Can someone tell me why a cake falls? I have made a couple of cakes, from different recipes, and they look fine and are raising during cooking. Next thing I know I look through the oven glass and they have fallen. On both cakes, I did not over mix. I did bang my pan before putting it in the oven. I do this most of the time though and never have problems. Why does this happen and how can I avoid it?
I don't think it is the oven 
. These happened several weeks apart. I have baked many cakes in between with no problem. I also baked cupcakes with no problem.
I have always known cakes fall but never knew the reason. Now that I am dealing with it I was hoping someone would enlighten me.
Are all the falling cakes the same recipe? Some recipes need different temps than others. Generally when a cake falls inexplicably it is because the over temp is too low (despite what your dial may say) - the air bubbles get too large and burst before the crumb has a chance to set.
Nope, they are different recipes. The first was a simple box mix, BC yellow cake. The most recent was WASC. I really banged the pan several times to get the air out.
I baked the WASC at 325. That seemed low but it is what the recipe called for. Does that seem right?
Another reason given for cakes falling in the center is too much sugar and/or fat or leavening.
Here's a handy cake problem troubleshooting chart:
http://ww.joyofbaking.com/ButterCakeTroubleshooting.html
HTH
OK, that explains it. Thanks Jan. I replaced the 1 cup of the water in the WASC recipe with Vanilla Toffee Caramel creamer. That must have been the added fat. I am going to read through the link for things to watch for.
Anyway, I cut the top off of the fallen cakes, filled them and iced the cakes. They were very good, but a little heavy/spongy. Everyone thought they were supposed to be that way. I just made them for a family gathering so it wasn't a big deal.
Thanks so much for the help!
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