I have researched and baked several chocolate cakes looking for THE BEST out there. I have finally started using Elisa Straus's recipe from her Confetti Cakes book. I believe the cake is too dense. Although it's great for stacking and carving, I don't want my customers to feel like they need a huge glass of milk to swallow one bite. What can I do to make the cake less dense?

could you maybe add some baking powder? or substitute some plain flour for self-raising flour? sorry im not much more help.. this will give you a bump at least. good luck.

You could try separating you eggs, whisking your egg whites until stiff and then gently folding them in after all the other ingredients are mixed together. This will lighten the texture, but I don't think it would then be good for carving. Have you tried Nati's Chocolate Buttercake recipe in the recipe section here? It's excellent - good enough for carving, but not too dense. My customers love it! I use it for cupcakes, layer cakes & 3D cakes with no problems.