lemon juice in place of zest?

[Halie]

can I substitute lemon juice for zest? if so, how much would I use (per say, teaspoon of zest)?

I just don't really like the texture of zest (this is for cupcakes).

[Kelli2006]

You can substitute lemon extract if you find the mouth feel of zest to be objectionable. I tend to dice zest so you cannot detect it, but a micro-plane is also very effective.

[gansu girl]

I agree w/Seldomsated. I'd highly recommend you get a Microplane zester - the zest will be so fine that you shouldn't even be able to detect it in your baked goods. It adds such a nice bright flavor!

[torty]

The zest contains the oil, so perhaps add a few drops of lemon oil to get the taste and fragrance without the chewy bits.

[Seldomsated]

It's a different substance - I don't think the juice would really work, as it will add more liquid, and possibly throw off the leavening that you have in the cake dough. It is a more diluted flavor than the zest. Try using the finest-grating side on your hand held grater - this will create a more mushy zest but that is fine - it'll blend into your dough better than if you finely diced it by hand. Zest has the concentrated lemon oils that the juice doesn't have.