Last night I had ANOTHER disaster with this cake I am making for my mother....in addition to the dog eating the fondant figurine (see below post about pets!). I made a cookies n' creme cake from my Cake Mix Bible cake...it said to bake for 50-60 minutes, but I checked it at 30 and it was overdone! DH thought I could save it, but when I tried to trim the sides, I couldn't cut through the bottom of the cake. 
So I stayed up until 12 making another cake from scratch.
Every single cake I have made so far has had a disaster element to it!
Golf cake - edges of the cake got really crispy (I think it was from using Pam with Flour)
Sunflower Cake - dog ate the carved top of the cake where the "seeds" went. Had to cut the top off a cupcake to replace it. Had to bake 3 layers of a 6" cake seperately because I only have one pan - and the first layer would not come out of the pan, and it took almost 20 extra minutes to bake than indicate.
Birthday cake with fondant bow - first bow was a total disaster. Other than that...I think it went pretty well actually!
Clog cake (not pictured....anywhere) - too many things went wrong with this cake, including it breaking.
Birthday present cake - 2 of the 3 layers baked unevenly in a BIG way....lots and lots of levelling - good thing it was 3 layers!
And now this one...yeesh! It's enough to make a girl want to give up....but it's a good thing I am really stubborn. 
How frustrating! I like your attitude, though. You will conquor the bad spell, I just know it!
Angie
Well you are persistant! I can't help wondering how it is that your dog has access to your cakes. And if he's munching on them you are just relpacing part of the cake? Also have you checked your oven temp with an oven thermometer? It sounds like your oven might need to be adjusted or just use an oven thermometer to ensure that you're set at the correct temp. I would recomend you try using cake release instead of Pam and flour and parchment paper on the bottoms of your pans. The recipe for homemade cake release was just reposted here today. It's cheap to make and have on hand and works great.! Good luck!
Well you are persistant! I can't help wondering how it is that your dog has access to your cakes. And if he's munching on them you are just relpacing part of the cake? Also have you checked your oven temp with an oven thermometer? It sounds like your oven might need to be adjusted or just use an oven thermometer to ensure that you're set at the correct temp. I would recomend you try using cake release instead of Pam and flour and parchment paper on the bottoms of your pans. The recipe for homemade cake release was just reposted here today. It's cheap to make and have on hand and works great.! Good luck!
My dog just ate the carved part of the cake...before it was iced or assembled, it was just the one part sitting out on the counter to cool. If he were to snack on a finished cake I would re-do the whole thing!
I have checked my oven with an oven thermometer, and it cooks 25 degrees hotter, so I set my oven at 325 instead of 350.
I don't use the Pam with flour since that first cake - I tried it once to see if it would be faster than greasing and flouring. But I have gone back to my old method and it works fine....but I will have to check out the recipe for homemade cake release.
I apologize if I insulted you. I sure didn't mean to. I don't trust my cat with anything left out. I just know she'd love the moist sweet tops of my cooling cakes. Yikes! I have to put her outside after I take them out of the oven. I tried the pam with flour and didn't like it at all. This cake release is all that I use now. I am itching to try my first cake with an edible image. I recently got my cartidges and frosting sheets but need to get a scanner first. I am familiar with many of your cakes. You do very pretty work. Good luck with your overbaking problem.
Meghan, your work is just beautiful and there is no way you could be in a slump for too long! And I do agree with CarolAnn, Wilton Cake Release costs a little more but is really worth it because I have NEVER had a cake stick since using it. Good luck! 
dsoutherngirl,
This is the recipe for cake release shared on this site. Much cheaper than Wilton but the Wilton squeeze bottle still works well. lol
This is a simple cake release recipe used instead of the traditional greasing and flouring of cake pans
1 cup flour
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Combine all ingredients and mix completely. Coat the bottom and sides of the bake pan using a pasty brush.
Coat pan until you do not see any shining metal of the pan showing. After cake has cooled 5 minutes turn over onto a board.
Cake will release completely from the pan.
Can be stored in an air tight container. Does not need to be refrigerated.
Note: do no allow to cool more than 10 minutes before removing from pan (pan release must not be allowed to harden).
Recipe can be adjusted by just using equal amounts of each ingredient.
I've made extra cake pans out of foil before when I needed to bake more than I had pans for. Take a few layers of heavy duty foil and mold them around the outside of your pan, then make a band of foil to put around the sides and fold the excess from the sheets back down.
Remove from the pan carefully, use cake release on the inside, put it on a cookie sheet and bake like you would a regular pan. I've not tried this with larger than an 8 inch round pan, but would think it would work well.
This would be worth a try when you need to bake those three 6-inch cakes and want to do them all at once!
hth!
Laura.
Just an FYI for the crisp sides, lower your oven temp an additional 25 degrees. I know a lot of people post that they bake at 325 instead of 350 and get a more level cake and not as overcooked on the sides. Its worked great for my cakes which used to always have the hard sides. Since your oven runs 25 degrees hot to begin with, then you lowering your knob to 300 should give you a 325 oven. Keep up with the stubborness. I feel your pain. LOL
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