if you're listening), how 'bout an XL or Jumbo size for those of us who remember what your product used to be, sold right alongside the dinky ones you currently are passing off as standard?

I just realized how old this thread is, but still must add, re the not-rising cakes... I did have the same problem years ago, and even though I used an oven thermometer, and even replaced my oven's door gasket, the problem was that the oven temp was fluctuating throughout the baking time. The temperature must be reached and remain constant for the entire baking time. SO WE BOUGHT A NEW OVEN! It replaced a builders grade that was close to meeting vintage/antique classification, LoL. Best money ever spent. I shudder to imagine how much undercooked chicken we consumed from the old girl, beore we gave her a decent burial.