I am going CRAZY....don't know why this is happening .  Have done 4 cakes in the last 3 days ( have a family baptism next week) to bake.  These are scratch cakes from Rose Levy Beranbaum.  Her White Velvet Butter cake and all occasion Downy Yellow Butter cake. Rose great.  Checked at 25 minutes to see if the 9 inch cakes were done.  Looked like they needed another 5 minutes.  Also moved them at this point to reverse.  Went back 5 minutes later and the beautiful cakes fell.  &%***$ in several languages.  I don't know what I am suddenly doing wrong.  All ingredients were room temp.  Followed the directions exactly.

1st batch --I used taller pans-- read that they will grow up too much and then fall and collapse.  so ran out and bought 9 inch pans that are only 1and 1/4 inch high like she says.  These are, however, no stick pans.... not use to those.  I grease and floured those as well as put parchment paper in them.  Those did same thing... collapse after 25 minutes when I went to check on them.

3rd batch and 4th batch decided to do WASC doctored mix.  3rd batch was undercooked in spite of toothpick test and 4th batch had weird taste from lemon emulsion ... again.  did the toothpick test but on opening them and tasting.  They were underdone.

I have obviously offended the baking gods and now this is revenge.  But it is driving me crazy.  After 40 years of baking scratch, mix, cookies, pies, cakes and pastry. what is happening??    Should I not open oven until 30 minutes?// should I not grease and flour these new style pans ( no stick).  I am ready to just use a mix but I am even screwing up the doctored version... which I like the taste and never had a problem.

  All suggestions will be appreciated.  Thanks

I know you have to be frustrated!! I am only a hobby baker and have only had one cake fall. It was a recipe given to me by serious cakes which had lard in it. However Seriouscakes said the cake would fall and it was normal but it did not sink in the middle any. It still tasted great and I did not even have to level it because it fell perfectly straight. 

Hopefully someone here with more experience with this kind of thing will be able to help you. I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. After 40 years with no problems and all of a sudden this issue happens has me wondering what in the world is going on.  Let's hope someone here will step up and give you some ideas as to what is going on.

Where is Kakeladi or K8 Memphis? I am sure they will have some information as to what is happening. Keep the faith and don't give up. Have you bought a new oven lately? Do you have a small little oven temperature gage to hang in oven to see if your oven has correct temperature? Was your baking powder old? Maybe you should not open oven till 30 minute mark but I myself do the same thing and check on it earlier with cake tester. Hopefully someone here can give you answers!!

Thanks for the good thoughts .  The only thing that has changed is the new no stick cake pans.  Read more last night cause I couldn't sleep and I think you are not suppose to grease and flour the no stick pans just parchment paper on bottom.  Also read that convection ovens tend to cook around the edges and middle is done last.  My 3rd possibility is that they are cooked too long and the air collapses.  But at 25 minutes they looked and felt a tad underdone.  So today I am trying it again with some cheap cake mixes first.  I figure people are busy and just didn't get a chance to look at question.  

Should anyone have any other ideas what could be wrong, would appreciate your thoughts.  The more I think about it, each time I  opened oven and cakes looked almost done.  Maybe I am overcooking them.  

I also intend to buy a oven thermometer and check out the oven... just have no had any problems with it before.  But as we all know when you have something important to bake ... that's when the oven will act up.

Sorry - can't help as I don't bake scratch.   However thought on what your possibilities are: ,,,,,,,  not suppose to grease and flour the no stick pans ,,,,,,,,,3rd possibility is that they are cooked too long and the air collapses

Haven't used no stick pans but don't see any reason that grease/flouring them should cause the cake to fall - esepceially since you covered that w/parchment - it didn't get into the cake batter thereby causing a difference in the recipe.......and baking them too long causes them to collapse?  Just doesn't compute in my brain.  Over baking will cause flavor to be driven out but can't see where it will cause them to fall.    

Sorry if others do not agree w/me.....as I said, I don't scratch bake and that's just my thoughts.    Please excuse any typos.....I'm a horrible speller :)

Kakeladi,

no need to apologize.  as I said even my doctored cake mix was doing this.  Did another set today.  Did not oil and grease no stick pans and yes it Worked!!!  I have only owned reg old  cake pans.  I think this was part of problem.  One set was probably overbaked from what I read.  I always thought your cake just became too dry if overbaked didn't realize it can make it deflate as well.   I am making a notation to only bake 25 minutes and not use taller pans for that cake.

  However with your WASC cake using mix and pudding do they tend to level out at the end???  I just keep feeling that the Doctored cakes are underdone.  Or is this comparing apples and oranges.  Are doctored cakes usually heavier in Feel>

Thanks so much for advice.  Do the no stick bundt cake pans not get greased as well?  Using these pans is a whole different game for me.  I did so love my old cake pans.  They were heavy and real workhorses.  One thing for sure you never stop learning.

My *original* WASC recipe does not use pudding - unless it is already in the mix.  As I've said, I have at times used each of the 3 major brands and I know at least one of them contains pudding - or did before they  changed them.  I don't remember ever using no stick pans so can't help there.  Most dr'd mixes probably are heavier than undoc'd so yes, most likely we are trying to compare apples & oranges :)  The WASC is meant to be akin to a scratch pound cake - so it is a little heavier.  Why do you think dr'd cakes are underdone?  If you use the toothpick test and it comes out w/just a few crumbs on it (no uncooked batter) it is done.  If have found if the cake is pulled away from the sides of the pan it is overbaked thereby will be dry.

are you mixing correctly? maybe something wrong with your oven? 

i don't grease and flour the pans for regular cakes -- my first brownie recipe said not to grease the sides of the pan so the batter could climb the edges properly -- so i just use parchment on the bottom

i don't know why your items are not baking correctly -- would be demoralizing -- 

hope you already have this worked out -- best to you