ok, not exactly BURNED.. but I'm not sure what to do. I don't know if it is a problem with my oven, or my temperature setting, or my pans...
Every time I bake a vanilla/lemon/etc. cake, it always comes out SOO dark. As soon as I level the top its better, but the outside edges are still brown. I'm always self conscience when people are cutting into the cake that they will notice the tougher edges.
Are there any tricks to this? Normally I bake at 350 for about 40ish min. Do I fill my pans less so the middle bakes up faster, but not so long that the outside is brown? TIA
@mbark If I bake at 325, I will have to bake longer right? I thought it was the amount of time I was baking, but really it might be the temperature?? Why can't all cakes just be foam dummies?? lol
Have you thought of trying the "bake even strips"? I use an oven thermometer...I discovered that my oven temp was actually out by 25º...and flower nails if the pan is larger and the bake even strips. I bake at 350º and don't have a problem with my cakes now. Just a suggestion...HTH.
And I agree...it would be nice if they were all foam dummies!! 
Great tip! I have this problem too! I will drop my temperature too,,but it takes longer to cook right? thanks for this!
This is a great video that explains the strips and shows how much lighter the cake is on the sides when done. Also your cake bakes more "level" so you don't have to cut off the dome and waste cake. It says the strips are for your round pans...I use them for round, square or rectangle and I bake at the regular temp of 350º (or 325º)...whatever temp and time the recipe calls for. You don't have to adjust any temps or time. HTH.
I have used bake even strips.. some times it really works out, other times the top of my cake is dark brown, the middle is done, and the sides are slimy?? I think I just have an awful oven
sweetheart6710: If the strip is too long, and if you wrap it around the pan more than once, the edges will not get done very well, and will be gooey , or slimy as you said. So...wrap around the pan once only.
What I do: Lower temp to 325, use baking strips and flower nails, and rotate the cakes halfway thru the bake time, (because my oven has hot spots).
Wow, thanks. That totally makes sense. Thanks for the help everyone! When you say rotate, do you mean 180 dgrees? To a different oven rack? both? I always worry to move my cakes when they haven't set in the middle because then I get a big dip in the middle.
I bake my cakes between 300 and 325 without bake strips and mine turn out great. I tried the bake even strips and they really didn't work for me , and sometimes I use the flower nail but I have found when I bake at 300 even for larger cakes I dont have issues with it overbrowning even when I dont use a flower nail or bake even strips , but I do rotate my cakes halfway through baking and change shelves if I need to.
Wow, thanks. That totally makes sense. Thanks for the help everyone! When you say rotate, do you mean 180 dgrees? To a different oven rack? both? I always worry to move my cakes when they haven't set in the middle because then I get a big dip in the middle.
Yes, rotate 180 degrees. Also, if I have more than one pan in the oven, I switch their positions and rotate.
Additionally, if you use a box mix, you can't rely on the baking times on the box. Every oven is different, and many have hot spots like mine. You just have to bake "till it's done" 
What do you use to grease and flower your pans? I noticed when I used the sprays like Baker's Joy and Pam with flour, I had tougher edges and the edge was darker. I now use the homemade cake release (equal part flour, oil and shortening) and my edges are nice golden color. I also bake at 325 but I do not use Bake even strips...I just always forgot to put them on.
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