How to prevent doming with a character cake

So I've been meaning to get back to this thread with how everything turned out in the end - he asked me to make a minion cake instead :| For that I used a recipe from the King Arthur website, my usual buttercream and some marshmallow fondant, and it turned out pretty good.

I did, however, get to use the pan again for the three year old's birthday a month later. This time I used a different recipe (a thick-battered Martha Stewart banana cake as opposed to the chocolate one I used the first time). Knowing what happened before I pushed as much of the cake into the extremities and out of the centre, dropped the temperature of the oven, and extended the cook time. It came out pretty good!

Thank you again for all of your tips and tricks :)

I don't know if you've ever turned the top layer upside down fill in the "upside down "DOME' WITH FROSTING. Ive done it with Spongebob, it worked quite well. The kids like the additional frosting too!! I remember my grandmother was such a perfectionist that she used to take her best favorite knife, sharpen it, cut off the "doming" part and brushed off any crumbs it generated

when the cake comes out of the oven, press down on the part that has domed

Thank you for your answers everyone! When I try him again in two weeks I'll report back with the outcome :)

I've used homemade cake strips (paper towels wrapped in aluminum foil and pinned around the pans) with great success, but your Lego man won't work with those because of his odd shape. I would go ahead and bake Lego man, and in addition, bake another cake large enough to layer under him, in case the only solution is to slice off the domed top of Lego man. Trim the larger cake to his shape. Good luck!

Found this blogpost and video http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Lego-Man-Cake/ . Looks like there was significant doming, but he cut off most (not all) while it was still in the pan. He uses a cake mix and about half the batter; it seems to be a small cake. Perhaps you can pour in less batter, allowing for the rise; and the trimming doesn't have to be perfect, just the most egregious parts.

Tapping didn’t work? Sorry.
I searched Lego cake pans and there are videos, recipes and tips.
Betty Crocker has an easy Lego cake without using a special pan.
Good luck! BB

I’ve had success using the following method.. after baking while the cake is still hot cover it with a tea towel and gently press down with you hand or place a sheet pan over and press that.

Magicake strips! They worked perfectly when I baked a three layer wedding cake.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U0LE4O/ref=asc_df_B002U0LE4O5385000/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B002U0LE4O&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193129986239&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13651500342458248241&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004086&hvtargid=pla-311501465001

You know there are some pans for sandwich loaves that have a lid, so the loaf baked square?
Maybe try to MacGyver that by putting a weighted quarter sheet pan on top of the filled Lego pan.
That might give you a level top wirhout gaving to trim.

Are there any cake recipes provided or recommended by the company that makes the pan? It's in their commercial interest for people to have success making great cakes in those pans, so one would think they'd have recipe creators develop a batter that works well.
If they don't have any that are published, perhaps you can contact their customer service for advice. ;o)

Halfpint - I saw that website on my search this morning. Because the pan isn't a regular shape, I don't know how I would wrap the cloth around the outside. Another website suggested doing a sort of water bath by adding a bit of water to the bottom of a jelly roll pan -? I will try the lower temperature as well.

Berrybaby - I tried that, no dice. He looked like the Lego hunchback of Notre Dame when he came out :p

It's a good thing I only need to impress the 7 and under set with my cake making skills :p

After filling pan with batter, I tap them on the counter. This not only evens out the batter, it removes air bubbles.

Here's advice that I found that seems to make a lot of sense:
https://rosebakes.com/3-ways-to-avoid-domed-cakes/

#1 & #2 seems to be what you want to try. I'm a little skeptical about #3, but worth a try too.

Maybe try slicing off the domed part with a serrated bread knife while it's still in the pan.