Whenever I try to make a modiifed cake mix with the WASC or any cake from scratch, the texture is always course like quick bread instead of light like cake. What am I doing wrong? I try and follow the recipes but it always ends up this way. I tried to make a red velvet cake and it came out tasting like zucchini bread. It is crusty and coarse. any suggestions?

No, sorry. My quick breads don't come out crusty and coarse, either. I can tell you that only foam cakes are light and airy. Butter cakes are not. Maybe you should try making sponge or genoiise instead?

Improper mixing causes a lot of problems in the finished cake..

Handy cake troubleshooting charts:

http://tinyurl.com/2p5bdu

http://tinyurl.com/32goqe

http://tinyurl.com/6c745g

http://tinyurl.com/6lpjww

Additionally, measuring properly is critical to cake success.

When measuring flour, do you use the "scoop and drag" method and then shake to level.... You should be aerating the flour prior to gently spooning it into the measuring cup and using a straight edge to level.

For help in learning proper cake making techniques, I recommend www.joyofbaking.com

HTH

P.S. It's also important to sift your cake mix, as any little clumps will be impossible to "beat" out and will result in a cake that is overmixed which develops the gluten resulting in other finished cake problems.