I'm using my BES for the first time. It says to soak strips....well, i'm thinking, my cake has to bake for 1hr 30 mins, will I have to soak them again or will they be ok
Also, should I turn the oven down a bit ???

I can't wait to see how my cake comes out

Hope someone can advise me

Only soak once and leave your oven at normal temperature.
Have fun

Thanks sc.... I've just checked my cake and it is taking a bit longer to cook

It has risen a little bit, not as much as usual, is this normal...I wasn't expecting a completly flat cake

Can't wait to get it out the oven....my son can't understand why i'm sooo excited

........risen a little bit, not as much as usual, is this normal......

Are you sure you added the same amount of batter? That might be why it didn't rise as much. It should rise just the same as w/o the BES.

So let us know how it turned out.

Sorry I didn't mean it didn't rise as much as normal I meant it didn't dome as much as normal.

My son came down the stairs and said 'mmmm what's that smell' when i told him it's cake then explained that there wasn't a lot to cut off he was not impressed

On the whole I am pleased with my BES. I did use a deep tin as always as I don't have any shallow tins and i'm wondering if I should use 2.

Another thing i noticed is that it wasn't as crusty round the top edge.

Helpful tip: I use binder clips to hold mine on the pan. I place them about two inches from the corners around the pan.

A flat top and not-so-crusty edges are both advantages of the BES!

Yes, the cake not having that huge center dome is exactly what using the BES is all about
Next time.....try lowering your baking temp about 25 degrees F. I bet you will find it won't rise in the center at all