Look up cake strips. You can make them out of foil and paper towels to try them before you buy dedicated cake strips.
Also, use taller 8" pans if you can. I've started using 8" pans with a 3" side. This has helped my cakes rise more on the side and dome less.
When I started to get into bread making I picked one of these bad boys up which helped me fine tune temps.
Wilton Cake Leveler - best $7 investment I've ever made. Life changing tool for cutting cakes in half. I'm notorious for not cutting anything evenly. Lol and thank you!
The 4 inch cake pans are from Amazon, they are cheaper quality than most pans but they do the trick!
These all baked up evenly, even with the size! They totally filled the pans and the centers got pushed up a bit, but everything settled into place after taking it out of the oven to cool.
I can recommend Pura Olea. I have tried lemon olive oil cake with it and it was amazing. It is on sale now. I bought it for $24 but now $19.
This would actually be the best brand to order from. Alkanter halawa (or halva) is a very authentic Arab brand. I grew up on the pistachio one so thats what I keep around and it works great in these blondies but you can also order plain.
Alkanater Halawa, Sesame Candy (Pistachio, 2 LB) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DR69R8A/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_AS1617T774SXJPH0S2P7
I’ve used this halvah I ordered from Amazon and really liked it.
I have 4 boxes of these and they work really well. My challenge is forming the edge now. These helped A LOT with the slump issue
Great tasting cake. Had a little bit of a cornbread taste and texture but it works great with the sweetness of the strawberries. Lemon zest and the sugar in the batter give it a touch of lemon taste.
The whip cream is unsweetened and unflavored by the recipe, but I think my next attempt I will add a little confectioners sugar and vanilla.
Make sure you have enough people around to finish, or get close to finishing it as its not really designed to keep long due to the cream. Maybe add a little gelatin to the cream to help it not deflate? (or whatever hack or trick to help with whip cream)
I think this might work well if I can work out quantity of batter in those round soufle dishes. Make a few smaller personal or share size versions and you could possibly save some of the "naked" cakes to make later.
I use an Escali Primo P115c. Claire actually suggests using this brand of scale somewhere early in the cook book. I'm Canadian, here's the Amazon.ca link: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0007GAWRS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1