Ever have it where you're so confidant making a box cake, then a wrench is thrown and everything goes wrong! I have to make a white cake and used DH mix. I had also bought a sillicone square pan and using for the first time Strike One- when i baked it and turned it out the whole bottom and sides were black like coal! So I went out bought a non stick Bakers Choice pan, and Strike Two, same thing again. I only baked them for about 25 minutes @ 350. Strike Three, the second cake sank in the middle and was undercooked. I don't know what's going on. 
I don't know why it sank, I never opened the oven, and I had to slice everything off, now its smaller than its supposed to and I need it for tomorrow. Thank you all for listening to my tale of woe! 
That is really strange. I can only guess that it was the cake pan, or maybe your oven temperature isn't accurate? I would buy an inexpensive oven gauge thermometer and check it out. I bake my cakes at 325 degrees, using 2" tall pans mine take about 40-45 minutes to bake for small pans such as 6" to 10", up to 1 hour for the 14" pans. I use regular aluminum cake pans, such as Wiltons but I have other brands as well. I line the bottom of my pans with a circle of parchment paper, use pan grease or spray on the edge between the paper and side of the bottom part of pan. I don't grease the sides, but I do use wet baking strips on the outside of the pans. I personally don't like Duncan Hines mixes, other's swear by them. Not that I had any problem with them baking, I just don't care for the texture or taste. My preference in a mix would be Betty Crocker.
Seems like you definitely should check your oven, getting those different results.
I always use DH mixes (with added ingredients) and get good results, except when I goof it up myself! Also, I bake at 325, and I use flower nails as a heat conductor, and the bake wraps, especially on my larger cakes. Janice
I've been wondering about the silicone pans and if anyone uses them. I don't have any and thought of buying one, but am just not crazy about how they are so bendy and wobbly and also I guess I have a bit of concern about baking (cooking) in something that is made of so many chemicals. How can those chemicals NOT seep into the food? Just a thought.
Anyone else use them and love them?
Sorry about your cake disaster I don't really have any suggestions other than try your old way of doing the cake if it worked for you.
Thanx for the great tips everyone. I think i'll try the nail head and see how it works! 
Maybe it was a fluke because i was in a crazy rush, but now i'm real nervous about using the silicone pan. I didn't bake it as long, but it burned pretty bad. I might give it another shot- but only as a practice cake 
I doubt you did anything wrong, probably got an unevenly mixed box of cake mix? It happened to me once and I did everything the same way I always do. I still prefer DH, it has only happened once- one side rose and the other side was flat...
For my wedding shower I put all the silcone baking pans, square, round and muffin tins. My experiance has not been good. All the cakes I bake in them don't rise evenly. I recently bought nice Calphalon cake pans (some type of solid metal) and using the same recipes that I had used with the flexible pans, and the cakes came out soooo much more evenly. 
I just bought a square silicone pan & I've used it twice. I always bake 325 and I have no problems with burning the cake. Did you grease it good too? As for the metal pan that you bought...was it the shiny aluminum or the darker gray color? I have a muffin pan that is darker (than say the Wilton pans) and I burn everything I put in it unless I turn the temp down an extra 25 degrees. Sorry I'm not much but I would suggest turning your oven to 325 until you can check it with a thermometer. Good luck!
I hate the silicone bakeware. I got it too for my wedding. The muffin tray has got all this junk kinda burned onto it now - the muffins came out OK - but not great. Some stuck to the stupid pan - and i DID use PAM spray too! The cakes I tried to bake in them turned out okay but I believe the bottom stuck each time.... I also don't like how wobbly they are - you have to put them on a cookie sheet just to get them in and out of the oven! My husband uses the square pan ones all the time to bake brownies in though and has no problems. I would never buy silicone bakeware again though.
I just bought a square silicone pan & I've used it twice. I always bake 325 and I have no problems with burning the cake. Did you grease it good too? As for the metal pan that you bought...was it the shiny aluminum or the darker gray color? I have a muffin pan that is darker (than say the Wilton pans) and I burn everything I put in it unless I turn the temp down an extra 25 degrees. Sorry I'm not much but I would suggest turning your oven to 325 until you can check it with a thermometer. Good luck!
Come to think of it...the metal pan was a dark gray, so i'll reduce the temp but extend bake time next time around. The silicone was greased good, so it was probably the temp as well.
The silicone pans from what I read on the ones I purchased are for pound like cakes only. If you still have the insert for the, you should read it. I can't remember what mine said now but I never use it.
Sigh.. well it just got worse. I bought lustre paint for my loops- they now look like cracked leather. I made BC icing, and there was a funny smell to it, so i peeled it off the cake, and walked to the supermarket at 11 p.m. Get home and make a new batch thinking everything is OK- Wrong! Its 2:00 a.m and now I realize the icing is grainy. This project was doomed from the get go. The client is a co-worker, and now I want to tell her don't bother and give her money back. I feel very low right now.......
OK.. so it is now 12 hours later.. 2:41 pm.. What happened?? did you do the cake or not? How did it finally come out? Just being curious here 
Well, I woke up at 9:00 a.m trudged to the supermarket to get more supplies. I went back to the drawing board,made a new cake, and a new batch of icing, everything. It finally came out right. So I delivered it the girl and she was very happy with it. She doesn't know about the trials I had with it. So when I saw her Monday at work I asked her about it. *Sigh* She told me she brought it over to the party, but she and her boyfriend had a huge blowout fight so no one ever got to try the cake, and she hasn't spoken to her boyfriend since and most likely they've broken up! 
This might be a liitle superstitious, but maybe all that headache I had was a sign. 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%