From birthdays to baby showers, office celebrations to weddings, cupcakes have become the go-to option for dessert lovers. Cupcakes are mini cakes that can be customized in innumerable ways to fit every occasion.
Are your cupcakes turning out to be dry and hard? Do you wonder what you can do to make them fluffy and moist? If yes, then you’ve reached the right place. Read on to know the best ways to bake the perfect cupcake.
Tips for baking fluffy and moist cupcakes:
Baking the perfect cupcake is an art that must be mastered by every home baker. If you are having trouble with it, here are some easy tips to help you out:
1. Bring ingredients to room temperature:
The one tip that most expert bakers swear by is bringing all the ingredients to room temperature. Whether you are using eggs or butter or even liquor for alcoholic cupcakes, you must make it a point to bring them to room temperature. If you use the ingredients straight out of the fridge, they don’t combine well. The ingredients may stick together to form clumps and ruin your cupcakes.
If the ingredients are not combined well, it also leads to dense cupcakes, rather than light and fluffy. For moist and fluffy cupcakes, the butter must be at the temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit, while eggs and other liquid ingredients must be 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Fill 2/3 of cupcake liner:
When it comes to baking cupcakes, you have to be extremely careful about the quantity of batter. A few spoonfuls of extra or less cupcake batter can either make them under or overcooked. To avoid that, only fill the cupcake liners up to 2/3 of the way. You will get a properly cooked and fluffy cupcake.
3. Avoid over-mixing the batter:
The people who keep saying baking is a science, know how hard it is to perfect the mixing time of batter. It is essential to find the length of mixing because it helps determine the amount of gluten produced in the flour. When you over-mix the batter, you crush the air bubbles, and the remaining few air bubbles have to work even harder to expand when the cake is cooking because of excess gluten development.
It can lead to long and hollow tunnels in your cupcake, and the surface cracks as the air erupt. To ensure your cupcakes are fluffy, only beat the batter on low and until the ingredients have combined well.
4. Frost the entire cupcake:
No one likes dry cupcakes, and you can easily avoid them by getting the frosting right. When you frost the cupcakes, the cream acts like a seal that helps retain their moisture. You can cover the entire exposed top of your cupcake with frosting and keep them fluffy and yummy for longer. This tip can come handy, especially if you bake cupcakes beforehand and store them.
5. Bake in the center of the oven:
It goes without saying, but for the best results, you must cook the cupcakes in the center of the oven. With proper airflow and even distribution of heat, your cupcakes will be baked to perfection. If your oven bakes unevenly in the front and back, you can rotate the cupcakes after 2/3rd of the cooking time.
Conclusion:
Whether you call it an art or science, baking the perfect cupcake is not that difficult. All you have to do is keep these easy tips in mind, and you will get soft, light, and fluffy cupcakes every time. Let us know in the comments which tip worked out for you.