Okay, I am about to take my semi-cooled cake out of the pan. It is a
9 x 13, and it domes in the middle very much. I learned yesterday that if you try to level while a cake is still hot, it basically falls apart.
My fear is that when I flip it over, since the dome will be there, that the sides will sag, and the pressure of the sides will cause the cake to crack.
Any ideas at all?
Once it is out of the pan just flip it over again so the flat side is down. But, I always level mine when still warm, have never had problem. (Now with that said, I probably will the next time I do it. ) 
My cakes always have a big 'dome'. I let them sit in the pan for about 10 minutes, then flip them onto a cake board covered with freezer paper. Then I immediately flip them again, onto another covered cake board, so the dome is on top. I level it while warm, then flip it one more time so the cut side is on the bottom. The only time I've had one break because of the dome is when I made a white cake with egg whites only (too flimsy).
I always do my trim-job while it's still in the pan, so I can use the pan as a guide. This helps when I flip it out because it's not sitting on a dome .... that cake will start to crack almost immediately if it's sitting on a dome. (That darn gravity thing!).
I've used the push-down method, too, and find this helps when flipping it out, but I still do a trim-job on it because I don't like that brown top layer in the middle of my white wedding cakes. Plus I want mine perfectly (!) straight and level.
Really!? I Have never heard of that! Does it really work?
I was going to say that, too. If you squish down the dome while it is still hot, it will compact the cake so there is no waste from leveling. Then let it cool for 15 min before taking it out of the pan. I always line my sheet cake pans with parchment before baking and I flip it out onto the cake board I will be using to let it cool. The parchment will help hold the cake in one piece and keep the cake from drying out until decorating time. Just peel the parchment off and ice!
If your domes are too high and you don't have the bake even strips, lower your oven temperature to 325 and bake a little longer. That should help prevent the domes. It happens because the batter on the outside edge of the pan bakes before the cake has a chance to rise because the pan gets real hot. The remaining batter continues to rise as it bakes and all goes to the middle, creating the dome. If you cool it off, either by lowering the oven temp, or using the bake even strips, you can help the batter bake evenly as it should.
The bake even strips are a metalic like insulated fabric that you saturate in cool water and wrap around the outside of the pan before baking. They keep the pan from getting too hot too fast.
I also press down my cake as soon as it comes out of the oven........I use my cooling rack to do it.....put it right on top push down, hold for a minute and then do it the opposite way making a criss cross with the rack on the cake..........it makes it totally flat on top and no rough crumby cake top to deal with!! works like a charm
I CUT STRIPS OF OLD (CLEAN) SWEAT PANTS OR STRIPS OF SWEAT MATERIAL ABOUT 3" TO 4" WIDE AND LONG ENOUGH TO GO AROUND THE PAN WITH A LITTLE TO CONNECT OR PIN CLOSED.
DAMPEN ( NOT SOAKED) AND WRAP AROUND PANS PRIOR TO BAKING......THIS KEEPS THE OUTSIDE FROM BAKING FASTER THAN THE MIDDLE AND YOUR CAKE WILL RAISE RELATIVELY FLAT.....
THEY DO HAVE THE PAN WRAPS AT WILTON BUT I HAVE FOUND THAT THE MATERIAL WORKS JUST AS GOOD AND LESS EXPENSIVE..
Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm going to try this cool stuff.
I used to do the "press down" method but my grandchildren (and children) complained because then there were no "cake tops" when they came over.
I like to take a clean dish towel and press down the dome as soon as it comes out of the oven. This makes it nice and level and no other leveling (as in cutting) is required!
I do this too.
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