why do my cakes rise???????????

Well if it's a from scratch cake and it rises too much maybe you are putting too much leavening in it.

If it a boxed mix, then that's just the way it is all cakes rise more int the center that the edges.

If you dont like the effect either trim off excess height or turn the cake bottom side up.

Cakes dome in the middle for two reasons:

1) the metal on the outside of the pan conducts the heat faster so that the sides of the cake set while the center still continues to bake and rise higher than the sides.

2) the structure of the cake is too strong, preventing the leavening gases from escaping til toward the end of baking when they erupt through the center like a volcano.

Try these solutions

1) try silicone pans (silicone does not conduct the heat the way metal does making the center to sides more even).

2) wrap metal pans with moistened cake strips. you can make your own by wetting paper towels and wrapping them in foil or purchase cake strips that can be reused many many times.

3) use a weaker flour. i you are using all purpose flour switch to cake flour.

For further info go here...This place comes in handy when I need extra help with my baking...

when you bake a cake it rises to tell you that it s almost done or it is done. to make sure it is done you put a tooth pick in it to see. if a lot of crumbs are on it it means it is not done but if there is only 2 or 3 on there it is done.if your cake looks like a mountain then you are using a small pan or to muck ingredient's.