Please help!! I am have a terrible time with my sheet cakes falling apart! I have a baby shower on Thursday and my cake did it again! I need to know what you use for a sheet cake recipe. I need to make a change. Any help would be great!!!!! I am going crazy !!!

Thank you for the help,
Kim

what recipe or mix are you using now? Does it fall apart when you're flipping it out of the pan? If so, how are you getting it out of the pan? Does it fall apart when you start to ice it? Or stack it?

Share some add'l info and we'll try to help you out!

You could be over mixing it. It creates airbubbles, I've had that problem before. You could also change to a pound cake.

It is falling apart when I flip it. It is a crummy mess. I use a betty crocker cake mix and added extra egg white, milk , and dream whip to the cake. I found a vanilla cake on this site but it is in grams. I tried to convert it but I am sure that it is not right.
I thought about using a spnge recipe but I am at a lose. Thanks so much!!

I am frustrated because this is a dream to someday have a cake shop and bake 24/7!
Kim

Ok, that helps narrow it down. Now, does it break apart because it's sticking to the pan? Or in the process of flipping?

If it's sticking to the pan, you should add more grease to the pan (or whatever you use to treat the pan). Many use a sheet of parchment in the bottom with very good results.

If it's just breaking when you flip it, how are you flipping it? Do you put the cooling rack on top of the pan, grab hold and flip the pan/cooling rack in one smooth motion, then lift the pan off of the cake?

We're getting closer!

Kim, how long are you letting the cake cool before taking it out of the pan?


hahah IndyDebi I had flip issues with my last cake.. It was a big sheet cake and I realized AFTER baking that I had nothing to flip it on to cool. So I took two cooling racks and used twist ties to secure them together.. I felt like a genius until I flipped the cake and quickly realized I didn't twist tie the legs of the cooling rack (they're stackable) so that they wouldn't close.. I laughed at myself and quickly called my husband to help. I'm getting the extra large cooling rack before my next sheet cake.

The full sized cooling racks are priceless when you come to flipping large cakes. I've got 2 I use for flipping and getting them back to the 'right' side. Pick them up at your local restaurant supply.

OP, is your sheet cake FLAT when you flip, or is there a crown in the middle. That would break it apart in a heartbeat!

Just to share with everyone, I've also tried the "holding 2 cooling racks together on a big cake" thing. I tried it ONCE. Only ONCE. And that's when I took my stance on "get the right equipment or don't do the cake at all."

For those going cooling rack shopping, I'd like to suggest that you be sure to get the cooling racks where the rack-wires form small squares and NOT get the ones that have wiring running parallel to each other with a single wire running across the middle. The cakes (and cookies) fall thru the wires on these parallel ones, whereas the small square or "grid" cooling racks actually hold the cake.

I went "image" shopping!

Get this kind: (if you get the page with multiple racks, click the photo in the upper left corner for "see full size image") http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.foodutensils.com.au/images/361T10308_GN_1-2_Cooling_Rack.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.foodutensils.com.au/biscuit-baking-cooling-racks-c-367_333_349.html&usg=__VFXhuyl5v4lkxv3SvdiWmF9-ZxU=&h=393&w=530&sz=91&hl=en&start=5&sig2=bj3-EsoFw99BLu6mLhn_Yg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=mhCzfLTfnYEBMM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcooling%2Bracks%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=aSNQTMPeJMjpnQe5ss2_CQ

Not this kind: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.traderscity.com/board/userpix32/14457-cooling-racks-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.traderscity.com/board/products-1/offers-to-sell-and-export-1/cooling-racks-98319/&usg=__lvFZAAPw00GXYpEjHJewTOBMaBM=&h=271&w=300&sz=16&hl=en&start=6&sig2=aF8VWoS3rLJ-jQ1ojFCqRQ&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=WKX9vdZLQxwxTM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcooling%2Bracks%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=aSNQTMPeJMjpnQe5ss2_CQ

Yep AC Moore and Michaels have the big ones with the tiny squares and since I print out their 40% and 50% off coupons every week I'm getting the big one!

I'm in love with Duncan Hines... I'm not a pro (yet haha) but so far have had very good luck with DH.