cake bakers.....what am i doing wrong?

[rileyandfredsmom]

I can't figure out what I am doing wrong....all of my cakes are moist on the inside but the edges are hard when I take them out of the oven. What am I doing wrong or what do I need to do differently?

[bookworm]

I'm not a baker at all, but have you tested your oven temperature?

[jennylou]

I would turn the temperature down and bake for a longer period of time.

You can also buy these strips that you put on the outside of cake pans that are supposed to make cakes cook evenly.

[JessicaT]

Your oven might be too hot - try getting an oven thermometer to check

You might be baking too long (what kind of cake are you making? If you are making box cakes, this is likely, the inside will stay moist no matter how long you bake those) - try checking with a toothpick 5-10 minutes sooner, or check by lighting touching the top of the cake with one finger (if it springs back, it's done. if it sinks and stays sunk, it's not done)

You might want to use different pans - I like heavy, light-colored aluminum pans. I personally really dislike nonstick pans and think they do make the edges funny. If you are using dark nonstick, glass or lightweight aluminum, they might be conducting heat faster to the cake edges

Finally, you could be mixing the batter too long, which can make it tough. This depends again on what kind of cake you are making but a good general rule of thumb is to only mix until everything is incorporated and no longer!
Good luck!

[f1eur]

I second the strips -- Wilton makes some, I think they're called Bake Even strips or something like that.