I've mentioned a few times that my cakes tend to rise higher than the pan and I've had a few inquiries about whether the batter/cake falls out onto the bottom of the oven.
I baked a small one this afternoon at home and took a photo to explain what I mean.
So just to share and clarify, here is what my cakes look like. This makes it easy for me to use the top of the pan as a guide to trim it perfectly flat.
I grease-only, no flour, use baking strips and 325 degrees on all cakes, large and small.
Looks good. more questions:
It appears to be white cake, do you get the same results with every recipe?
What recipe did you use for this one?
How deep did you fill the pans.
I'm generally happy with the results I get, but I can see where this result would be helpful at times.
JoAnn
I'm a mix baker, so it's Betty Crocker straight from the box.
Choc cake rises higher than white so they rise at least this high or higher. Similar results with spice, carrot, red velvet and marble. (Red velvet rises very well!)
I use standard number of mixes per pan:
Two 6" square or two 8" round or One 10" round: 1 mix
One 12" round or one 10" square: 1.5 mix
One 14" round or one 12" square: 2.0 mix
One 16" round or one 14" square: 3.0 mix
One 11x15: 2 mixes
One 12x18: 3 mixes
One 14x22: 4 mixes
I would say to put a little less mix in the pans.
But at least you can trim the top when they have cooled in the pan and you will get a lovely level top - for that I am jealous and would keep doing it your way - and even better you have some scraps to keep everyone else happy (my family would be lost without them).
Looks good to me.
Just curious, I've found box mixes so soft and moist that it's hard to handle them, and especially stack them! How do you do it??!!!
Can't tell ya ..... I've just been doing it for 25 years. Didnt' know there was any other way until I discovered CC! 
Do you grease the bottom only or the bottom and the sides?
Do you grease the bottom only or the bottom and the sides?
Bottom and sides. I use the CK Products brand "Pan Grease". If I'm out of that I will use Crisco.
The science behind it: When baking, the heat source is at the bottom (of the oven). The heat is pushing the batter up the sides of the pan. When the sides are greased, the batter slides up the sides with no friction and no "grab" to hold it down.
That is the way I bake mine. Makes it real easy to level it. Just cut it even with the pan, and then flip it out to cool!
indydebby thanks for posting this!!! I like my cakes to rise above the pan too for easy leveling. Do you ever push down on the top to make them denser?
I have tried that technique, after reading about it on here, and it does work just like everyone says it does, but it's my personal preference not to do that for layer cakes. I like trimming the brown top off (dont' like a brown skin in the middle of my white wedding cake) and using the pan as a guide for leveling is practically foolproof.
It's a good technique for sheet cakes.
Indydebi, I looked at your cake photos and they are beautiful. Do you not have to level again after torting and filling? Just leveling them while still in the pans is enough? I just this morning bought a Wilton 3" cake leveler and was wondering if maybe I should return it before it's even opened? Thanks for the post.
>>Do you ever push down on the top to make them denser?>>
I seldom will do this. I have found it tends to make my cakes crack at the edges
Like IndiDebi I would rather level them than push it down.
I bake at low temps for longer times....then have very few that need leveling. Almost all of them back right up to the top of the pan. Usually I bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn the oven up to 325. The amount of time this 'second' baking takes depends on the size of the pan.
indydebi- just wondering- do you think this would work in an oven where the heat source is on top(electric)? thanks.
Sorry I missed this one.
My oven is electric and the heating element is on the bottom. My understanding is heat is at the bottom for baking and when you use the top heating element, it's called broiling.....not really good for cakes. 
Agree with kakeladi .... the push down method causes the sides to slightly crack and not be as stable.
i'm no expert, but i would not level the cake. normally once it settles, it's a perfect height and flat enough to decorate. I love for the cake to bake above the pan like that, because it looks so perfect when you turn it out of the pan and that top part is mashed to the cake board and the bottom (now top of the cake) is perfect for decorating.
This is a GOD SEND. I am new to the cake biz and just think you are amazing to be so open with all of your advise. Thank you!
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