Sadly, the cakes I made this evening did not rise much except in the middle, which are quite high, even peaked. I used thick 9" x 2" pans and ended up baking them for 32 minutes (tester clean). I'll be putting them in the freezer before bed so the layer/slicing goes easier tomorrow evening. Because neither cake top is even close to being prettily domed, this will be a rather short cake after all is said and done. I will have to cut the tops off both, I think, or just a bit off the second and try to disguise it with frosting swirls or something. This sounds like your oven is running hot. The outside edges of the layers set first, then when the leavener was activated in the center and the batter expanded, it had nowhere to go but up, thus the peaks. It's also possible that your baking powder has been around a while? Either or both of those things could cause the results you had...Susan at KAF

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