Whether you're busting out cupcakes from scratch, or making Pillsbury do all the work via its boxed magic, there are some definite no-no's when it comes to baking the precious little treats. To steer clear of any future fails, you'll want to avoid these cupcake-baking mistakes everyone makes.
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00:00Whether you're busting out cupcakes from scratch or making Pillsbury do all the work via its
00:05box magic, there are some definite no-no's when it comes to baking the precious little
00:08treats.
00:09To steer clear of any future fails, you'll want to avoid these cupcake-baking mistakes
00:13everyone makes.
00:15With cooking, it's pretty easy to improvise without wrecking the final product.
00:18If I want a cupcake, I just make it myself.
00:21Baking, however, is like science, and the measurements have to be exact.
00:25For example, when measuring one cup of flour, you should spoon it into the cup lightly,
00:29then use the flat side of a knife to smooth over the top of the cup to get the flour
00:32as even as possible.
00:34If you dump a heaping cup full of flour into your mixing bowl, your results are going to
00:37suffer.
00:38Or if the cupcake batter requires a one-fourth of a teaspoon of salt, make sure you don't
00:42put even a dash more than that, or you're asking for some salty cupcakes.
00:45The same goes for your wet ingredients.
00:47Ensure it's the exact amount by getting down to read the measuring cup at eye level before
00:51adding it to your mix.
00:52Keep in mind, if the recipe calls for a stick of room-temperature butter, for instance,
00:55The butter should be unwrapped and placed in the mixing bowl right out of the fridge
00:58because as the butter softens, more of it will stick to the paper when you unwrap it,
01:02which can throw off your measurements.
01:04While baking itself can be creative, if you're following a recipe, assume the author knows
01:08what's best for this particular creation, and follow their steps like it's the law.
01:12If you're planning to make cupcakes that need eggs, it's better to use eggs at a room temperature
01:16as opposed to straight from the refrigerator.
01:18The room-temp eggs mix easier into cake batters and tend to rise more effortlessly in the
01:22oven.
01:23Using cold eggs can also impact the length of baking time.
01:25If the ingredients list specifies room-temperature eggs and you use cold ones, the cupcakes will
01:29need to be in the oven longer.
01:31Pro tip, you can quickly warm up cold eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm water for
01:34a few minutes.
01:35It's also advisable to use room-temperature butter, unless otherwise specified.
01:39This is especially true when you have to cream the butter and sugar together.
01:42Butter that's one or two hours out of the cold fridge is much more pliable and easy
01:46to whip.
01:47This is also applicable when the frosting calls for butter since that will also need
01:49to easily blend with other ingredients.
01:51For both butter and eggs, taking them out of the refrigerator one to two hours before
01:55you start the baking process should be sufficient.
01:57It may seem counterintuitive since these two items normally live in the fridge, but trust
02:01us, your cupcakes will reap the benefits of taking these steps.
02:05Cupcake.
02:07Creaming butter and sugar is an art form, and doing it the wrong way can screw up your
02:10cupcakes.
02:11When you cream the two, ideally the sugar granules poke tiny bubbles in the butter to
02:15capture air, which ultimately creates a much lighter and fluffier cupcake.
02:18According to the King Arthur Flour blog, butter that is too cold won't expand very easily
02:23and it'll never capture much air.
02:24If the butter is too soft or melted, the air bubbles will be created but then will
02:28collapse again.
02:29You also have to be mindful of not under- or over-creaming.
02:32Under-creamed ingredients feel like wet corn mush, and over-creamed feels like greasy sugar.
02:36Be careful with the settings on your mixers and how long you cream.
02:38Two to three minutes on a moderate speed is ideal, but you should use your instincts to
02:42make sure it's the right texture.
02:43Per King Arthur Flour, your whipped cream mix will be moist and light and the sugar
02:46will be nearly dissolved.
02:48You'll barely feel any grit when you rub it between your fingers.
02:51It's definitely going to affect the outcome of your cupcakes if you don't take the care
02:54to cream what are arguably the best two ingredients properly.
02:57If you don't bake often, chances are you forget you even have items like baking powder or
03:01flour in your cabinet.
