I am still figuring out this baking thing and trying to find recipes that I want as old faithfuls. Question. I just baked a vanilla butter cake in a 6x3 inch pan and a 8x3 inch pan and I don't know if I filled the pans too full or if the heat was too high or what but both of the cakes were so dark on the outside that they look to be only a couple steps away from being burned by the time that the tooth pick came out clean. I put a flower nail in the middle of both pans but the cake ended up being taller than the nails. Would it have been better to just make 2 two inch cakes instead of trying to fill the whole 3 inches? Any input or advise would be greatly appreciated.

For a 3-inch deep cake I usually lower my baking temperature. I do have some recipes that get darker on the surface, but you definitely should not have burning. It could be your recipe. Have you used it before?

I would say you don't necessarily need flower nails in pans that small, first of all. But I have 3" pans, and I use homemade bake strips on the outsides of them, and they work great.

You can either buy baking strips or make your own by cutting up an old towel into strips, soaking the strips in water, and wrapping them around the outside of your pans, securing with a clip.


HTH

I find lowering the temperature is key. I had a recipe that I loved the taste of and no matter what tweaking I did they rose too high, or sank, or got too dark before being done, and then one day, my oven was set 25 degrees lower (accidentally) and my cakes came out perfectly, I've done it that way ever since and they are always perfect. As for bake strips I use folded up paper towels that I get wet and wrap around the pan. I like them because you make them the size you need, and you can re-use them for quite a while.

I tried the recipe again today turning the oven down and using baking strips and the cakes turned out great!! thank you for taking the time to repond.

Yay! Cake success!

I only have one 3in tall pan and that's the 8x3. When I bake with it, I bake at 325, and use both the flower nail and the bake even strips.

Because of the thickness of that pan it does take longer to bake, and the top does get pretty brown.