Baker's Wednesday! Baking a flat cake.

Have you ever wondered why your cakes always dome in the middle? Here are some tips to make sure your cakes come out flat every time!!!!

Domes often occur because the outside is cooking much faster than the inside...so, after the outside of your cake is baked, the inside has nowhere to go, but UP!

The most common reason for this is that your oven's temperature is too high. Try to see what your oven is actually baking by getting an inexpensive oven thermometer and hanging it on the rack while your oven comes to temperature. That will tell you alot! Then, even if your oven does bake on the correct temperature, you should still bake anywhere from 10 to 25 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for...this will help avoid the outside from baking faster than the inside.

Another helpful thing to do is to insulate the outside of your baking pans. Wilton has a product for that called "Bake Easy Strips" that you dampen, and attach to the outside of your pans. This keeps the outside from baking too fast, while the inside is baking. A cheaper way to do the exact same thing is to find an old, clean bath towel and cut it in strips. Then, wet it under the faucet and squeeze out the excess water. Wrap it tightly around your baking pan, and use a large safety pin to secure. Then bake as usual.

If after trying these ideas you still have a small dome, you can still save it by taking a clean towel and gently pressing down on the dome immediately after it comes out of the oven, while its still in the pan. Then, let cool for about 10 minutes, and turn out of the pan onto a rack to cool the rest of the way.

Comment and let me know if you now have flatter cakes! Or upset husbands, if they are used to eating the domes you were cutting off after baking!!!!! :-)