I'm going crazy here trying to find recipes for cakes and cupcakes that have the same tender fine moist crumb that I get with a Duncan Hines mix.

My husband says my scratch cakes are all too heavy! They are moist,a nd yummy, but, I admit they are a bit heavy.

What is the answer? Does anyone have the perfect recipe for a basic vanilla cake, chocolate cake, and yellow cake?

I'm still searching for that perfect yellow/vanilla cake too. In the homemade chocolate department....my
favorite cake is the recipe on the back of the Hershey Cocoa container and for a super tasty poundcake
I use the recipe from www.joyofbaking.com/CreamCheesePoundCake.html except that I only use 4 eggs.

There are several "bake-off" threads on here for the best scratch cakes. I know I saw a white cake one several months ago and I'm pretty sure I saw a yellow cake one recently. That should give you somewhere to start. Just start trying some and see which you like. Also, the mixing method has a lot to do with the final texture, too.