I am using DH moist white (and BC super moist chocolate fudge). The DH white calls for 3 egg whites, 2 tbsp. oil and 1 1/3 c. water. The chocolate fudge calls for 3 eggs, 1/2 oil and 1 1/3 c. water.
What should I do to either or both of these to make sure I have a denser, air-bubble-free cake ideal for carving but still moist and delicious?
Thanks!
You can use an extra egg and add a small box of Jello instant pudding and pie filling mix in vanilla.
This is what I do for my cakes...always moist, delicious AND sturdy.
Add an extra egg, small box of pudding, double the oil called for, and 1C of liquid.
If you want a white cake, you will need to use cheesecake or white chocolate pudding mix.
I'll agree that adding the egg/pudding makes the cake more dense, but I'd do a serious taste test before totally changing your recipe. My husband's co-workers are my official taste testers. I did one of these egg/pudding cakes once and sent it in. The feedback I got was "I dont' what she did to ruin her cakes but tell her dont' EVER do it again." They absolutely hated it.
Can I butt in here...
I just tried Pillsbury's Golden Butter mix (w/ 1 cup of pudding already added in)...I really liked the flavor, but would like to dense it up.
How would I? The add-ins are 1c. of water, 3 eggs, 1/3 c. softened butter.
You must have missed this post:
You can use an extra egg and add a small box of Jello instant pudding and pie filling mix in vanilla.
I am a Duncan Hines girl, and this is the doctored recipe that I use. It is always moist, but produces a more dense crumb that holds up well to decorating.
1 box DH mix
4 large eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Blend everything together then beat on meduim speed for 3-4 minutes
Fill cake pans 2/3 full
If I need a perfectly white cake, I use 1 whole egg, and 3 whites
HTH 
I start all my cakes with a mix, follow the instructions for the water and oil and add the following (does'nt matter what flavor)
-1 cup flour (for choco cake I use 3/4 flour and 1/4 cocoa powder)
-1 cup sugar
-1 extra egg or egg white for white cake
-1 4oz box of instant pudding
-1 cup sour cream or yogurt (I use flovered yogurt for my lemon, strawberry, vanilla and cherry cake)
-for the liquid you can sub water for chocolate milk, coffee, coffee creamer, milk, frozen lemonade etc to get different flavors. And for my Yellow butter cake I use melted butter instead of oil.
It produces a super moist and dense cake perfect for stacking and carving and the flavor combos are limitless.
It's basically the WASC cake recipe with pudding added.
To get rid of the air bubbles give your pans a few taps on the counter before you put them in the oven, you will see the air bubbles rise to the top of the batter and pop.
When I was taking the Wilton courses my instructor told us to cut the oil amount in half and take out 2 Tbs of the water requirement. She also said to tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to take out some of the air bubbles. Since I started doing my cakes this way I always have a very dense cake that isn't dried out. I've tried it on all different brands of cake mixes and haven't had any problems.
Didn't miss it, but didn't think adding pudding would be advised for a mix that already contained it.
I have a cake mix recipe book that says do not add pudding to a cake mix that already has it in but I do it all the time and have'nt had a problem yet.
So I say go for it, a little puddin never hurt anyone 
Here's a thread that contains a pretty comprehensive list of all the doctored/enhanced cake mix recipes:
(As well as thread that details just about all the "extra" ingredients that can be added to cake mix.)
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-659228-.html
HTH
Can I add a total different outlook to this???
I use the WASC recipe on this site and THEN right after it is baked I take it out of the oven and place a clean towel over top and press the cake down. I let it cool 10 min then flop it out and wrap it in seran wrap. There is no need to level because the cake will be perfectly level and it also makes the cake dense and air bubble free. Great for carving!
What do you experts think of this?
edited to say: Great pic indydebi 
Didn't miss it, but didn't think adding pudding would be advised for a mix that already contained it.
I asked a co-worker what cake mix she used once. She said, "The one wiht the pudding in it." I said, "Dont' they ALL have pudding in them anymore?"
If the cake mix you're using ...... with pudding ..... isnt' dense enough, why not add a package of pudding and the extra egg? A cake mix has flour in it but the doctored mix recipes I've seen add flour to it.
I tend to be a "why not?" type of person. I rarely think along the lines of "can I?" but more along the lines of "why not?" 
I like WASC versions, my go to base recipe for most cakes. Check the gourmet flavors thread for many many ideas. You can add 4 oz melted white or dark choc for each box of mix used to WASC to make it even more durable.
Edited to add: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-614554-gourmet.html+flavors
I agree with the extra box of pudding, but I also use sour cream too, which makes cakes very dense (and delicious!)
WOW! Thank you all for such great suggestions! I don't know what I am going to try! Well, my test cake will have many many layers, so maybe I'll try a FEW and see which one comes out the best!
Now. . . as for how to keep track of which layers are which! 
