Well I try not to judge a book by it's cover am sure family would understand , I love baking as well . Asides from the rising agents used in baking and your mixing you also need to watch out for the temperature. The right temperature does the trick leaves your cake moist evenly baked and it rises well, you could get a thermometer or just use a moderate fire because too low is a problem and too high is an even bigger problem.
Lols. Thanks for not judging. The cake actually tasted good. And family was gracious. Temperature is key too. Thanks.