i'd like some tips on how to get the cake to come out without a hump on top, i've tryed numeroous things and none of them seem to work, please help me i need to make a cake i about a week and i don't want it to come out wierd looking

I use the bake even strips from Wilton. You can make your own by using strips of an old terry towel. Wet them and put them around your pan while it bakes. Attach the ends together with large paper clips to hold them on. Also, an inverted flower nail, greased and put in the middle of the pan helps conduct the heat evenly. Bake your cakes at 325. These are the things I use to bake it evenly.

first start baking at 325, get some collars for your pans. Wilton sells them you soak them in water and put them on the outisde of your pan. I find that they works great! When you get a hump in the center of your cake you should be leveling it off to make it flat.
Good Luck

Not to sound stupid, but have you tried leveling the cake (cutting the top off)?

you can do several things:

1. Bake the cake with a heat core (either the commercial heat core or a flower nail)
2. Reduce the temperature from 350 to 325 and increase baking time
3. Use bake even strips.
4. Level your cake after you have baked it if it has a hump on top.

HTH!

Try using a flower nail in your pan, it helps the cake bake more evenly. I've never tried them but some people swear by the bake even strips.
Even with them you might have some hump, I do when I use the nail. To fix that level it with a knife or you can buy a leveler, I think most cakes need a little leveling no matter how you bake them.

One good tip if you don't already do this... when you pour batter into your pans, don't just pour into center then stick in oven. Pour around the perimeter of the pan, then use spatula to spread it out evenly. This combined with all the other great tips will help you bake that perfect cake!

Use a clean dishcloth and gently press the cake down as evenly as possible withoout completely smooshing it. And use the flat bottom of the cake as the top.

thanks for the tips, and yes i do level it off but then im left with almost no cake to work with!! thanks again

Question here - if you use wet towels around your pans, what kind of clips do you use to fasten them? Is it those clamp looking kind that are black and silver? Also, do you just clamp the towel together, or do you clamp it to the upper part of the pan?