i am baking a 12" square,and the first one was overbaked on the edges and just barely done in the middle, i have to bake the next one within a hour, no time to get heating core, and suggestions? oh 12"x2" not 3"

Pop in a couple of upside-down flower nails (greased).

This is a tip that I picked up from CC, and it works wonders on larger cakes, without leaving a huge hole as per heating cores.

That said, for a 12 x 12, I find I don't need flower nails if I wrap the tin in about 6 thicknesses of newspaper, this slows the cooking down, allowing the centre to cook before the sides get crispy!

Hope that helps!

thanks!! i just noticed a bunch of topics about this, that i read with some other helpful ideas...i better get to it

if the outsides are overdone, and the middle is undercooked, i would suggest lower your oven 25 degrees.

For the larger cakes like 12" i bake 25 degress lower like Kimberly suggested and do the flower nail as well

This may be a silly question, but what is the best placement for the flower nails? I place them in the center and everytime, my center sinks

This is on my 10" and 12" square and rectangle. I have 2 nails each. Help!!

I must be the new thread killer...everytime I post a question or a reply, the thread goes dead... waaa...no one likes me anymore....