I've got a 1/4 sheet outer space themed cake due by 5 tomorrow. I baked the first version yesterday... it came out overdone. I baked version 2 tonight, checked it at time, it wasn't done. had a power surge which tripped several breakers but not my oven. Had to take the time to find a flashlight and go to the basement since my children were in the dark and screaming. By the time I found my way through the basement (landlords territory and is a disaster) flipped the right breakers and got back to my kitchen the top of the cake had split... tested it w/ the tester and obviously it was testing done. I just checked it and the area at the split is gummy. I'm ready to scream!

At this point I'm going to be up all freaking fracking night!

Just breathe! Can you trim off the gummy part and still have enough cake left? If not, can you use the bottom part as one layer and bake another layer? (At least it will bake faster)

While that is all happening are there parts of the cake you can be working on ahead? Making decor? Buttercream? Dying it? Loading the piping bags?

At this point, time management is the key to your sanity

Thanks I wound up mixing up a box mix and adding an extender. Baking it my 12X18 and cutting it in 1/2 to make it thick enough. DH decided to take pity on me because I was ready to toss every piece of bakeware in the trash LOL! He helped me and it came out pretty well. It only took 3 hours to ice and decorate and that includes making the rice krispie treats for the planets and the icing. From now on I'm making all cakes the week before and putting them in the freezer. Hopefully that will help. I'm also going to start making my icing up well in advance and freezing in quart bags.