Hi all... i'm just curious as to whether anyone has tried baking the Hershey's chocolate cake and how high the cake rose for you guys?
As i don't have 2 9" cake pans, i usually use a 9" x 3" cake pan and just dump the whole batter into the pan to bake.. but my cake only rises just a little over 2" high, which is a pain especially if i want to frost and decorate it. I'm just wondering if baking in 2 9" x 2" pans will yield a difference in the height. Anyone? Thanks!!!

Well from your description I doubt it will make much difference.
Yes, the right pan can make a difference in how it bakes but it sounds like there just is not enough batter in htis case.
For any cake you must add enough batter that it comes 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the side of any pan.
So for a 3" deep pan the batter should be at least 2" deep. Use a ruler to see if you have enough.

I love their perfectly chocolate cake and have made it several times recently. It rises as well for me but their is not enough batter for 2 9" pans. I used a 10" x 2 pan for one recipe and it rose the 2 full inches. It's also a light cake for me and I just love it! It's my new favorite chocolate cake but I'm not sure it would hold up very well under fondant.

I make the Collector's Chocolate Cake from Hershey's recipe exclusively, and if you only make the one portion of it, it makes a really skimpy 2-9" cake, or 9x12" cake. I usually make it 1-1/2 times, or double even. It rises best it does, but without more batter, it just doesn't amount to very much. ...well, to me!

You will be fine with your pan. It's the chocolate cake that I make most often and It usually comes out perfectly level on its own and doesn't rise much. It's super moist and soooo yummy!

I love that cake! It's the only scratch cake I make, so far. But agree that the recipe (as I find with most cake recipes that I've tried) doesnt' yield NEAR the batter that you think it does (or that they SAY it does! ). I always double the recipes anyway, just in case.

Thanks all for your responses!! So i'm not the only one!! haha.. thought i was doing something wrong all the while.

Kakeladi, thanks so much, i'll make sure i'll check how hight my batter is before i bake the batter the next time. Thanks for the tip!

Tracycakes, i actually use Hershey's recipe for my chocolate cakes and decorate it using fondant all the time. They actually hold up pretty well

Homemade-Goodies and Indydebi.. thanks for letting me know.. i think i might try 11/2 times the recipe the next time i bake this cake and hopefully i'll get a nice high cake

kandu001 you mentioned that when you bake the Hershey's cake it comes out perfectly level? Hmm.. i usually have to bake a full recipe of the Hershey's cake for 1 hour at 180 degrees celcius in my 9"x3" pan and usually by the time it hits the 1/2 hour mark, the cake starts peaking and by the end of the 1 hour, i usually get a little mound so i still have to level the cake. Could i ask if you are also baking it in a 9"x3" pan or in 2 seperate pans? Thanks!!

Thanks once again for everyone's response! Merry Christmas!!

Hi serenelui, I actually use that recipe in whatever pan shape and size that I am baking for at the time. No matter which one I use it always seems to come out mostly level. It's not always 100% perfect, but for the most part I rarely have to level it. I don't bake mine for quite as long though as you do. I usually do 35 min in 350 F (not sure what that is in C sorry) I also have in the past turned my cake around in the oven half way through baking if it isn't baking level with other recipes. You could try that. Some people also love the bake even strips, but I've never used them.

170 C = 338 F
175 C = 347 F
180 C = 356 F

I suspect that part of the issue is that your oven is a tad too hot. You might try a lower temp. Also do you have a thermometer in you oven?

I bake my cakes at 175C for usually 35-40 minutes, whether in 2-9" pans, or 9x12" - all of which do peak, but once removed from oven, I set my potholder on the top and slightly press it back down. Seems to work for me, and I rarely have to level after that.