It is annoying when after having found a perfect cake recipe and doing all preparations meticulously, then only to see the finish product to be not as perfect as it should look. Either they turn out lopsided or have a 'dome' in the center because of uneven rising during baking.
I r
ead somewhere that others use flower nails, like the one in the picture on the right, and place it upside-down it in the middle of the pan. They say it evens out the heat while baking and avoid that the sides to bake faster than the middle that causes rising unevenly.Well guess what?! I got one of does, although it was so difficult to find one here in Germany. I was so happy when I got it that I made a cake just to see if it works!!! And what do you know..NO..i did not work.
Good thing I do not give up so easily, so I tried other stuff you read in the internet and the best solution I found for this is...using wet old towel strip as insulators. All you have to do is take an old towel, cut it in long strips, preferably the same height of your baking pans. Then soak it in water until it is evenly wet. Squeeze out the water and wrap it around your pan before putting it in the oven. I use two rounds of towel strip for better insulation. And wallah!!!-even-leveled cakes all the time!!!
Additionally, try to stop yourself from opening the oven door (coz you are too eager and cannot wait for it to finish baking and checks every now and then- like I was when I started baking). Believe me, it pays to be patient sometimes. Wait until it is at least already three-quarters baked. Opening the door messes the temperature and disrupts the rising of the cake.
Update: I tried using both technique, flower nail and towel wrap, in baking cakes the last times and the result was absolutely perfect even cakes. It is only a but tricky to remove the nail if your cake is thin and you used parchment paper at bottom of pan, otherwise I think this is the best solution for getting perfect shaped cakes.
What do you think?