Help!
I just pulled a cake out of the oven and it did not turn out quite like it should. I used baking strips around the wilton 9X13 pan, the batter was not over mixed, the oven not to hot. And yet the cake still domed. The pan is 2 inch deep and the cake is max. 1 1/2 " deep. What did I do wrong? Could the baking strips not be good anymore? Would much appreciate any suggestions you all may have.
Fotos of cakes I have done so far will be on this site quite soon. !!!
Did you soak the strips in water first? I've forgotten a couple of times and had the same problem.
Most of my sheet cakes dome too..... maybe next time try putting a flower nail upside down in the middle to help the inside bake faster????
Me, once I flip them over the dome decreases so I'm not wasting so much cake.
I've never heard of baking strips going bad. It's not like they are made of anything magical or anything. You could make your own from terry cloth towels. The only thing special about them is the silver cloth on the outside.
I just tried baking strips for the first time and mine domed too, but it goes down as it cools. I figured what was the point of using them, but then I baked one without and saw a difference (the one without pulled away from the pan and narrowed towards the top). I'll still use them as I know the shrinkage won't be as bad. The wilton leveler is a wonder thing. If you don't have one, I highly recommend them for leveling.
I've used baking strips twice and had some interesting results both times. 
The 1st cake had "domed" slightly on the bottom. My 2nd attempt both cakes completely collapsed from the top after I pulled them out of the oven. 
I don't know what I did wrong but my strips were soaked 
The baking strips will not guarantee a perfectly flat cake, but it significantly decreases the doming effect. As mentioned above, next time you put two cake pans in the oven, strip one and not the other and see the difference. I wont' bake without them ... and mine are starting to look pretty pitiful! 
i have never used the strips. i use to wet a cloth and wrap it around my pan. works good. also, when i bake a cake and it has a hump, when i get it out of the oven i will take a cloth towel and lay on top of the cake while it is still in the pan and press it down slowly and evenly. this help out alot also.
[quote="Kristin100700"]I've used baking strips twice and had some interesting results both times. The 1st cake had "domed" slightly on the bottom. My 2nd attempt both cakes completely collapsed from the top after I pulled them out of the oven. I don't know what I did wrong but my strips were soaked [/quote
The stips would not make your cake sink in the center. That is usually caused by over beating and under cooking.Also decrease your temperature to 325. Try them again I use them all the time!
Ok thanks for the tips, when I pulled them out they looked really pretty and I was so proud of myself! 
I walked away and 10 min later they were done for, collapsed like a bad souffle! I started over with the exact same mix, bake temp & time but skipped the strips and it came out fine. I have to level a bit of course but that's ok. Guess I have some more practicing to do! 
The only thing that I might add is that the strips need to be secured tightly against the pan. I say this because I watched a friend barely wet them and placed them loosely around the pan without any pin. She said that they did not work that great and did not see what the fuss was about. Doming comes from the temp being too high if it is a thin pan and the cake is cooking too fast from the outer rim pushing the cakemix up in the middle. (the dome) The strips (soaking wet) will keep the heat away from the outeredge so that the center cooks at the same rate as the outeredge. I have had my strips for 27 years with no problems. The only way that I can see them going bad is if you burn them in the oven. LOL
The only thing that I might add is that the strips need to be secured tightly against the pan. I say this because I watched a friend barely wet them and placed them loosely around the pan without any pin. She said that they did not work that great and did not see what the fuss was about....
I think I'll try that the next time I change a kid's diaper and see how it works!
No, I can't see what the big fuss is about either!
I think they need to invent thermo-velcro so you can use that instead of pins to secure them.......... plus then you don't lose the pins........
I could not understand how she expected them to work when she placed them on the oven rack the strips were not even touching the pan.
indydebi, I am glad that diapers do not have to be pinned now, because she has a 9 month old and I can imagine what his diapers would be like. Sort of sagging around the knees like the way the kids wear their baggy pants today. LOL
Ok so I asked me teacher why the cakes would have collapsed and she thought that my problem might be that as soon as I took the pans out of the oven to cool I also removed the strips from the pan? Guess I'll have to try it again sometime. Feels like a science experiment.
Ok so I asked me teacher why the cakes would have collapsed and she thought that my problem might be that as soon as I took the pans out of the oven to cool I also removed the strips from the pan? Guess I'll have to try it again sometime. Feels like a science experiment.
That doesn't sound right to me.... I remove the whole cake from the pan within 2 minutes of it coming out of the oven. I don't understand why removing the strips within 30 seconds would make a diff. ???? 
I always remove my strips as soon as they come out of the oven, and have never had a problem. As was mentioned before, if the dome is small, I place a board over the pan and push down gentley. As soon as the 10 minutes is up, I flip it over. This only works if the dome is small, other wise, level.
Ok well it was just another thought someone had. Seems there are different ideas on why these things happen. I'll just keep trying the suggestions to figure out what works best. I'm here to learn 
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