Just as heat makes steam and carbon dioxide expand, coolness causes contraction. Open the oven door before the crumb structure is set and a draft will burst the tiny bubbles and the cake will fall. One of the most common mistakes in baking cakes is to overbeat the batter after adding the flour. This makes the flour develop too much of the protein gluten, which is what makes the cake hold its shape. If you get too much, the cake will be tough.
Cake flour is higher in starch and lower in protein than all-purpose flour.
It also is ground finer than regular flour, and produces a finer crumb. Probably a return to Ms. Crawford's old sugar will solve her pound cake problems. Check out this recipe for my grandmother's pound cake. It's one of the best I've ever tasted, although I may be just a tad biased. All rights reserved.