I am making a football cake in the First N Ten pan and it has risen in the middle, almost as high as the football cake itself. The rim of the cake looks a little cracked as it pulled away from the pan. I baked it at 325 for 55-60 min as recommended in the pan instructions. What did I do wrong and how can I get it to bake flat on the bottom?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sandra
Pghnana
You didn't necessarily do anything "wrong". Cakes get done on the outside edges first and will continue to raise where it's still baking... in the middle. I am a little surprised that the directions call for 55 - 60 minutes. I realize that baking differs depending on house temp, altitude, recipe used, and individual ovens, but I bake at 315 for about 40 minutes with that pan and the cake is fine.
That being said, having a hump on the football cake isn't terrible. It's not like you need it to be flat on "top". But, if you have too much hump, the cake can crack. Just use a serrated knife and cut off the bulk of the hump so that it has a flat surface to sit on. You can also take part of the "cut-offs" and use it to fill in a little around the sides so you don't have to cut off as much. Make sense? HTH
Thanks for the reply. I made this cake a few years ago for the Steeler's Super Bowl and it came out fine. This time, though, I was surprised how much it rose in the middle. I cut off the excess and it seems to lay flat enough. I just thought there was a trick to getting it to come out flatter.
What flavor was it? I find that chocolate and vanilla always raise much higher than some other flavors. That might've had something to do with it, too?
Normally, I recommend baking at a lower temp to help reduce the hump. Sometimes putting the cake pan on an insulated cookie sheet will slow down the overall baking time which will allow the sides to bake up more, as well.
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