Do you love cupcakes? (Come on, who doesn’t enjoy these adorable bite-sized desserts?!!) Tried replicating them at home, only to meet with disaster?
Fret not, our team of expert bakers, here at GurgaonBakers, to your rescue. Here in this post, we help you bake picture-perfect cupcakes that not only taste heavenly but also look simply irresistible. Let’s get started!
Baking the Perfect Cupcake is Easier Said than Done
Though cupcakes look small, they take just as much time and as much trouble to make as regular-sized cakes. For tried-and-tested answers to the most common cupcake troubles, continue reading!
#1: The Tops of my Cupcakes are always Sticky
The Reason for It:
Just like all other baked goodies, cupcakes need sufficient time to cool off. However, it’s not always possible to tell, if your cupcake has cooled completely. Even if the top is cool when you touch it, it doesn’t mean the inside of your cupcake is cool. When you store a half-cooled cupcake in an air-tight container, it condenses leaving you with a sticky and tacky cupcake.
Also, sticky cupcakes are quite common, especially if you live in a humid or hot place.
How to Solve This:
Let your cupcakes breathe before you store or frost them. Invest in cooling racks, let your cupcakes cool for at least a few hours before you use them.
#2: Cupcakes with sunken middles
The Reason for It:
There’s nothing as painful as taking your cupcakes fresh out of the oven, placing them on the cooling rack only to watch them deflate. The primary reason for this is “Over-mixing.” While it can be tempting to toss in all the ingredients together, and beat the hell out of them, this leads to overworking the batter.
Over-mixing leads to air getting trapped in the batter. This air escapes your cupcakes once out of the over, leading to a sunken or flat cupcake.
How to Solve This:
Avoid over mixing by ensuring that you add in the ingredients in the right order. Cream butter and sugar together and then add in the eggs one by one, till it gets mixed well. Now, add in the flour. No more beating. Just use a wooden/silicone spatula to fold in the flour gently into the batter without overbeating it.
#3: I’m always left with dry cupcakes. Why does this happen, even when I follow the recipe to a T?
Dry cupcakes are a big NO-NO. Nothing can put your guests off cupcakes like a dry and overdone one.
The Reason for It:
Baking is an exact science and all the ingredients used in your recipe play a unique part. When you add extra dry ingredients like cocoa or flour, it could lead to dry cupcakes. Alternatively, over baking is also the culprit at times. Over baking leads to the moisture sucked out, leaving you with crumbly, dry cupcakes.
How to Solve This:
Make sure you measure your ingredients accurately. Invest in a digital scale to get the accurate measurements. Don’t over pack dry ingredients like flour and cocoa powder.
The next step is to set the accurate time. For instance, if the recipe calls for 20 minutes of baking, initially set the time as 15 minutes. Check the doneness and then increase the timer in small increments, to avoid over baking.
#4: My cupcakes always spill or overflow and mess up the Tray
The Reason for It:
Every baker has experienced this. You add in a muffin tray with cupcake liners filled with batter, only to find that it has overflown and spread all over the pan.
The main culprit for this disaster is “You have overfilled the liners.”
How to Solve This:
The secret is simple and straightforward, “Don’t overfill your cupcakes.”
Fill each liner to three-quarters or halfway. This usually gives you the best results. Better still, run a trial batch altering the levels to find the perfect one that meets your requirements.
Another trick is to stick with a particular type of cupcake pan. Cupcake pans are available in a wide variety of sizes. So, if you use a different one, every time you bake, you’re bound to get inconsistencies. Pick a size and stick to it. This will help you get consistent results over time.
Also, pour your batter into a piping bag, snip off the tip and fill the cupcake liner using the bag. This helps you evenly distribute the batter, than just spooning it in.
#5: My cupcakes have peaks or cracked edges on top. They aren’t flat.
The Reason for It:
Several reasons contribute to getting perfectly shaped flat cupcakes with a slight dome. Extra leavening agents, oven temperatures, overfilling are the main culprits for peaks. However, you needn’t sweat over it. Here’s what to do.
How to Solve This:
The temperature of ovens varies greatly. Even when you set it to the 180°C mark, it doesn’t mean that your oven reaches 180. It can be above or way below it. Invest in an oven thermometer so that you can measure your oven temperature accurately.
And don’t add extra leavening agents as it could lead your cupcakes to rise and have domes. Always measure accurately and don’t eyeball it. Finally, test a batch filled to different levels and pick the one that you like best for the rest.
#6: My cupcake liners peel off and separate from my cakes. It looks unsightly while serving. How to put an end to this?
The Reason for It:
Moisture is once again the culprit. When you store warm cupcakes in air-tight containers or your refrigerator, the moisture in it condenses causing the liners to peel off.
How to Solve This:
Luckily, you can overcome this issue in several ways. Always let your cupcakes cool completely before you frost or store them. If you’re baking for a big order, prepare the cupcakes the previous day, so that you have sufficient time for it, to cool down.
Another primary reason for this issue is that your cupcake liners are of poor quality. Instead, of regular paper liners opt for foil liners, as they are likely to retain the shape better. If you prefer paper, then choose high-quality liners that have a thickness of 65gsm or more.
#7: My sprinkles always sink to the bottom. They don’t spread evenly. Why?
The Reason for It:
Evenly distributed sprinkles/choco chip cookies/berries are a thing of beauty. With just a few sprinkles thrown it, you can transform a plain cupcake into a party delight. However, very often sprinkles settle down to the bottom. The same applies to nuts, cherries, berries, chocolate chips and other yummy additions.
The reason for this is that your additions are heavier than your cake batter and naturally sink to the bottom.
How to Solve This:
Before you add in any extra ingredients to your cupcakes, roll them in the cake batter. This creates friction between them, allowing them to spread evenly and overcome mother gravity. Also, don’t over mix your batter. An over mixed batter loses its integrity, and all these additions sink to the bottom like stones.
Wrapping it Up
Do you face a different cupcake problem not listed here? Just send in your queries using the comments below, and our cake experts will help you overcome them to create picture-perfect cupcakes.
Happy cupcake baking!
