I have several devil's food cake recipes that are moist and delicious but they do not rise high over the pan (even when adding extra batter) and they don't stack well. I would love to have a recipe for a devil's food cake that rises up over the top of the pan so it can be leveled easily and that is sturdy enough for stacking as well as tasty and moist. Anyone out there have a cake recipe like this that they love?

I remember another post you made where you were having problems with cakes rising high on the sides and sinking and wrinkling in the centre. You mention you now have a new oven and a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. You also mentioned using the reverse creaming method.

First of all, the best way to check if your oven is baking properly is to place two oven thermometers in two different places in your oven. Even having a new oven doesn't mean it will be accurate.

I take it that the reverse creaming method is the high ratio mixing method adapted for use of a fat other than high ratio shortening. It was also initially designed for recipes where the sugar and shortening amounts were about equal in weight. I am not convinced that it is the best method for mixing every cake recipe and may be contributing to your problems. It is based on the premise that that once the flour gets wet, the gluten in the flour gets activated. The longer you mix once the flour is wet, the chances of having a tough or dense or dry cake - increase. However when following the regular mixing method - especially with a butter based cake - if you cream your softened butter with the sugar for 8-10 minutes, you are adding air to help with the leavening process and make a nice textured and moist cake.

Devil's food cake is usually more delicate to handle. Maybe you would be better off with a different kind of chocolate cake.

Also, you asked for a recipe that will rise so high, it will be easy to level. Well if you get a recipe like that, chances are it will just be because it makes more batter. If you fill your pan too high, it won't bake properly and you will end up with the sides being high and the centre wrinkling and sunken. Some rich cakes do sink a bit in the middle and that is normal but not when it is a huge indent.

Also, do not overmix. Once there is liquid in with the flour, the trick is to mix minimally. Your Kitchen Aid is a strong mixer and will mix much faster than hand mixers and many other stand mixers.

Make sure you are using recommended batter amounts for your pan. If you have trouble levelling your cakes, let them cool with the crown side up (the part that must be levelled). Then wrap well in plastic wrap and foil and freeze  for a few hours. Level the cake while frozen and then place it on your cake board and cover with the original wraps until it is defrosted. If you are filling and putting a second layer on top - level the other layer and cover and return it to the freezer until you have placed the filling on the bottom layer. Then take it out and place it over the filling, re-cover and let it defrost. I do this with sheet cakes to make them easier to handle.

This is my favorite and stacks very well.  I do it all the time.  It rises well, but with bake even strips and a center heat core for larger sizes, it actually bakes quite level, with very little waste.  You may not even need to level it, although I always do. If you want to level cakes in the pan, after baking and cooling completely,   put the needed # of cake drums or circles in the pan (cover with plastic wrap so they don't get ruined) so the cake sits as high in the pan as you need for leveling.   Also - if you can, get an Agbay and your life will never be the same!!

I use Hershey's special dark cocoa with this recipe and full fat Bulgarian buttermilk.  It is easy, moist and delicious!

http://www.pillsburybaking.com/recipes/deluxe-devils-food-cake-3107

The methods I have tried on the Devils food are not reverse creaming. They are just regular recipes. They make a great cake but they don't rise on the sides or middle to 2", even with more than the suggested amount of batter. I read that a lot of Devils food cakes are like that.  I like mine to rise a little over the 2" pan so you can level it right in the pan. Works our great that way. I've been using the Beyond Buttercream's cake recipe that is versatile to many flavors. I have loved the taste of all the ones I have made so far except for the chocolate which is actually not a true Devil's food. The Beyond Buttercream cakes rise a lot. The sides raise over the top of you pan, and with bake strips no dome what so ever. My only problem is the slight indention in the middle which can be leveled out with the frosting. And, also I'm hoping to fix that with using the hand mixer instead of the KA next time. Just haven't had a chance to try it yet because my hand mixer broke. Any way, I was hoping there was a Devil's food recipe out there that rises a lot like the one above, so each layer is 2". A lot of people down south like Devil's food! It may just be that it doesn't rise as much. Even the box mixe rises and domes but still not the 2" with the suggested among of batter. Sorry to be so long winded! Also, I didn't mean to insert my pic right there. Here  is the Beyond Buttercream lemon cake. See how tall on the sides, but slight indention in middle? I guess the indention isn't that big of a deal, it's just gets on my nerves that it's there.

Thanks yortma! I'll give that one a try. 

 I don't understand? Why do you want to use a handmixer when you have the Kitchen Aid?

Also, are you using the right kind of cocoa for your recipe? If the recipe just states cocoa, it means plain cocoa. If it says Dutch processed or alkalized cocoa - the recipe is designed around that kind of cocoa.

I find all kinds of chocolate cakes are tricky, aren't they? I find that some chocolate cake recipes even work better in a sheet cake pan than in two round pans or square pans. For example the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake - I made it today in a 9×13" pan and got better results than when I baked it in round layers. Mind you it didn't bake terribly high.

I am going to try yortma's recipe next week too.

I meant to add - is it possible that the recipes you are making were designed for baking in the 1 1/2 inch deep pans that we used well intl the 1980's and '90's?