I actually tried something else today--I mixed a pound cake box mix with a regular super moist mix, adding all the ingredients called for together. It looks marvelous!
I won't be able to comment on taste until I complete the whole cake, which will be at least a few days.
I actually Googled this about a year ago and found a great recipe. I have been using it ever since with rave reviews.
Add to the cake mix, ALONG WITH THE INGREDIENTS ON THE BOX:
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
an extra 2/3 cup of water.
I put the mix in the bowl and add the flour, sugar and baking powder. Then I add the water and oil called for on the box and mix for 10 seconds until it is wet. Then I mix in the stick of softened butter. (I stick it in the microwave for 10 sec. if it is hard.) Then mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, whatever amount is called for on the box. Then I slowly add the 2/3 cup of water and beat for about 2 minutes.
It does take longer to cook, at least an extra 10 minutes.
This has worked great for me and has held up very well with the stacked cakes and fondant covered cakes I do.
Good luck!
Can I add a total different outlook to this???
I use the WASC recipe on this site and THEN right after it is baked I take it out of the oven and place a clean towel over top and press the cake down. I let it cool 10 min then flop it out and wrap it in seran wrap. There is no need to level because the cake will be perfectly level and it also makes the cake dense and air bubble free. Great for carving!
What do you experts think of this?
edited to say: Great pic indydebi
I squash my cakes too!! does this really make a cake more dense? I "seem" to think so, but its something I happened upon in the first few days of researching cake decorating so maybe I just "think" it does cuz someone who has more experience said it did? I definately will try the pudding and extra egg.
Another question...I thought I read somewhere that if you add a little less oil to a cake mix that it would make it more dense, but when I tried this on my last cake, it just basically crumbled when trying to ice it...it was moist, I could squish it together and it would hold, but it was crumbly...so should I not subtract oil from a recipe? was that my error?
TIA for all your advice
Can I add a total different outlook to this???
I use the WASC recipe on this site and THEN right after it is baked I take it out of the oven and place a clean towel over top and press the cake down. I let it cool 10 min then flop it out and wrap it in seran wrap. There is no need to level because the cake will be perfectly level and it also makes the cake dense and air bubble free. Great for carving!
What do you experts think of this?
edited to say: Great pic indydebi
I squash my cakes too!! does this really make a cake more dense? I "seem" to think so, but its something I happened upon in the first few days of researching cake decorating so maybe I just "think" it does cuz someone who has more experience said it did? I definately will try the pudding and extra egg.
Another question...I thought I read somewhere that if you add a little less oil to a cake mix that it would make it more dense, but when I tried this on my last cake, it just basically crumbled when trying to ice it...it was moist, I could squish it together and it would hold, but it was crumbly...so should I not subtract oil from a recipe? was that my error?
TIA for all your advice
Well I definitely think it makes it more dense...almost like a pound cake in my opinion. By squishing it down it is taking all the air bubbles out of the cake creating it to be more dense.
Now I'm not professional so any professional reading this correct me if I'm wrong 
I would never omit the oil in my cake recipe! There is less oil in the WASC recipe compared to what it says on the box though.
I love following the WASC recipe, it's a big rave here in my town
My favorite cake is Pineapple Upside Down cake. I just made one and it wasn't moist enough for my liking. I will try the extra egg, pudding mix, and using butter instead of oil next time - might even try the sour cream instead of water. BUT . . . some of you suggested adding a cup of sugar and flour to the mix . . . won't that create TOO MUCH batter and cause cakes to overflow creating a big burned smokey mess on the bottom of the oven? I have had this happen before.
@green-eyed1 Just measure your batter, then it won't be too much in the pan. The sugar and flour additions are part of extender recipes, so supposed to be more batter at the end. See this chart for how much batter to put in your pans: Cake Baking and Serving Guide
I normally use Betty Crocker (which has pudding), and add an extra egg, and a squirt of real vanilla, and use 2/3 to 3/4 the amount of oil recommended. I've done carved cakes with it. I also drop the filled pan on the counter several times, until the larger air bubbles come to the surface and pop.
Thanks for the link :) and tips
Sharon Zambito just published a great blog post about doctoring cakes on her www.SugarEdProductions.com webiste. Visit her page and click on Blog at the top...it's a couple posts down.
I started using a cake extender recipe and have actually been told my cake is too dense. I've modified it a bit over time for a less dense cake but still use the recipe for my Rich & Dense chocolate cake.
1 box mix ( I prefer Betty Crocker )
1C flour
1C sugar
1 1/C water (mostly strong coffee for chocolate cake)
3 eggs
1/4 C oil
1 small Box chocolate PUdding (Vanilla for Vanilla cake)
1C sour Cream (vanilla greek yogurt for Vanilla cake)
This recipe can easily be doubled but as it is I can get 1 8x3 cake and a 6x3 cake out of it.
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