I've just discovered the flower nails! My mum used to wrap wet newspaper around the pans. I always dome the batter in the opposite direction which also helps. I discovered while trying to bake a bundt cake by using a small metal bowl pushed down into the batter that just pushing it down a little way would result in no dome. The bundt cake didn't come out as I hoped (probably needed some weight in the bowl) but it was obvious doing the same without pressing down so far would give a flat cake!

Thank you... will try that next time

You'll want to wrap the pan in a strip or use a center core.

I just used this method today and it worked perfectly! I covered my two round cake pans with the bottom of a rectangle pop out cake pan. They were perfectly flat and browned on top!

I sometimes still use the Agbay - especially for wedding cakes that I need to be really level (because of multiple tiers! But for smaller cakes, I don't usually bother with cuttinng off the tops.

The pans are 3-4" deep? If so, you'll have to bake for a long time at a lower temp and possibly use wraps on the outside and the flower nail in the center.

Thanks for that tip. I bought new cake pans never had issues until these pans came 3 - 4 inches deep and they started sinking in. Any tips. I watched it baked and could see it forming at the middle and when done baking, it would have a caved in look and not the straight up round look a round cake should have. Any tips???

My husband and son in law call those the "scraps". I have customers who actually ask me if I have any "scraps" they can have.

When I got my Artisan Kitchen Aid stand mixer, the instructions said they are so efficient, they require only half the recipe's mixing time. At first, I was afraid to cut the time, but the result was a flattish sunken cake. Next time I cut the mixing time in half and had a perfect cake. I used the Wilton baking strips for both cakes, so I know it was the time.