none of your business wrote:
>
> I'm guessing it's the substitution of coconut oil for shortening. Is
> that a 1 for 1 to crisco type shortening? I'm not familiar with how
> coconut oil behaves in baking.
> I would try it once with the shortening just to see if it's dry when
> prepared as written. I just noticed the recipe is written for round
> cake pans, but you made it in a 10 x 15 glass pan. You may be baking
> it so long to get it done all the way through that it dries out.
>
> Less flour will make it denser. I don't think you'd want that. I think
> it's the shortening but honestly, you changed 2 variables so it's
> really impossible to know which one is the culprit. I recomend making
> it once as written (shortening and 3 round layer pans) to see how it
> is supposed to turn out before tweaking a baking recipe.
>
> People's tastes vary, so maybe that's just how the recipe works. If
> anything, I would increase fat before I increased moisture. Maybe 2
> tablespoons of butter will save it. (or 3/4 cup of coconut oil, rather
> than 2/3)


I tried it with Crisco or lard the first time, I don't remember
which. I thought coconut oil would be moister because melts at a
lower temperature, but the cake turned out exactly the same as with
shortening.

I need to look at some other cake recipes to see the flour:fat
ratio. I think that is what's off. (3 cups of flour is a lot for a
cake) More sugar would also make it moister, but it's sweet enough
already.

Bob