Hi Fran, that's a tricky one! It could be that because your mother's recipe calls for milk and a bit more cocoa the batter is a bit thicker and less likely to fall in the center. It's also possible that you combination of cake flour and bread flour ended up being a little lower in protein than our Unbleached All-Purpose flour, which would have also contributed to a more liquidy batter. Oven temperature may also be playing a part, so you might want to get an inexpensive oven thermometer and preheat the oven for a full 30 minutes. This way you can check to be sure your oven temperature is reading accurately, and adjust the setting, if necessary. Since your mom's recipe seems to work so well for you, perhaps it's worth sticking with; I don't think adding our mixing method to your mother's recipe will adversely affect the results. 

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