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I have a carrot cake recipe I have been using for years that always produced a nice evenly cooked cake. The last 3 times I made it, it is super thin in the center and does not rise as high as it used to even at the edges. It is far more moist then it used to be as well. I have no idea what might have changed as I have been quite careful to follow the instructions. All suggestions are welcome.

David
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  • There was a rather similar question on here once, but I can't find it. It might've been someone who had moved and then started having problems. Has anything obvious changed? Do you have an oven thermometer, so you can be sure your oven isn't acting up? You might also want to see https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/24594/67 – Joe Oct 10 '21 at 14:31
  • Oven temp is good and everything else comes out perfect especially my banana bread. I can not think of anything that has changed thats what has me stumped. I looked at tat link it is mostly about not following directions. I did that and always have. Thanks for reading question. – David Oct 10 '21 at 14:38
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    as there are a lot of supply shortages, have you made any seemingly insignificant changes, like a change in the brand of flour? Or could your leavening (baking powder / baking soda) be old? (some people claim it's an issue, I've never seen much problem from that, though). How you measure your flour (dip and shake, spoon and sweep) can be a problem if it's not by weight. And carrots can be different each time, and made even worse if it's a vague measurement like 'three medium carrots'. – Joe Oct 10 '21 at 14:45
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    I am working with exact measurements like 3 dl (metric). Ingredients have not changed same brands nothing more then a few months old but good thoughts. Physically I do nothing different in the last 10 plus years. Maybe later if I make another I take a pic it will be good for a laugh at least. – David Oct 10 '21 at 14:49
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    you might also try posting the complete recipe ... maybe someone will see a step that could be problematic. – Joe Oct 10 '21 at 14:52
  • Do not think so being using it for over 5 years several times a year and this problem only happened in last 3 or 4 months. – David Oct 10 '21 at 14:53
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    Have you changed the pan you cook the cake in? Or even the position of the racks in the oven? – Tjaden Hess Oct 10 '21 at 16:42
  • *Something* obviously changed. Please include the recipe so people can better guess what. – Kat Oct 12 '21 at 16:12

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This is a stretch, but it might be due to a difference in ingredient quality due to quick turnaround during the pandemic. I know I've had some unexpected results with legumes which, instead of being several months old on the shelf, were practically fresh off the plant. Cooking times were nearly halved on three different occasions over the last year!

Djanga
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    That's a good point -- some vegetables like sweet potatoes are typically 'cured' so they have a longer storage lifetime (and I think it converts starches to sugars). I know folks who insist that some root vegetables need to stay in the ground over the winter, but it's possible that farmers aren't harvesting like they normally would or that the temperatures weren't ideal for the starch or sugar content of the carrots. – Joe Oct 29 '21 at 15:27