I see many recipes here on CC that suggest using a flower nail when using a thick batter. When do you put the nail in and where on the cake and in what position?? Thanks for the help.

Put the nail in the middle of the pan before you pour the batter in. It goes in upside down, with the platform against the surface of the pan and the nail sticking straight up. Spray it with pam spray first.

After the cake is done and you turn it onto a cooling grid, use a fork or something (not your fingers, that nail is hot) to remove the flower nail and it will leave such a small hole that you'll forget it's there.

I put mine in after I pour the batter, just be sure to push it all the way down to the bottom of the pan. The flower nail heats up and disperses the heat to the middle of the cake so it cooks evenly. You won't get such a hump in the middle.

When you are preparing your cake pan for baking you will also grease and flour (or Baking Spray) your flower nail and place it in the middle of your pan (flat bottom down). This will allow the cake to bake evenly and not have a really big hill in the middle when it is baked. Another trick I use is when the cake is finished baking I allow it to cool for a minute or two and putting a clean cloth over the top of the cake I gently mash the top of the cake until it is even on the top. This keeps me from having to cut the cake to level it.

Here is a photo tutorial for the flower nail method. Check out the comments too!
-Rezzy

The flower nail works very well. I use it when I bake fruit cakes. A tip for grannies...tye a piece of cotton around it and let it hang out the pan. I lost mine this year and have to ask the 18 people I baked for if somebody found it in their cake!! OOps.

Sorry... Here it is: http://cakecentral.com/articles/651/cake-baking-flower-nail-method-tutorial

I line the bottom of my cake pan with parchment paper. I stick the nail up through the parchment, and when I peel off the parchment from the bottom, the nail comes right out.