Scratch Cake Baking Trouble,please Help!
Decorating By drwendy Updated 20 Jan 2007 , 3:03am by drwendy
I'm having trouble learning to bake scratch cakes (just can't do the boxed ones anymore!). I did a chocolate cake out of Colette Peters' book which turned out perfect (though I had to bake it a lot longer than she said I would), but I can't get a yellow cake to bake right to save my life. I have tried two different recipes a total of 5 cakes and they all do the same thing. They get VERY crisp around the edges but aren't done in the middle. They get to the point that they toothpick test OK but are still unbaked in the center and fall once I've pulled them out, and yet the edges are unpleasantly crisp....not burned, but a lot more like French bread than I want my cakes to be. My oven thermostat is correct and I follow instructions to the letter using room temp ingredients. Anybody have any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
wilton makes a core, you can buy them at any Micheal's stores. I've also used an upside down flower nail in the middle of my cakes and that works the same as a core. You set the flat side down on the bottom of the pan and pour the batter in. After the cake is baked and removed from the pan you can slide the nail out easily from the top of the cake.
Well, tyty, I'm sure that's part of my problem. I use bakestrips if I'm using my 9 inch rounds, (didn't seem to help), but I have tried a couple of "shell" cakepan cakes which have been not so hot. I fill a little over half full in that odd-shaped pan. I overfilled a 6 inch pan with the leftover batter from one of the ill-fated shell attempts, and then I learned how much smoke it takes for my alarm to go off when it ran all over the inside of my oven and set the heating element on fire! I guess my biggest issue is not the baking time (I know I have taken them out too early when they sink down in the middle after they cool off!) but that they're getting so crisp around the edges without being actually baked inside. So to sum up...I made 9 inch rounds, 6 inch rounds and the shell pan and have had this problem with all of them. Sorta getting an idea what you're up against with my spectacular baking skill, right? 
Try baking at 325, use a core or a flower nail in the middle, plus use the baking strips around the pan.
like cakes by sandy said try baking at 325. i dont see where u said which temp u baked at, just that u followed to the t.. most recipes i have say bake at 350 and I never do
Well, tyty, I'm sure that's part of my problem. I use bakestrips if I'm using my 9 inch rounds, (didn't seem to help), but I have tried a couple of "shell" cakepan cakes which have been not so hot. I fill a little over half full in that odd-shaped pan. I overfilled a 6 inch pan with the leftover batter from one of the ill-fated shell attempts, and then I learned how much smoke it takes for my alarm to go off when it ran all over the inside of my oven and set the heating element on fire! I guess my biggest issue is not the baking time (I know I have taken them out too early when they sink down in the middle after they cool off!) but that they're getting so crisp around the edges without being actually baked inside. So to sum up...I made 9 inch rounds, 6 inch rounds and the shell pan and have had this problem with all of them. Sorta getting an idea what you're up against with my spectacular baking skill, right?
Well I just baked a 10 inch 3 deep yellow cake. I put a little sour cream in it so it did take longer to bake. I used a bake even strip and a flower nail. It did get a dark rim around the top edge but the sides are fine.
I agree with the others that mentioned lowering your oven. Just bake a little longer.
I find that when I use the pan sprays, like Pam, I get very crusty edges. There is a recipe for cake release on this site which is excellent. It's equal parts crisco, veg. oil and flour.
i completely agree with beachcakes!
I love the convience of Pam but it does go a little crusty so i go with the cake release. Keep it in its own plastic jar and label it! DH thought it was leftover icing once, he was not pleased to realize it wasn't. (ewww)
OOH, I hadn't thought about the PAM contingency. I'll try the crisco mixture next time. Does anyone know if overmixing might be part of my issue? I was wondering if maybe that has to do with it. I'm anxious to try another cake now with all these great suggestions. Cake Central people are the best!
Has anyone tried The Ultimate Butter Cake from baking 911? It looks really good I think I am going to get snowed in our maybe even iced in thought I might try it with a strawberry filling and maybe ganache on top. I've never tried to make a cake from scratch, I guess i'm just a box kind of girl
Please let me know how you like the Ultimate Butter cake, bncncnmn. I made it once and it didnt' come out as i expected at all. Maybe it was me though.
Overmixing would cause it to have alot of bubbles and be tougher, I think. But I don't believe it contributes to the hard edges... I could be wrong.
Oh, I didn't mean to put you off. It's not hard to do, mine came out tasting like cornbread for some reason.
There is a recipe for cake release on this site which is excellent. It's equal parts crisco, veg. oil and flour.
Oh thank you for that info. 
I just ran out of W cake release and needed to buy more. I was feeling silly for buying something I thought I could mix myself but wasn't sure how to do it.
Thanks again.
if you use a heating core, won't that make a big hole in the middle of the cake??? I have a DELICIOUS white cake recipe that I use for cupcakes, and I did get that crispy edge thing when I used it to make a layered cake, and it was too much of a pain to sculpt the sides of the cake 
i thought the ubc was a llittle dry as well, and I made it more than once..
one of my personal faves is wilton butter cake recipe (which is VERY close to my fav pound cake maybe thats why)
I don't have a buttercake in my repertoire yet, but i have a yellow cake i like - Barbara Kafka's Yellow Cake Layers.
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