03:02It might not even occur to you that they could go bad since they don't really show outward
03:06signs of spoilage.
03:07But your flour can indeed go bad, and your baking powder or soda can lose their lift
03:11if they're expired.
03:12Baking soda and powder should be replaced six months after opening, and flour should
03:15be replaced after eight.
03:16While these past-their-prime ingredients might not cause a blatant fail in your final product,
03:20they can cause cupcakes to sink, so fresh is always best if light and fluffy is what
03:24you desire.
03:25The same goes for spices, which can lose their gusto over time.
03:28Bottom line?
03:29Keep your pantry supplied with fresh baking staples if you're planning to be the next
03:32cupcake queen or king.
03:34If you're a novice baker ready to embark on your first cupcake journey, your intuition
03:38might be to use cake flour if the recipe doesn't specify otherwise.
03:41In this case, don't trust your gut, because the flour you should use really depends on
03:44the type of cupcake you're making.
03:46What makes each flour unique is its protein level.
03:49Flours with higher amounts of protein are considered hard wheat, while flours with lower
03:52amounts are often called soft wheat.
03:53In general, breads tend to work best with hard wheat, and baked goods like their wheat
03:57on the softer side.
03:58Cake flour usually yields a finer crumb, which is why it's normally used for lighter cakes
04:02like Devil's Food and Sponge.
04:03All-purpose flour is the most common and produces a more rustic cake, while whole wheat flour
04:07can be a better choice for denser cakes.
04:09For instance, if you plan to make fruitcake cupcakes, the recipe might call for whole
04:12wheat flour.
04:13Bottom line?
04:14It might be tempting to use whatever you have on hand, but if a cupcake recipe calls for
04:18a certain flour, there's a good reason, and substituting another kind could cause the
04:21texture to suffer.
04:22If a recipe just calls for flour, you're safe with all-purpose.
04:26If you want to make cupcakes out of a box, do it.
04:28Betty Crocker clearly knows her stuff, so why mess up a good thing?
04:32But there is a secret for making boxed cupcakes so good that you can deceive someone into
04:35thinking you slaved away for hours in a hot kitchen making them from scratch, and it involves
04:40using ingredients you probably already have.
04:42The back of the box usually tells you the only ingredients you need to add are an egg,
04:46water, and some vegetable oil.
04:48Instead, use two eggs, whole milk, and melted butter.
04:50For the butter, just double the amount of oil that the recipe asks for, and the amount
04:53of milk should be the same as the amount of water.
04:56You can add one or even two extra eggs, depending on how decadent you want those Duncan Hines
05:00cupcakes to be.
05:01These secret additions are really no surprise since butter literally makes everything better
05:04— except maybe a heart condition.
05:07This might seem like a no-brainer, but a lot of folks go batter-straight to cupcake pan
05:11and hope for the best.
05:12While you can technically grease the hell out of a pan and still bake a successful batch
05:15of cupcakes, there are so many advantages to using paper liners.
05:18In addition to the most obvious reason, it will make your life much easier when removing
05:22the cupcakes from the pan and cleaning it.
05:24They also keep the cupcakes moist.
05:26If they're removed from the pan without one, they are more likely to dry out quicker.
05:29It's also more hygienic to use a paper liner.
05:31Wouldn't you rather pick up a cupcake at a party that's in a liner?
05:34Using colored liners is also a cute way to distinguish cupcake flavors and types.
05:38Transporting cupcakes is easier when they're in liners, too.
05:41Honestly, we could go on and on about the merits of using paper liners, not the least
05:44of which is saving hours of your life scrubbing bakeware.
05:47Hey, a cupcake.
05:51Nobody likes a dry cupcake.
05:52Baking them too long is a surefire way to dry out that mini-cake before it even exits
05:56the oven.
05:57Katherine Kalinas of Georgetown Cupcakes wrote in Better Homes and Gardens,
06:00"...we always recommend erring on the side of underbaking.
06:02If you overbake a cupcake, there's no way to save it, and it won't be moist on the inside."
06:06If you really want to get legit with your baking, check the temperature of your oven
06:09with an actual oven thermometer, which can determine whether it's technically hotter
06:13or cooler than what you've set it to.
