I need to make a lemon cake for someone and I hate the way boxed lemon cake mix taste. I've tried a lot of different variations using lemon pudding with yellow cake mix and also lemon gelatin with yellow cake mix. I didn't like those either.

I thought maybe I could whip up a lemon cake and then a yellow or white cake then stir the batters together before pouring it into the pan. I was hoping that this would tone down the strong lemon taste. The pan I'm using would need two mixes anyway so I wouldn't be wasting any batter.

Has anyone tried this before or think that this would work? I have about two weeks so I guess I could try it, but I didn't want to waste good cake mix in case it turned out to be a big mess.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

I would try using the WASC recipe with a lemon cake mix. I bet that would taste great!

I i would use the white cake mixes. Use some real lemon juice in place of some of the liquid and then add some ZEST. Don,t use the real lemon brand lemon juice. Roll and squeeze real lemons. I do believe this would be great tasting. hth

I like doing the WASC recipe with a lemon cake mix. The lemon taste is not as strong as a straight mix. I like it with raspberry filling. Yummy!

http://cakecentral.com/recipes/7371/AMAZING-Lemon-Cake-from-a-Mix
I have tried cakepro's chocolate cake and it is delicious. Look at this recipe and see if you think it sounds good.I have been wanting to try this one. She starts off with a white cake mix. hth

Thanks bates123 & srkmilklady. Can you recommend a good recipe for WASC?

Thanks icer101, how much lemon juice should I use so not to make the cake too tart? For instance, if the mix calls for 1 cup of water, should I use 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice or maybe 1/2 water and 1/2 juice? Not sure how much to use. But thanks for the suggestion. It does sound like a good idea. The frosting that I plan to tart the cake with is a lemon buttercream that also uses fresh lemon juice and zest.

I use lemon mix, lemon pudding and 1/2 cup Real Lemon juice as part of the liquid. I like it to be LEMON!! And I get raves from customers.

Are you sure that the person you are making the cake for does not actually want the "strong lemon taste" that you dislike? I prefer a toned down lemon flavor too, but I know my brother LOVES lemon box mix cake as is.

I'm like KansasLaura and your brother Marla84 ...I like the lemon flavour! I will sometimes fill with raspberry jam, but on occasion have used lemon pudding or lemon curd as filling for a REAL LEMON CAKE!

bvwilliams...if you go to the recipe section and type in lemon wasc, you'll come up with some options. There is a lemon poppyseed wasc that starts with a white cake mix, but uses lemon pudding and lemon juice. (If you aren't into the poppyseeds you could just omit them.) Or like KansasLaura and myself, you could start off with a lemon cake mix instead of the white. It really is delicious!

Hope that helps...good luck with the cake!

Ohhh.. I do fill it with a scratch lemon pie filling and even make a lemon buttercream... it's awesome!! Tart and actually refreshing, if you can say that about a cake.

To Mrla84, yes I'm sure they don't want the strong fake lemon taste. That's why I think I should use the white or yellow cake mix instead of lemon cake mix. Plus they want lemon buttercream in the middle.

I'm not against lemon flavors just the strong fake lemon flavors. Just based on other cakes they've had and loved, I think they'd want a "fresher" lemon taste. Just think of having a glass of fresh lemonade vs frozen lemonade concentrate. You know what I mean?

At kansaslaura, what's the recipe for your lemon buttercream? I have one but thought it might be nice to try out a new one--or are they all mostly the same?

I use the WASC recipe with lemon cake mix. I use a strong lemonade for the liquid instead of water (make it from frozen concentrate and put in less water), plus I add the juice and zest of 1 lemon per mix. I also use 1 tsp of lemon extract, 1 tsp of vanilla (per mix). You can also use lemon yogurt in place of the sour cream if you're going for a really lemon flavor. I've never been a big fan of lemon cake but I really like this one (especially with a raspberry filling).

Why don't you try out a scratch lemon cake recipe? I made one recently and it was sooo good. If you're going to use a mix then use fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest to give it real lemon flavor.

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. What is the best brand of cake mix to use in general--just curious. I use Pillsbury because I like the way it rises. I don't lose that much cake when I have to level it. But I have heard several people rave about BC and DH. Which is the best and why? Have I been using the wrong mix.

I use a french vanilla mix with the cake extender. I add 1/2 cup lemon curd, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, and about 1 lemon's worth of zest. This is for two mixes. The curd seems to tone down the sharpness of the lemon flavor.

I have used yellow BC mix replaced half of the water with fresh lemon juice not that gross bottled stuff with the zest from the lemons , and it was nice and naturally lemony. I have also substituted all of the water with lemon juice and it was sweet and tart it was great. It always comes out delicious and very moist for me.

You could play with a WASC recioe with a yellow mix and sub some of the liquid with thawed lemonade concentrate. This is how I make an orange cake, and it gives the cake a more sweet and tart flavor, super moist and if you use a juice that is real juice (concentrated) it will be a real lemon flavor rather than the artificial one you are trying to avoid. When I did it, I used about 1/2 cup half and half, and the rest was juice concentrate.... It was delish....