If you’ve been searching for the BEST recipe for Lemon Cake from a doctored cake mix, we are happy to say that this is it!
This lemon cake has a lovely soft texture, is ultra moist, has fantastic lemon flavor, works for cupcakes as well as cake layers, and is sturdy enough to hold up to fondant! What’s not to love?
We’ve frosted this lemon layer cake with a luscious Lemon Buttercream, which is a new recipe for our site also! We’ve fallen in love with it’s lemon flavor and it pipes like a dream.
We’re so glad to have this lemon buttercream option for slathering and swirling onto all sorts of cakes from lemon cake to homemade vanilla buttermilk cake to classic yellow, coconut and even strawberry! Lemon buttercream pairs perfectly with so many cake flavors.
However, our Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting as well as our homemade Lemon Curd Filling would both be great choices!
Now let’s back to the business of doctoring up a simple cake mix to make the BEST Lemon Cake ever!
First, you’ll start with a simple white cake mix (look for recipes that do not contain pudding in the mix as we’ll be adding a bit of lemon pudding to this recipe). We used Duncan Hines.
- Combine the sifted cake mix with the flour, sugar, and pudding and whisk to blend. *Just 4 tablespoons of pudding is all that we needed to really make a difference in the texture and flavor of this cake.
- We tried baking without the lemon pudding, and while it was good, the stand-out favorite among all of our family taste-testers was the version that contained pudding. The texture is more velvety and the lemony flavor is really nice. We also tried using Lemon Cake Mix instead of White, but didn’t like the flavor as much.
- Add the remaining ingredients, including the eggs, water, sour cream, extracts, and lemon zest. The addition of pudding, sour cream, and flour give the cake a from-scratch feel, as it is a bit denser than a straight from the box cake mix cake…but I wouldn’t describe this as a dense cake. It is light, has a soft texture, and did I mention an amazing lemon flavor? SO good!
This recipe makes about 7 1/2 cups of batter which was just the right amount to divide between three 8 inch layers. I love cake recipes that have enough batter for three layers so that you can have an additional layer of filling! Mmmmm….bring on the lemon buttercream!
I should also mention that while we adore this doctored Lemon Cake Mix recipe, we have a favorite Scratch Lemon Cake Recipe as well! If you enjoy baking scratch recipes also, this is a great one! We hope to eventually have a doctored cake mix version and scratch version of all of our recipes!
Lemon Cake: A Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 oz.) white cake mix, sifted ( Duncan Hines or any mix without pudding in the mix)
- 1 cup (114g) all purpose flour (plain in the UK)
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/2 box (4Tablespoons, 48g) instant lemon pudding (we used Jell-O brand)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups (322g) water
- 1 cup (242g) sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) lemon extract
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) vanilla extract
- zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8x2 inch round cake pans.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the dry ingredients and whisk at least 30 seconds to blend.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for 1 more minute. If you are using a hand mixer, mix for a bit longer.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Check at 25 minutes, if a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached, it is done.
- Cool in the pans 5 to 10 minutes then turn out.
- Makes 7 1/2 cups batter
- Works well for cupcakes
No problem! Thank you, I’ll go buy some sour cream so I can give the recipe a try, thank you!!
This recipe did not work for me. I weighed all ingredients and followed the directions, but the cupcakes came out deflated. They were in the oven for 25 minutes, golden on top and the toothpick came out clean, but as soon as they came out, they caved in. So disappointed
Hi Lara, I’m sorry there was a problem, it is so frustrating to feel as though you have wasted your time and money. Recipes that use a cake mix are very forgiving so there is rarely a problem. For baking standard size cupcakes 25 minutes is usually too long. A typical time is 18 to 20 minutes, so under baking would not be the cause. If a recipe has too much liquid, (sugar is also considered a liquid) it can cause the center to sink so possibly you miss measured an ingredient. Over beating or beating at too high a speed, it is best not to beat above medium speed. It would be a good idea to get an oven thermometer to make sure your oven it heating to the correct temperature. I hope you will give the recipe a try another time.
Will this recipe work for a 3-D Wilton cake? Thank you
Hi Sylvia, yes, I think with the added sour cream and pudding, it should be fine!
Would this work for mini cupcakes? If so, what would the baking time be?
