Doctoring a Cake Mix

I don’t know what my problem is, but everytime I try to make a cake from scratch, I end up with something that either crumbles to pieces when it’s cut, or something that could double as a doorstop.

My mom introduced me to the idea of doctoring cake mixes to make them more dense and flavorful. I’ve tried a number of different methods, and the method below yields a moist cake that is dense enough to form a good base for decorating. It’s also pretty rich, and in my opinion, tastes better than the bakery!