If this happens to you all the time, then you might like to invest in bake even strips or some kind of cake pan strips. But make sure your baking powder and soda is fresh and get an oven thermometer to check that the oven temp is right.
Where do you live? If above 2000' in elevation, making altitude adjustments will greatly improve your result. If you'll tell me what your elevation is, I'll give you the specific adjustments.
Are you using a cake tester to make sure the cake is cooked all the way through before you take out out of the oven?. All ovens are different so baking times can vary.
Things that come to mind are overbeating (it's almost human nature to want to be sure the dry ingredients are well mixed in..too well mixed in), an oven that is too hot or too cold. Have you used an oven thermometer to check it lately? I'd say to check your leavening ingredients, but if it happens with mixes, it must not be that. It sounds like the middle doesn't properly bake. Also, don't peek until 80% of the time has gone by.
Difficult to know without a specific recipe. There are some cakes that this does happen with, especially those that get their body from egg whites and little flour. Sometimes that happens if you are using a pan that is too small for the amount of batter. Also, it could be the way you are measuring your flour - amts may be off. Flour should be spooned into the measuring cup and leveled.
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