I use DH mixes, and have also made the WASC version. To varying degrees, they all seem to bulge out in the middle. On the square ones the middle of each side is closer to the edge of the cake board than the corners are. On the round ones they just have a "pudgey" look rather than a straight-up vertical side. Can you help??
Ok, this has become a personal challenge now. Let's go thru the process of elimination.......
How do you treat your pans before baking? Grease and flour? Pan Grease? Spray on (PAM)? Do you use baking strips? Temp of oven? Does it test toothpick clean when you take them out? How long do they sit in the pan before you move them to the cooling rack?
With these questions, I'm looking for any probability of the cake sticking a bit to the sides of the pan before it's removed .... if so, that could "weaken" the sides, creating a slight cracking of the integrity of the sides. Are they thoroughly baked upon removal? If they are not, the "undone" part of the cake could be settling and since it can't settle "up", it has to settle down .... the only place it has to go when it settles is out sideways.
In the meantime, you can freeze them until just this side of solid and trim. When I use a Wilton pan (haven't converted all to Magic Lines yet), I do this and then stand them on their sides while I take a sharp knife around the outer edge to even it up .... to make the sides straight.
My cakes bulge after filling and stacking, but before icing. Don't know if they bulge before that because they're on a cooling rack and can't tell. Most are Wilton pans. I've used both CC cake release and Pam. On larger cakes I use parchment on the bottom as well. Also use flower nails in the larger ones. Always use bake even strips except on character pans. Oven is 325. Cake tests done with clean toothpick, and on larger ones I usually leave it in another 2-4 minutes after that. Cool in pan about 10 min.; longer for large ones. Cool completely before filling/icing.
There's a really good anti-bulge tutorial on the cakeboss website at
http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the tutorial. There was a time when I tried to "save" as much cake as possible by not leveling off the entire dome. That resulted in the dreaded "midline bulge". The more recent problem is that the entire 2-layer cake bulges out towards the edge of the cake board at the center of each side and end. It seems like the cake just can't handle its own weight.
There's a really good anti-bulge tutorial on the cakeboss website at
http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx
Hope that helps!
That is a very good tutoprial. For years I have been filling in those spaces on the sides of the cake where the layers meet with piped icing and I promise you it is one of the best tips you will ever use. I never have a bulge in the sides of the cake. Remember to smooth those piped lines with an icing spatula before crumb coating the cake. Refrigerate till well chilled and then do the final icing coat and smoothing. I too cut the tops off my cake to level, but not while they are in the pan. Still it could be a good way to do it because the sides of the pan will support the sides of the cake while you are slicing through it.
Kinda sounds like your cake is over done. Try and cook another trial cake and watch it in the last ten minutes of the cook time. You will see that the corners will pull in. Each box cake will do this differently. Not all cake mixes are created equal!
Good luck!
TC? I love TC!
Lilie, you could be right. I've had a couple of cakes sink in the middle--even when testing done with a toothpick--so probably have gotten a bit gunshy. Today's cake seemed to do fine. In fact, the whole thing was relatively painless, although something about the final product isn't quite right. Not sure just what, but it's likely going to stand as is. I need to get my veggie garden in asap, and tomorrow is manure day! Nobody gets more excited over manure than me. Woo-hoo!!
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