I baked my first 6x3 square and 2 6x2 rounds at my normal baking temp of 325. All came from the same batch of batter and were cooked together in the same oven/same time. The 2 rounds came out perfect, but the square was a total fail. The sides rose really fast, and although the center eventually cooked, it remained a good inch lower than the rest of the cake. By the time the middle was done, the sides were overdone. I've never had to use a heating core in a 6" pan, but then again, they were round pans. Is a heating core a necessity no matter the size of a square pan? Is a flower nail even tall enough to work in a 3" deep pan?
BTW, the pan is a magic line - very heavy duty. I have to say the corners turned out beautifully - too bad there's a giant crater in the middle!
If the pans are too close to each other they will rise towards each other, or if it's too close to the sides of the oven those areas will rise quicker/higher. You want at least 3-4 inches between each cake and the walls, that should help getting even cakes. I baked 12" squares last week using the bake even strips and they turned out perfectly. HTH
I think it was the 3" tall pan. They don't bake right IMO.
grrrrr i just bought a set of 3" tall magic line sqare pans- i sure do hope its not the pans!
Thanks for all the replies. I used the same batch of batter for all 3 cakes.
I had the pans situated in the oven in a triangle formation. The 2 rounds were closest to the sides of the oven, in the front, and the square was in the center of the oven in the back. Half-way through the baking time I reversed the formation. I felt there was plenty of space between the pans and the sides of the oven.
I sure hope it wasn't the pan! Like cake_architect, I just bought several of 3" tall magic line pans (all square) and those babies weren't cheap!
The best way to find out if it was the recipe, pan or oven is to bake them individually in the oven instead of all at once. Then if it bakes fine, you will know it was the amount you had in the oven, or from opening the oven too much. If it fails, then it could be the pan or the recipe.
Magic Line pans are the best. However, I don't like any brand of 3" pan.
Better to get 2" pans. I'm with Leah. I learned this after buying a few 3" pans. Had to give them away.
I dont' think it had anything to do with being square .... I think its the 3" pan.
logically, a 3" pan will need to bake longer than a 2" pan, so I would reduce the temp on the 3" tall pan. Also, I've never used a heating core in any of my cakes (nor have I used flower nails ... not even in my 14x22x2 sheet pan) but I am a firm believer in the baking strips. Gosh, a heating core would eat up the whole center of a 6" cake! 
here's the link on where I explain the science on why baking strips work ... and why the middle of your cake baked slower than the edges: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6626888.html#6626888
opening an oven doesnt make a cake fail......
opening an oven doesnt make a cake fail......
This was my thought also, but it may depend on the recipe. I've never had in happen in my life (and when I bake multiple cakes at once, that door is open and shut alot to pull the smaller ones out as they finish baking before the larger ones) but I remember as a kid in my aunts house we had to tiptoe thru the kitchen when she was baking. Part of it, I think, was overreaction to what SHE had been taught growing up, 'coz for all of the caution and concern, I don't recall any fallen cake disasters in my lifetime.
I think slamming an oven door RIGHT at the EXACT wrong moment might cause some harm ...... 
I do the same thing. i throw in 5 different cakes in different sizes and replace them when taken out... not only is my oven opened a ton, but i move & rotate my pans as well.... Yes an old wives tale I think, unless youre making a souffle!
All of my square pans (and one of my 8-inch rounds) are Magic Line 3-inch. I'm hardly a pro, so I absolutely love them because I can torte and level with all confidence and know I will still end up with a 4-inch-tall tier. But I do always use a flower nail on my 8-inch squares and up (not the case for your 6-inch), and like Indy said, I do have to let them stay in the oven considerably longer than the rounds. I bake at very low temps regardless, so I don't generally have the problem of grossly overdone sides with underdone middle, but the flower nail is a must. HTH!
Gosh, a heating core would eat up the whole center of a 6" cake!
You're right! I meant a flower nail (I use the terms interchangeably.) 
Actually, I don't know if a flower nail is long enough to stick out the top of a 3" cake or if that would even matter. I guess that's another experiment I'll have to try.
I do have bake even strips - I don't know why I didn't think to use them.
As for opening the oven, I ruled that out as the culprit because 2 of the 3 cakes I baked came out perfectly. 
[quoteopening an oven doesnt make a cake fail......[/quote]
I beat a ton of air into my cakes (madeira recipe) , and always get at least an inch and a half to 2 inch rise on all cakes i make. I cook at 140 c for a longer time than the recipe states, with newspaper wrapped round the tin (i also use 3 inch high tins). My cakes never dome but if i open the oven door at any point before the cake is completely baked, it will sink in the middle and the centre of the cake will be sad.
If you're baking for example a fruit cake which doesn't rise so much, then this wont happen. As far as cake mix cakes, i don't know. But i promise you a scratch cake, airy mix will sink if you open the door. I guess not every cake recipe bakes the same.
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