I have an issue with the crusts on larger cakes (10+ in) getting too thick. I've tried changing the temperature, but that doesn't seem to help. I either have not-done centers, or thick hard crusts.

I want nice fluffy, but firm, cakes. How do i fix this?

It could be a lot of things... but a quick fix may be to plastic wrap your cakes for several hours or overnight and let the moisture even out. You'll find it's soft all the way though at this point. Other than that, maybe there's too much sugar in your recipe?

I dont think wrapping it would really solve the issue. It's just over cooked on the outside in general. Sometimes it even tastes almost-burnt, kwim? There's got to be a way to cook larger cakes more uniformly. Obviously, big bakeries do it, and other people do it. I just cant figure out HOW! lol!

Are you using any flower nails or heating cores? They help with dispersing the heat through the center of the cake.

What temperature are you baking at? Baking larger layers are often baked at a lower temperature than a smaller cake. Try dropping your oven temperature by 25 degrees. It will extend the baking time but won't bake the outer edges as quickly. And use the flower nails as well.

Have you got an oven thermometer to verify that your oven is baking at the right temperature/ It could be hot as well.

Try a heating core the cake will bake more evenly.

You can use baking strips too. Or if you don't want to buy them wet strips of towels in water and wrap them around the cake to help cook the cake more evenly.

The best thing I ever did (and someone on CC told me about it) was to cut both sides of an aluminum soup can open, clean thoroughly of course, and use that as a core. I've got to tell you that has helped me more than anything with the larger pans. The flower nails have never done much for me. I either use a regular core or a soup can core.

I like the soup can because it's larger and you don't have to dig cake out like you do with a regular core. Just make sure you grease and flour whatever core you're using VERY well...and I even spray with Pam in addition, just to avoid sticking.

What brand of pans are you using?

A thick overbaked crust can come from several things; not adjusting recipes for altitude, too much sugar in the recipe, too much batter in the pan, too hot of an oven.
Are you baking cakes from scratch?
For your altitude most recipes need to be adjusted; for every 2 cups flour you need 1 extra Tablespoon more flour, 1 Tbsp less sugar and a bit more liquid. No one talks about it on cooking forum but I have found that usually the baking powder needs adjusted a bit too when you come down to it.

Also, I have found that it is not unusual for a 16" round 2" tall to take as much as 1hr 45 min to 2 hrs to be perfectly baked at 310F. I like to bake my very large cakes 1" at a time. I've found that even if I have to wait for cakes to cool down and do a second baking I save time and get better results than trying to make them tall.

The plastic wrap trick does work too.

In the end it boils down to whatever works for you. I have recipes that I "fixed" in very unorthodox ways but they work.

carmijok,

I'm intrigued with the soup can method! I hope I don't sound stupid, but when you take the can out, what do you do about the large hole in your cake??

Well I`m going to sound stupid with you, I was thinking the same thing, And do you put the soup can in the pan before you pour the batter in?

It definately sound like your oven is too hot &/or you are baking too long.
You say you bake at 350 - that is too hot
BUT.....be *SURE* you oven is on temp. You should have it calabrated to check how accurate the dial/temp is.
The elec & gas companies used to do that for free - don't know if they still do. Call to see.
To be done properly it takes a special meter and at least one - probably 2 hours. Temp in an oven is calucated by taking an average of the temp when the oven comes on and when it goes off. In other words - to reach 350 the oven, when started, goes up to about 370, turns off, then when it falls to say around 330 it turns back on. Doing this over time gives an average which is where the dial is set (350).
Baking temp for cakes should be closer to 320 than 350. At 350 the batter rises very fast around the edges of the pan and 'sets'; but not in the middle. Slowly the middle rises and since the edges are already 'set' the middle now rises higher - causing the 'dome' that will need to be cut off When you bake at the lower temp *and* use either a nail/core */or wet clothes around the pan then you get a much more even spread of temp throughout the entier cake so you get a much more even rising.