I baked an 8in last night and I read that if you put a flower nail in the middle then it will cook evenly and more flat so that you don't have to level the cake because it will already be even. When I did it it still had the big bump in the middle... has this worked for anyone else and did I do something wrong?

Hi, I always use a flower nail and cakes come out flat. I never had a big bump. But I remove the crust on the top using my cake leveler.

I don't use the nail to level out my cakes, but to make sure the middle is done in the larger ones.

I use a nail in larger cakes, not smaller ones (10" or down). I do bake on 335 degrees instead of 350 and it helps. I do still get a small bump sometimes but nothing bad. Sometimes I level it and sometimes not.

One trick someone shared with me was to spin the pans once you've put the batter in. It helps even out the batter because you generally never pour it into the pan evenly.

I have never used the nail, but I have used the baking strips and they worked for me.

All the usual tricks (flower nail, baking strips, mashing down the top) reduce the bump, but you ALWAYS need to level. You may not be taking a lot of cake off, but you ALWAYS level.

The flower nail wont make your cakes level, if your lucky it will reduce the bump slightly but you still need to level it. the nail is used purely to promote even baking (so that the edges of the cake dont overcook before the middle is done)i use a nail in all pans 8" and over, but i do use 4"deep pans. and i always get a small bump. HTH

Thanks guys! I had no idea! I will definitely continue to use the flower nails to help it cook more evenly in the middle

The flower nail helps the center bake faster, so that it bakes more evening and you will have less of a hump. The bake even strips slow down the baking from the outside in, again reducing the hump.

I bake almost every cake with both bake even strips and a flower nail. I also bake at 325, thus baking slower.

If I am doing a single layer cake I don't worry with the little hump I get. By the time it cools upside down on the rack the little hump doesn't bother me. If you are doing layers of cake, or stacking as Leah said I'd still trim/torte.