Try lining your pans with parchment and also greasing and flouring the parchment....that should help.
Linda C

Thanks but I do line with parchment and grease & flour. I was wondering if there were other things I could try.

Are you letting it cool for 20 minutes in the pan before removing?

Are you using convection to bake the cake? Cakes don't like the air movement in a convection oven, and you may be drying it out too much if that's the case.

A crumbly, coarse texture:
- Often a sign you didn't take enough time with the mixing. If the fat and sugar are creamed together, make sure you spend enough time on this step to thoroughly incorporate these ingredients.

- Too much flour. If the original recipe calls for cake flour and you use all-purpose flour which has more gluten and absorbs more hydration, reducing the amount of flour by 1 T. per cup may be all the adjustment you need.

-The ratio of ingredients may not be correct. The proportion is commonly one-third as much fat as sugar; two-thirds as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid.

-Oven temperature inaccurate. Check your oven and have it calibrated if it's wrong. What rack you use in your oven can also make a difference - a different temperature closer to the top of the oven, in the middle, or closer to the bottom....

-Bake cake to an internal temperature of 205-210-degrees F.

-Grainlady

Thanks for all the ideas.

I guess I'll just have to bake a couple versions, implementing the various comments and suggestions, to determine the best method.

I'll have to throw parties to help get rid of all my practice cakes. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

I'll report back with my findings (and my weight gain update). Thanks for your help.
Jean

Hello again,
I wanted to update you on my crumbly cake situation. So far, I've only made the recipe as cupcakes, but the results were excellent.

Although I intended to test the various ideas one at a time, I ended up making a few changes all at once. I cut the baking powder amount in half, removed 1 tbspn of flour per cup, gave the butter & sugar plenty of time to mix, did not use convection to bake, and confirmed the temp in my oven was accurate.

The texture & crumb were perfect so I think the changes will work well using regular cake pans, too. Someone even said she thought the cupcakes were more moist than before.

Thanks for your help.
Jean

Jean, I'm glad it worked for you, and welcome to the Cooking Forum!

Sol is the "professional cake baker" of course, so I knew she wouldn't steer you wrong.

So, what do you frost this marvel with, usually? And isn't it funny how a family grows to love something so much that they are forgiving of our every mistake with it? My family has become that way about Pixistix Hot Milk Cake. A couple of times I've underbeaten it and gotten an almost rubbery texture. Doesn't matter, they inhale it. (grin)

Too bad you nailed it on the first try, though, all that experimenting could have been delicious!

Annie

Annie,
Family can be funny - every time I make it at least one person claims it's the best I've ever made. I made cupcakes three times in the past 2 weeks and, each time, someone said it!

I frost it with the frosting from a Red Velvet cake recipe. Cooked flour & milk, cooled and then blended with sugar, butter & vanilla. I end up with leftover frosting if I make cupcakes. And then I make more cupcakes to use it up. And then I need more frosting. It can be a dangerous to the waistline but delicious cycle to get caught in.

Jean

Yum, Jean, I loved that cooked frosting. Not so wild about Red Velvet cake, it seems like a chocolate cake "wanna be", but I love the frosting!

Annie

Hello, I usually hang out in the harvest forum. (Hi Annie!) I had the same crumbling problem with this Key Lime Coconut Cake from epicurious. I made it for my mother's birthday which is right before thanksgiving. The flavor was great and it was nice and light tasting which was what I had in mind. However it just fell apart into crumbs. We ended up eating with spoons. Since we liked the flavor I'd like to make it again so that it will hold together but still be light. I don't usually keep self rising flour around so I'd rather use AP or cake flour and my own leavenings. I actually "borrowed" SR flour from Mom. She asked me what I was making. It was funny to say, "Your birthday cake." The neighbors tree is loaded with limes so no shortage of those. I'm sure the family would be happy to try out my experiments. Does anyone have any idea where to start? I thought about using coconut milk but that would a lot more fat than whole milk. Also, I added a half teaspoon of coconut extract to the batter. Thanks for you help!

Oh, also the reviews said it would overflow a regular cake pan so I used a spring form and it did need the extra space.

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh Key lime juice, divided
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Toast coconut in a small baking pan in oven, stirring once or twice, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool. Leave oven on.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Stir together flour and 1/2 cup coconut (reserve remainder for topping). Stir together milk and 2 tablespoons lime juice. At low speed, mix flour and milk mixtures into egg mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour.

Spoon batter into pan and smooth top. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then turn out of pan and discard parchment.

Whisk together confectioners sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and rum (if using) and pour over cake. Sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Key-Lime-Coconut-Cake-351877#ixzz1fCc9Vh99

Problem with my Grandmother's "Raisin Spice Cake" recipe. It is a handwritten recipe, going back to the early 1900's. My Aunt has made this loaf pan cake many times and it is something I remember fondly as being dark, with light density, firm, moist and so delicious. There are two original handwritten recipes by my aunt . . however, one recipe calls for 1 1/2 C. Crisco and the other 1/2 C. Crisco. I have tried making this cake over the years with many failures . . not even close. I made this cake yesterday using the 1 1/2 C Crisco. The batter looked right after mixing, so it went into loaf pans (sprayed and floured) Appeared to baking beautifully, but when baking timer went off, I was surprised to see that the loaves had fallen in the middle. I let them cool completely, and when I tried to remove them from the pans, the top split off from the bottom (which I assume due to not enough pan prep...will use parchment next time as well) I realize that mistake, however, even the cake itself, was not moist, and it when I would pick up a piece to try it turned into crumbs. I am posting recipe as written by my aunt and hopefully someone out there has suggestion or even possibly has this family recipe or can give more detailed directions for this cake. . 1 box raisins (cook 15 mins in 2 cups water along with spices: 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp cloves 1 tsp nutmeg 2 tsps allspice and set aside to cool. Then sift together 41/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tablespoon baking soda. Then add to 1 1/2 C Crisco. ** 2 cups of sugar is listed on ingredients but not in directions when to add it** After dry ingred. are added to Crisco, then add 1 cup cold water and then add the cooled raisins and mix all together, bake in slow oven 350 degrees for one hour. These are the directions with the ingredients included. I have tried and need some expert advice. thanks

Sounds good to me....are you draining the raisins?
I would cream together 1 1/2 cups of crisco and the 2 cups of sugar.
Mix the 4 1/2 cups of flour with the rest of the dry ingredients
Add the water to the sugar flour mixture and beat well, and slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar,crisco, water stuff, add the raisins and get in into your pans. And I wojuld use crisco or butter and flour on your pans....sometimes spray stuff doesn't put on enough "grease" to have the flour stick.
I also might consider adding another teaspoon of baking powder. That's not much for 4 1/2 cups of flour.
Also, are you baking by "time" or by testing for doneness? sounds like you took the cakes out before they were done

While it's not much baking soda for the amount of flour in a regular cake, fruit cake (which is similar to your recipe) has no leavening added. However, it does have eggs, which have a small leavening effect. I would follow Lindac's instructions but not increase the baking soda for at least the first test cake.

What's the baking soda going to react with? It needs an acid to work. The raisins are very slightly acidic but that's not enough. Either change the sugar to brown sugar, or change the leavening to baking powder, no more than 1 1/4 tsp per cup of flour. If you use brown sugar, you can use baking soda but only use half the amount in your recipe.

I would use 3 tsps baking powder for leavening.....and skip the soda.