My friend left this message on my machine:

My pumpkin cake keeps falling apart when I take it out of the pan. I haven't talked to her yet, but I'm assuming she's talking about a scratch recipe.

Any ideas why it might be falling apart?

She sounded pretty desperate, so I wanted to get an answer to her asap, but I wasn't sure what to say.

TIA,
Sarah

it could be that its too moist or maybe it hasnt cooled properly before slowly running a thin knife around the sides and releasing it (5-10 minutes). did she grease the pan right? shortening/light flower? maybe you could suggest that she grease the pan then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. (remind her to remove the paper before icing.)...if she doesnt have parchment, i think waxpaper might work but i dont know for sure- i think i've read that its an ok alternative, although some of the wax may melt into the cake _ big deal? i dont think it would be as bad as another broken cake.