Handy cake troubleshooting charts:
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HTH
What receipe are you using?
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
What process are you using for making the cake? Are the egg whites whipped and folded into the batter? Are you creaming the sugar and butter long enough? Are all the ingredients room temp before you start? Are you aerating the flour and then scooping it into the measuring cup?
What process are you using for making the cake? Are the egg whites whipped and folded into the batter? Are you creaming the sugar and butter long enough? Are all the ingredients room temp before you start? Are you aerating the flour and then scooping it into the measuring cup?
I do cream the butter and sugar and everything is at room temp but the recipe called for the whole egg not just the egg whites.
could that be what it is?
if you want to get a lighter cake, try separating your eggs......add the yolks into the recipe as normal, and whip the whites separately and fold into the cake batter at the end! that will give it a lighter consistency!
that is wonderful Ill try that tonight thank you! 
Well you didn't list whole eggs when you listed the ingredients. If I understand correclty, you are trying to change a yellow cake recipe into a white cake recipe simply by omitting the egg yolks? You will need to replace the emulsification and protein provided by the egg yolks, otherwise the structure of the cake could be compromised. I suggest, instead of trying to alter this recipe, that you instead find a proven white cake recipe that has already been formulated to account for not having the egg yolks.
if you want to get a lighter cake, try separating your eggs......add the yolks into the recipe as normal, and whip the whites separately and fold into the cake batter at the end! that will give it a lighter consistency!
this def worked for me when i was making a ginger sponge the other week. first attempt i used whole eggs and it failed, changed to this method and wow, very light cake
Also make sure your baking powder is not expired. I was having such issues with my cakes for a while, then I realized that it was expired! New box, no more problems!
wow didnt even think of that!
Thanks for all tips I did try folding the egg whites in and there was a HUGE difference! Im going to check the experation date of my baking powder too and see if that helps more
thanks again!
Yeah, unless I know I'm going to be doing a TON of baking right away and thus use it up, I only ever buy baking powder in the small can. It's worth paying the extra $$$ to ensure proper levening.
Oh, and sponge cakes should NEVER be made with whole eggs. The egg whites must always be whipped separately and folded in!
KHalstead - Would you mind explaining "lighter" as I have found it means different things to different people. Does whipping the whites create a cake with more "holes" or air than not whipping them? I'm looking for a cake that is not as dense as pound cake but not as "fluffy" or spongy as I find some box mix cakes.
In any case, I think this is a great idea and will try it! Thanks!
JohnnyCakes, this is my go-to white cake recipe - not dense like pound cake but not spongy either. It's really, really good - give it a try! (I only use the cake recipe, not the buttercream recipe listed). It's the Rebecca Rather/Pastry Queen White on White Buttermilk cake http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Catgurrl/Cakes-Tortes/White-on-White_Buttermilk_Cake_with_Jack.html
Thanks ceshell. It's so funny...I see a thread about the "best" cake ever and think, "That sounds like the one! I have to try this!!!" And then people start posting changes to it and I'm like....Dang! I thought I found it and then someone says it isn't quite good enough. Same with buttercream. I'll go broke if I keep trying all these recipes to find "the one!" LOL
But I love the idea of whipping the whites and folding them in. Definitely gonna try it. Would that be recommended for all cakes??
I know the feeling! I have tried so many recipes, it drives me nuts sometimes. We had a taste-test "scratch off" last year for white/yellow cakes, and that one was one of the top three. The top-rated cake was also really good (Sylvia Weinstock cake) but it was MUCH more dense, so I thought this one might fit what you are looking for.
I'll let someone else answer about folding in the whites for ALL cakes as I tend to follow the recipe, although I do cream for longer than is often mentioned.
Folding in the whites is only neccessary when the additional lift provided by incorporating the air trapped by the egg whtie protein to the batter is desired.
For sponge cakes, the whipped whites form the fundamental structure of the cake, and for many sponge cake recipes, the only levening.
Additionally, when making true pound cake (which only contains butter, sugar, flour, eggs and flavoring, never any chemical levening agent), whipped egg whites again provides the only levening of the batter.
For most butter cakes, the chemical levening agent, such as baking soda (used in acidic batters), or baking powder (used in neutral batters), provides all of the lift needed.
In this case, the OP was asking how to make her cake lighter, and whipping the egg whites and folding them into the batter is the best way to do this.
prterrell - That's my concern about whipping the egg whites...I'm afraid it might make the cake spongy like...sponge cake. Oh well...I'll give it a shot.
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