PLEASE, IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE....I Just baked my 1st sheetcake (1/2 ....12/18 x 3" deep) and the middle has sunken in!!!! this is for an order to be FINISHED tommorrow, decorated, etc! I have NEVER had this problem before. It is an almond-cream cheese pound cake...and I do mean POUND cake! I used the flower nail in the center, adjusted temp to 375 for 1st 20 min then 350 for 15 min then original temp to 325 for goodness knows how long...forever! THE CAKE LOOKED PERFECT before I took it out of the oven, seemed like it was done, although with a pound cake it can't spring back (due to the hard "shell" it forms) and it's apparently nearly impossible to prick test the center, but, I did it anyway, I thought it was done enough, I didn't want a dried out cake. the only thing I didn't do was leave in the pan for 15 min EXACTLY, it was more like 10 min. I had a hard time making this cake without commercial mixing equipment, and I really can't afford to make this again...time wise or $. is there a PROFESSIONALLY acceptable way to fix this?? so it will still look and taste perfect? The client wanted it iced in cream cheese frosting...if extra is used to "build" it up in the middle..wouldn't that be to much frosting? what about a filling that doesn't need refrigerated before icing the cake? She did not want filling, but a light/airy filling (vanilla /almond) would be okay?? I thought of pastry cream, but that needs refrigerated??? thanks! ANY advice would be great!! ASAP!!!!!!!!

If she didn't want a filling, then I wouldn't doctor it that way. Do you have enough ingredients to make like a 6 inch cake then slice it to fill in the sunken part?

o man you are in a pickle. I don't know what you could do to make it better. Is it a deep hole or is it just a dip?
If it's just a dip then the extra frosting will be fine but if it's a hole, hmmmm, I am tryin to figure out what you could do.
There is one test that you could do on a pound cake to see if it's done or not. Gently press the top with your finger and if you hear little bubbles then it's not ready.
Other than that, I really don't know what to tell ya hun

I do have enough for another smaller pound cake, is that a "professional" way to do it? what about when she serves it? wouldn't it look bad to see cake slices on top of the base? also, is it acceptable to slice it in half to MAKE SURE it actually is done? then put it back together and ice/decorate? THANK YOU THANK YOU for this VERY awesome idea, and sooo fast! I will wait to hear back before I attempt...or just make another cake? (and risk the same thing again!)

There's nothing wrong with cutting the cake in half to check. Lots of sheet cakes are smaller cakes shoved together. If the middle is too sunken and undone, just trim away the undone section - from front to back - then shove the two 'done' halves back together. You shouldn't lose more than a couple of inches of cake this way. Depending on your design, you can compensate for the missing cake by putting a small 6-inch (or whatever size you have handy) on top of the cake and incorporate it in your design.