I'm making my 1st wedding cake for a paying customer. They want me to use boxed cake mix because they know what flavors they like. My question is how to I make it denser? I don't want to worry about it sinking on me but I want it to still be moist and taste good. What should I do to make a boxed mix denser?

Please try the *original* WASC recipe that I've posted on this site. It is perfect. It will be exactly as you describe - dense, moist and delicious.
There are many variations of my recipe. Please do try it as posted. Some people find it will sink just a bit in the middle if not allowed to bake long enough or if you live at high elevations.

About 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven, when it is still in the pan, I take a paper towel or something and squish down on the top. Not too hard though just a good squish. I don't know if it's the proper thing to do or not but it works for me. HTH

I was told to add one extra egg & a small box of pudding to the regular ingredients called for on the back of the box...I did it, and it actually works!

I use the WASC (not the original). I often half the recipe and use whole eggs instead of egg whites: 3 whole eggs for half the recipe and 6 whole eggs for the full recipe. My favorite so far is using Betty Crocker's Lemon cake mix and in addition to the clear vanilla, I half the almond extract and use Lorann's Lemon Bakery Emulsion. That's the beauty of this recipe, you can alter the flavors to complement your cake flavor.

I can honestly say that this recipe makes the most amazing cake. Moist and delicious, actually addictive. It's also perfect for carving and stacking. People have told me that it's the best cake they've ever eaten.

I use the WASC receipe found on this site for most of my cakes. If I want an even denser cake I add 1 box of instant pudding and an egg to the mix and less oil than what the receipe calls for. WASC is really good for wedding cakes.

You didn't say which brand of mix they asked for; if DH, use the recipe on the side of the yellow cake mix.

It's the recipe Wilton recommends for their 3D pans.

My twist is I do to boxes of the same flavor. One is done according to the yellow pound cake recipe and the other the way the box says. I mix both up at the same time. You can still twist the flavors so it's a knock your socks off cake. Unfortunately, I do end up with too much batter, but I get dense, moist and not my mother's pound cake which is best toasted and slathered with lots of creamery butter. Ooooh la la!

I do plan on trying the original WASC cake. I just have to figure out how I'm going to sneak it in to my harshest critics.

The extra batter I use it for cupcakes or when I'm feeling adventurous, I bake it so I can try cake balls. Haven't figured those out.

Hope I helped.

I had trouble with my beloved DH sinking on me when I made the WASC cake - but only one of the pans which was odd. They were baking side by side... However the one that did turn out was phenomenal!!!!
I have been told that DH changed their recipe so it does not work well with the WASC cake now, so maybe BC or Pillsbury would be a better option in the future, at least it will be for me using the WASC recipe.
I still plan to try The Original WASC too
Macsmom says she adds 8 oz of melted chocolate to hers when she wants it extra dense - so you might ask her opinion on it as well.
Best of luck to you and let us know how you did!

I've been using Betty Crocker because it seems to be the most recommended brand on this site. I've been very happy so far.

Hi, unoskitty,

You didn't mention what flavor(s) your customer requested, but I use Betty Crocker and you can exchange vegetable oil for butter in some of their mixes, which makes for a dense, moist cake (e.g., French Vanilla). They also offer Butter Recipe Vanilla and Chocolate mixes, which also make dense cakes. I've found their customer service people to be an excellent sounding board for advice and feedback on tweaking their box mixes. You can try emailing them at [email protected] with questions on the specific flavor you're planning to use. HTH and good luck!

Hi and Welcome on your 1st post, unoskitty.

Everything you need to know to make, decorate and assemble tiered/stacked/layer cakes:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html

The above super thread has popular CC recipes for crusting American buttercreams, several types of fondant and doctored cake mix (WASC and other flavor variations) - and so much more!

HTH

I use Kakeladis Original WASC recipe for a lot of my cakes I love it because it has NO oil, or butter. It turns out perfect everytime1

There are a few of my recipes that are from scratch but for the most part I use the Wasc!

I my experience, the type of cake you use will not be as important as having a really good support structure inside the cake.

For the most part, I use BC cake mixes, even for my stacked cakes. The only thing I do differently is put them in the freezer over night. Putting them in the freezer will make a denser cake, and as an added bonus a moister cake.

I attached a picture of my tea pot cake that I made with a BC butter pecan cake mix and it held up beautifully. And, I had to drive 4 hours to get to my FDILs wedding shower, but the cake didnt move a bit.

Good Luck

Thank you for your advice. I have a question for you, when you put the cake in the freezer overnight, do you mean the plain cake  or  the cake already filled? Thank you in advance for your response.

When freezing the cakes, you freeze them plain. After they have cooled, wrap them once in plastic then wrap in foil and place in freezer. When ready to fill and frost, simply unwrap, level, and begin.