Hi Brenna, Yes, you can bake mini cupcakes with the recipe. Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Bake at 350 degrees if using a shiny metal pan, if using a dark metal non stick pan decrease the temperature by 25 degrees and bake a bit longer.
I’m not sure if I should use the heat conductor core in the 3-D bear cake, any advise?
Thanks
Could I use a 9×13 pan? Sounds like there might be a little extra batter, but I’m making a shape from a 9×13 and am looking for a good lemon cake recipe to use. (My son doesn’t want a chocolate cake! Is he even mine?)
Hi Natalie, Yes, you could use a 9×13 sheet cake pan with this recipe. The recipe makes 7 1/2 cups batter. You need a minimum of 7 cups for a 9×13 so you will be fine. Hope all goes well.
Would I be able to use this recipe for a two-layer cake? Any changes to make this adjustment?
Hi Emily, Yes, you can bake a 2 layer cake with the recipe. The recipe makes 7 1/2 cups batter. So, if using two 8 inch pans put 3 cups batter in each pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. You will have batter leftover for a few cupcakes. If using two 9 inch pans, you will need about 5 cups of batter per pan, but you could divide the 7 1/2 cups batter between the two pans and bake at 350 degrees for a bit shorter time, just keep an eye on the cakes as they bake. When a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached, they are done. The layers won’t be quite as high but they will look fine once frosted.
Ok, I have now made this recipe three times! It’s delicious.
I first made cupcakes, for a class birthday, keeping in mind the trouble & responses from comments above. I baked them 18 minutes, after trying not to overbeat (though it could have happened…) … and they fell completely flat! Some were even concave. I made the lemon buttercream frosting & filled in/decorated and they came out charming and were very tasty. I then made a 9×13 cake for the birthday party, mixing the batter less, and it towered up so high while baking that I feared it would overflow! But it didn’t, and like the cupcakes, fell flat to a normal cake height. My cake design involved cutting it in 3 pieces, and they handled beautifully. More lemon frosting, also delicious. (1 recipe of frosting did the cupcakes and crumb coat and colored coat, but didn’t cover my 3rd cake.) I made another 9×13, with the same baking results. (Also both cakes took longer than suggested to get a clean toothpick result, but then were a bit dark at some corners.) My kitchen smelled like lemon for days, and I may have been converted from a die-hard chocolate-birthday cake lady.
Thank you to both of you! I made the cake yesterday and it was delicious! I used two 9 inch pans. I over-filled them (novice error) and had to up the cook time. I thought they would burn around the edges while I was cooking longer to get the center done, but they turned out fine and did not spill out into my oven. The cake was so moist and delicious! I made a lemon buttercream frosting as well and it also was delicious. I will definitely use this recipe again!
Hi…is there anyway to use the whole box of pudding? Can we adjust the ingredients? It silly to keep a half box of pudding :) Thank you!
Hi Agatha, We did not use the whole box of pudding because we felt it made the cake too dense. Without trying adjustment, I am not sure how to use the whole box. If you bake frequently, you could double the recipe using the whole box, freezing the extra layers for future use. If wrapped air tight, layers can be frozen successfully for 2 months.
Is there any oil or butter in this recipe? I’m not seeing any listed.
Hi Melissa, The recipe is correct as written. I hope you will enjoy it.
I’m excited to try this recipe! My pans are dark non stick and i wanted to use convection bake… what do I need need to do the tempature and bake time?
Thanks!
Hi Wendy, When using dark pans decrease the temperature by 25 degrees. It is usually recommended to bake cakes in a conventional oven. If using a convection oven keep an eye on the cakes as things tend to bake faster with convection.
My son requested a lemon cake with raspberry filling (the filling bakers use) for his 16th birthday. I followed this recipe exactly and made the lemon buttercream frosting. It turned out perfect!! He loved this cake so much! Thank you, I will definitely be using this recipe more!
Hi Melissa, Thank you so much for your nice review of the recipe. I’m so happy your son loved his cake. Thanks for posting!!
Why won’t this work with a cake mix with pudding in the mix? I prefer Pillsbury mixes over Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines.
Hi Bunny, We think you should not use a cake mix with pudding in the mix because one of the ingredients in the recipe is 1/2 box (4 Tablespoons) of lemon pudding. Using a cake mix with pudding in the mix could make the cake too dense. Melissa gives her thoughts on this in the paragraphs before the recipe. Let us know what you think, if you give it a try.