My oven thermometer lied to me by 25 degrees during a wedding cake bake

I was baking a three tier wedding cake for my cousin's reception in my little kitchen two Saturdays back, and the layers kept coming out with these sunken centers even though I followed my recipe exactly like I have for years. After the second batch failed I grabbed my backup thermometer from the drawer and stuck both of them in the oven, and the old one was reading 350 when the new one said 325, so everything I pulled out early was basically raw in the middle. I had to scrap two full batches of batter, dump them in the trash, and start over at 8pm with barely any eggs left in the fridge. I ran to the store for more butter and eggs, got home around 9, and ended up baking until almost 1am with the new thermometer taped to the rack so I could see it through the glass. The cake turned out fine in the end, but I was so stressed I barely slept and my hands were shaking during the stacking the next morning. Now I check my thermometer in ice water every couple months, but I keep wondering how many other bakes I messed up over the years without knowing. How often do you all test your thermometers, and has one ever burned you like this?

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the_jason18d ago

Test mine every few months now after mine read 30 degrees off during a birthday cake. Cost me a whole afternoon and a lot of wasted frosting.

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