A few weeks ago, I posted about using Wilton's
Bake Even Strips, and how they work so well that I never even bother to bake without them... not even to take a comparison shot.
Well, I decided I should do it, even if I didn't want to. So, I took advantage of the fact that I was baking a cake for cake pops, so it didn't matter if it domed, and I baked one with the strip and one without.
Here's the photo comparison:
I baked two cakes in 9" round pans. SAME cake mix. I even measured 2 1/4 cups into each pan so that they would be completely even. I wrapped the cake on the right with the strip, didn't wrap the one on the left.
Out of the oven, you can see how the one on the right baked more evenly and flat than the one on the left.
And check this out! Look at the difference in the color and "crust" on the sides of the cakes!! That cake on the right is going to be a lot easier to make into cake pops, because it won't have the annoying crusty sides. And it will also be easier to ice and decorate without extra crumbs.
Neither of these cakes ended up with a big dome, but the one baked with the strip is still a little flatter than the other.
*Note: I'm not paid by anyone here. I'm just sharing what works for me. (Though I do teach Wilton Cake Decorating Classes.)
Your oven temperature might be a bit low, which would reduce doming; I get a bit more crusting than that even with strips, and a bigger difference. Thermometer other than the thermostat to check. They can vary over the years; mine's crept up about 25 degrees over the last decade. (That is, to have the oven reading 350 on the thermometers on the stone, I have to set the thermostat midway between 300 and 325.)
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