How can I make a cake mix denser, less fluffy?

You will love this recipe!!! It makes a very dense thick cake and is easy easy.

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 small box chocolate Cook N' Serve pudding (not the instant)

Milk called for on the pudding box

1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 c mini chocolate morsels (not the regular size)

Cook the pudding according to the package directions. As soon as it has boiled the correct amount of time, pour it into the DRY cake mix and mix it up. Pour that into your sprayed cake pan, sprinkle on the chocolate morsels and then sprinkle on the nuts. Bake in preheated 350º oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick in the cake comes out clean. Make sure not to overbake it and also make sure whatever sticks to your toothpick isn't the chocolate on top. The chocolate and nuts are the frosting so all is finished as soon as it comes out of the oven. It will be very moist, thick and chocolaty. You can also change out the pudding for coconut cream or something else you like with the chocolate. Or change the cake mix to another and match a pudding to that flavor.

Very simple recipe and very good. If you use regular sized chocolate chips with it, they won't melt enough in the alloted cooking time so be sure and use the mini.

Easiest answer to your first question is: To make the boxed cake less "fluffy" mix the cake by hand. By using a mixer you are incorporating a lot of air into the batter. The stand mixer will add the most volume into the mix a hand mixer slightly less but a spoon will add the least air of all. Your second question as to improve the taste. You can do several things. Adding vanilla extract or other flavors such as instant coffee granules, milk rather than water,(by the way that will also make your cake denser and moister.) add melted chocolate or chocolate chips to a chocolate cake, You can add many things to a cake mix just use your Imagination and experiment with it. You know what you like just play with it. I do it all the time and have never had friends or family pass up the chance to try the results of the experimentation.

Add 1 box of instant chocolate pudding mix and 2 cups of chocolate chips right into the mix. This makes a really dense chocolate cake. It's especially more dense the next day after it has been refridgerated.

I've seen a lot of recipes call for a packet of pudding mix to be added to the mix. Would that make it denser, you think?

p.s. Less eggs will definitely make it denser.

Use Duncan Hines and an extra egg. Extra egg yolk makes things more dense, just as whites make it extra light. I have added a whole extra egg to yellow mixes to make them more like a pound cake.

Use less baking powder,

beat it way longer than it needs to. the more you handle it, the tougher it gets