Used the sports ball pan for the first time. It came out beautifully, let it rest out of the pan, everything was fine. That was yesterday.

Today I cut the bottom flat to put it on the board. Added an icing dam and filling, put the top on. It started cracking immediately! The bottom layer kept cracking, spreading, even when I added dowels to hold the top on (it started to slide. I ended up using mini marshmallows to support the bottom, covered those with "sand" which helped, but it still looks a little flat. It actually doesnt look too bad, but I am making soccer balls next week, and they won't have support. How do I prevent cracking? I used a french vanilla recipe, baked at 325, mix not doctored.

Good news, tho - the chocolate cake, which ALWAYS cracks, stayed together!

I think you should have used a doctored mix. It sounds like the cake was too soft. Sorry for the mishap. I like to use the extender, it works very well.

Cindy

I had the same problem. I am pretty sure your cake is not dense enough. The first one I made was from scratch, I ended up using a doctored mix. Darn good chocolate cake from the cake doctor books worked well.

Yep, you need a more durable/dense cake. Try the cake mix extender recipe on this site or the Durable Cake for 3 D cakes. I am sure this will help.