I have been having some trouble with my white cake recipe lately. When I turn the cakes out of the their pans after they have cooled (10-15 min) they want to split apart into layers, almost. Its strange really. Its like there is some sort of separation going on. I am going to attach a photo showing what I mean. What could be causing this? I'd like to fix it as it makes the cake hard to manipulate unless it is frozen but even then after it thaws I worry about its stability. I am also including a photo of the top of the cake just in case...

Dumping it too hard, hot can cause cracks in the cake, make sure you use a cakeboard right over the top before you dump, and gently but quickly turn cake upside down to release. Nothing wrong with the top, that I can see, that will become the bottom of the cake so shouldn't cause any problems for you.

are you icing it too soon maybe? or do you do a crumb coat first before the really icing? maybe the cake needs to be more dense if it's falling apart while icing. or maybe you could ad more liquid to the icing so it's thinner and easier to spread.

Are you leaving it upside down on the crown of the cake to cool after you turn it out of the pan? That will cause your cake to split.

I always turn mine out of the pan, then immediately turn them back over so they're right side up.

Also, do you add some batter to the pan, let it sit a while and get a bit of a skin, then add more batter? I'm wondering if that creates an air pocket or just an area that doesn't fuse together as it bakes.

Could it be that you "over beat" when you mixed? Too much of that will produce air pockets.

Did you "bang" gently your pans with the batter to bring up air bubbles before you placed in oven to bake?

Maybe not enough cake release spray on the pans?
Was a flower nail used?

I cool my cakes completely before trimming the crown and turning them onto the board. I know a lot of people like to flip them out after they've cooled slightly, but I always lay a clean towel over top and let them cool overnight. Don't know if that would help?

Thanks for all those suggestions!

jtp139: I ice them frozen so I don't think that is it although I do have a tendency to make my icing too thick. I made a conscious effort to day to make it thinner and it definitely went on better. Unfortunately it had air bubbles because it took me forever to get it the right color so I stirred lots of air into it, but that's another matter.

Ruth: I do let it cool right side up but you can see the split immediately as it exits the pan. I also sometimes add some batter and then have to make more and add it later if I am doing multiple batches of batter. Hadn't thought about a skin forming and creating an air pocket I'll have to watch that. This time that was not the cause though because the batter came from the same batch at the same time.

Cakeshack: Its possible that I overbeat? How do I know? I do not bang the pans. Didn't know that was something I should do. I will definitely try that next time!

elvis: I'll have to try cooling in the pan overnight. There are times when I want to do that as I often bake at night after my kids have gone to bed and would rather not have to level and wrap the cakes that night!

Indy: you always have something good to offer! I am definitely going to bang the pans next time.

I had really not thought about air bubbles being the culprit. Thanks everyone!

Indy, I couldn't believe when I went to your site it said that you had closed your shop. Hope all is well with you.

Is this a scatch cake or box mix? I have had box cakes that stick to the pan and rip out a chuck. Do you use parchment? Down you run a knife along the edge before you turn it over?

I was also thinking that if its a cake that has butter, it might but undermixing. a pocket of butter with coat your cake and live a pocket. Scrap the bowl often.

i too 'bang' my pans. it pisses my neighbor off when im baking at night.
but then i give her some scapes the next day and all is well.
you should see my cat....now thats funny. it freaks it her out.
then i have to give her big cuddles.
but banging my cakes prior to baking helps so much.

I had a similar problem couple of years ago and thought I'd have to buy new pans, I realized my husband was putting them in the dishwasher. I don't know if that was the problem or not, but it took awhile before the pans stopped grabbing the crust of the cake. Now they work fine.