06:14That way, you can adjust accordingly to ensure you're following the recipe to a T. A toothpick
06:18should come out clean when inserted, and the top of the cupcake should look slightly sunken,
06:22not peaked.
06:23It's also important to pay attention to baking time if you're using a cake recipe to make
06:26cupcakes instead.
06:27While the temperature of the oven should still be whatever the original recipe calls for,
06:31the baking time will change.
06:32You'll bake the cupcakes one-third to one-half less time than you would the cake.
06:36When in doubt, though, go for the shorter amount of time.
06:39Using the oven correctly can really make or break your baking efforts.
06:42A lot of people don't realize it, but there is value in putting the raw cupcake batter
06:45into the oven as soon as you're done preparing it, and you'll want to preheat the oven before
06:49you start making the batter and make sure the cupcake pan is primed for filling.
06:52That's because when you add an ingredient like baking powder to the liquid mixture that
06:55makes up the batter, it immediately initiates the chemical reaction that creates tiny air
06:59bubbles, and it should go into the oven right away so the heat can set the air bubbles.
07:03You'll know the batter sat too long before going in the oven if the cupcakes come out
07:06with tons of little holes all over the top.
07:08You'll also want to go easy on opening the oven door while the cupcakes are baking.
07:11If you're not able to contain your excitement at the prospect of fresh cupcakes or just
07:15want to check if they're done, wait until they have baked for at least three-fourths
07:18of the total time before opening the hatch.
07:20And if you decide they need to go longer, don't crack it open again for at least another
07:23five minutes.
07:25You may be tempted to slap some icing on those beauties as soon as they're out of the oven,
07:28but for the love of God, have some restraint.
07:30First, cool the cupcakes out of the pan on a wire rack.
07:33This not only stops them from cooking so they don't dry out, but it also ensures the bottoms
07:36and sides of the cupcakes cool completely.
07:39If they're not fully cooled when you start to smear the icing, the frosting can melt
07:42or the tops can crumble into the frosting as you spread.
07:45Allow at least an hour from the time they've come out of the oven before you frost.
07:48If you're not planning to serve them that day, store in a zip-top bag or airtight container
07:51in the freezer or on your counter until ready to serve, and then apply the icing.
07:55If they've been stored at room temp, they might have sticky tops when you try to frost
07:58them.
07:59Let them sit outside the bag or container for a little while to allow the tops to dry
08:02out before tackling the frosting again.
08:04For unfrosted frozen cupcakes, let them thaw about an hour before you apply the frosting.
08:09If there is anything better than biting into a cupcake, it's biting into one that has a
08:12magical surprise filling.
08:14Yeah, I've had cupcakes like that.
08:17Whether it's more of the frosting or a special pie-like filler that's complementary to the
08:20overall flavor, this extra step can put your cupcakes on another level.
08:24Want to give it a try?
08:25When the cupcakes have cooled, you'll cut out the center of each cupcake with a small
08:28round cutter.
08:29Then carefully spoon or pipe the filling into the hole so that it's slightly less than flush
08:32with the top of the cupcake.
08:33Next, top the cupcake with frosting.
08:35Piping it into a swirl formation might be better than spreading it with a spatula in
08:38this case.
08:39If there is too much of the filling in the hole, the frosting could catch it and spread
08:42some onto the top.
08:44Whether it's making sure the cupcakes stay fresh for as long as possible or guaranteeing
08:47the ones you want to make now and serve later at an event are at peak freshness, storing
08:51them the right way is clutch.
08:52The biggest no-no is putting the cakes in the fridge.
08:55Don't do it.
08:56It dries them out.
08:57Either keep them at room temperature or freeze them.
08:59In either case, make sure the cupcakes have completely cooled on a wire rack before you
09:02put them in an airtight container where they can sit upright.
09:05Ziploc bags are usable for storage but not ideal as they don't protect the frosted cakes
09:09from getting squished.
09:10If you're going to freeze them, gently wrap them in plastic wrap prior to putting them
09:13in the airtight container.
09:14Nobody wants freezer-burned cupcakes.
09:16They can be frozen for up to two months.
09:18The three biggest things to remember when storing cupcakes?
09:20No residual oven heat, no air, and no refrigerator.