Cake Fail
color
volume
shape
Uneven cooking: oven too hot at the start, pan heats hotter then oven. There is a possibily too much flour was used.
texture
saving cake
First try leveling the cake to even it out. It’s possible that it will still work as a slightly thinner cake level. If not, you can make cake pops, petit fours, or ice cream topping, cake bread pudding, cake french toast, a cake shake by blending it with ice cream, or crumble it into a batch of brownies.
If the cake came out tough, you can try making a trifle. Whip up some pudding and whipped cream. Then layer big chunks of cake, compatible fruit (cherry, blueberies, raspberries, etc), pudding, a little liquor (cognac, brandy, amaretto, etc) and spread some whipped cream on top. Refrigerate overnight and cut in slices. These wetter ingredients will balance out the firmness of the cake.