I am not new to baking, I've made so many cakes that I can't even count... yet the last two times that I've had an order for chocolate cakes, the damn things sink in the middle WHILE baking. The longer in the oven, the deeper the dent. I just thought it was a fluke the first time, now I'm on my 4th experience of this. Anyone else have this happen out of the blue?
-not a new recipe, used it 100 times!
-other flavors of cake do just fine
-sinking happens while baking (yes, it's done in the middle)
-using bake even strips
-I even tried to decrease the liquid, beat less, etc.
I made a yellow and white cake this morning and they were just fine! ugh!
Seriously!, what the heck is going on???
I sometimes have issues with my chocolate cakes, too. Are you maybe putting in too much batter?
baking powder is good. its so odd because I've used this recipe so many times. i'm at a loss!
as for batter. I always fill about 3/4 up. Because it sinks in such a strange fashion, it isn't even reaching the top of my two in pan sides. It's killing me! I've been able to make due by filling the dent (yes, it's so deep that I have to pack it with excess cake), but this is not up to my standards. I'm getting a new oven soon, so i'm hoping that chocolate cake stops hating me with the new oven 
Hello, have you tried the flower nail method tutorial here on cake central. The sinking usually happens when not enouph heat is in the middle of the pan so you have to put a flower nail in the middle to prevent the sinking. Look for flower nail method tutorial at CC's home page.
I don't like the flower nail method much, but I would still use it if if helped. these sinking cakes were 6 inch rounds! can you believe that? Just pulled a lemon cake out of the oven and its fine! Swear that its a chocolate curse!
nope, oven closed. it's happend 3 separate time, on separate days with a recipe that had been fine for years!. I swear that its someting to do with the oven. I'm seriously going to pour some into a pan and drive down the road to a friends house and bake it. The chemist in me MUST figure this out.
I have the trouble too. I've had it with WASC almost every time. Like you said, it's done in the middle, it just sinks!
Just had the same thing happen to me earlier tonight on a chocolate cake. My first time cooking this big of a sheet cake, but tested it before I took it out and it was done. Starting sinking a little before I got it out, but as it cooled it formed a crator. I used the bake even strips, but I didn't use the flower nails. Think I am definitely going to have to try that next time. I think there might be something going wrong with my oven though b/c I have had it cut off on me a couple of times if it is on for a long time, but don't understand why it would do this if the cake is done.
So sorry, you've must be very frustrated. I don't have any solution, but want to let you know sometimes weird things happen. I used to bake genoise cake with no problem, but 1 day, same thing happen, the cake's sinking in the middle while baking. I used the same recipe, same utensil, same method. I even hired someone to check my oven (twice). Result: still sink in the middle. I've never be able to bake genoise cake again, til now 
With other kinds, fine. Well, I hope you can find the culprit.
Same thing happened to me! I have made the same choc. cake recipe a million times with no problems. Its a Choc. WASC cake recipe that I love. Tried making it last week....sunk two times! Used the flower nail, bake even strips, etc. to no avail. So bizarre. I finally tried a completely different scratch recipe and it came out fine. Was your recipe from scratch or was it a doctored box recipe? Just wondering if DH box mix could have made some changes that are effecting the recipes?
Are you measuring your leavening carefully? Another problem that can cause cake collapse is when you use too much leavening. The cake rises more than its structure can support, and it sinks.
I've actually heard people say, "Oh, I'd like my cakes to be lighter and fluffier. I'll add an extra tsp of baking powder." Guess what? They end up even flatter. Baking is a science.
do you have an oven thermometer? i'm wondering if it's fluctuation to much, or not at the right temp for you.
That's what I was thinking. We had to purchase a new oven this past October because our old oven wasn't holding its temp. The ignitor was starting to go. I realized that something was wrong when several tried and true cake recipes kept falling. After getting the new oven....cakes stopped falling.
This one was a doctored box, but not the wasc. I use it just for carving because its dense. I always use the bake even strips. I would understand if it was a big pan. I do believe its an oven thing and this cake is very heavy, so it's no surprise that it would have trouble rising. maybe my temp is just a hair off and the other cakes are light enough that it doesn't affect them. thankfully, new oven is on order. a double stack! yay!
My chocolate recipe used two boxes of BC with a bunch of ingredients added to doctor it up. Maybe they did change something b/c I made sure to mix it for a long time to make extra sure. Maybe I'll try a different one next time but this is the one EVERYONE loves.
Does anyone else find that DH cake mixes vary from one to another? Sometimes they sink or don't rise as much? I always check the expiration date but that doesn't seem to matter.
I started baking from scratch because I get more consistant cakes.
DianaJJ
This one was a doctored box, but not the wasc. I use it just for carving because its dense. I always use the bake even strips. I would understand if it was a big pan. I do believe its an oven thing and this cake is very heavy, so it's no surprise that it would have trouble rising. maybe my temp is just a hair off and the other cakes are light enough that it doesn't affect them. thankfully, new oven is on order. a double stack! yay!
You had mentioned that you are baking in a 6" pan with bake even strips....
I use Magic Line pans, and I have found that the smaller pans do not do well with bake even strips...don't know why, it just would not cook right. So now I only use bake even strips on 8" layers on up. I do use a flower nail in the middle of my cakes (even for 4" round pans). I use more flower nails for the larger layers.
Me too :( trying to figure out why? Going to use a nail to try and solve the problem :( Wish me luck :)
AIf you are using a cake mix with an older recipe, check the ounces in your box cake mix. Over time the companies have reduced the product in the box... Your older recipe won't be the same. Found this out a year or so ago. I now weigh out the cake mix to use the old recipe. Takes about 1 whole mix and a forth of another mix sometimes.....same size box but about 2-3 less ounces.
AHas any one use baking strips and how do they work my round 10 inch 3 inch deep cake pan sinks in the middle after I take the cake out of the oven why is that
AHas any one use parchment paper on the bottom of a round cake pan with a flower nail if so how did turn out
i didn't read the whole thread but bonzo14, you said on another thread that you would consider making a 4" rv cake out of two 2" layers--i mean if you guys are putting too much batter in your pan it will always sink -- i use 3" pans but i only fill them about half full because they will sink--there are recipes that will bake fine at greater depths but the usual rv is not one of them
make this chart your friend http://www.wilton.com/wedding/wedding-cakes/wedding-cake-data.cfm
Quote:
Believe it or not it's the temperature of the oven. Put an oven thermometer in the oven and dont rely on what the oven display says. Red Velvet cakes are a bit tricky because of the vinegar. Other cake batters will hold their structure with a 15-20 degree difference but not the Red Velvet. My oven was checked by a professional and the display said 350 yet the oven thermometer read 377. Good luck!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%