My entry for CupcakeCampColumbus
Originally uploaded by chefrb
Perhaps you have noticed that cupcakes are all the rage lately? I don’t know exactly WHY we are strangely drawn to cupcakes. . . perhaps it is our inner-child seeking comfort in foods that remind us fondly of our youth. But whatever the reason, cupcakes are garnering much attention, both from consumers and the media.
So with all this hype about cupcakes these days, I decided it was time to start baking cupcakes instead of traditional layered cakes. But in doing so, I have been perplexed–completely stumped–by a CUPCAKE CONUNDRUM:
Every single time I bake cupcakes, they burn on the bottom and sides of the cupcakes before they are done in the middle. And who wants to eat a burned cupcake? It doesn’t taste good, and it doesn’t look good, either. Furthermore, I feel like my professional integrity is on the line if I serve an inferior product. So I have tried every solution I can think of to avoid burning my cupcakes.
I have baked in both gas and electric ovens. I have used every kind of muffin pan from Teflon-coated to non-coated steel to Pampered Chef stone bakeware. I have baked with and without paper muffin liners. I have used many different recipes for cake batter. And yet, EVERY single time, my cupcakes BURN!
I can bake ANY size of cake—from a small 6-inch round cake to a large 14-inch wedding-size cake—without burning the cakes—and in ANY kind of pan, too—either non-stick or non-coated. I can bake mini-cupcakes and muffins in both non-stick and non-coated mini-muffin pans. NONE of these products burn when I bake them. So why, WHY do my cupcakes ALWAYS burn??!!
I have been plagued by this problem for many months, until recently, when I was watching an episode of “The Barefoot Contessa” with a friend. The featured recipe in that show was—you guessed it—cupcakes! I was glad to know that every single baking secret and tip that Ina Garten shared on the show was something that I already knew from my own experience baking and teaching. But the one tip she did NOT share was how to bake the cupcakes without burning them on the bottom and the sides. Upon closer scrutiny of the baking process, though (thanks, DVR!), my friend and I noticed that Ina placed her cupcake pans on a larger sheet pan before placing them in the oven. MYSTERY SOLVED! Why didn’t I think of that before??!!
What the cupcakes need in order to protect the bottoms from burning while they finish baking through the center is an extra layer of protection—the same principle that applies to AirBake insulated bakeware. This can be achieved by doing just as the Barefoot Contessa did (and as I always did in a professional bakery!): place the cupcake pans on top of a sheet pan. Or—a method I just tried recently with successful results: double-panning the cupcake pans. I set the filled cupcake pan inside of an empty cupcake pan, thus creating the double-pan effect. This serves to protect both the bottoms AND the sides of the cupcakes from over-baking and burning before the centers are fully baked.
Just as a word of caution: the Teflon-coated pans DO drawn in the heat of the oven moreso than a non-coated pan because the lining is darker. I have achieved the BEST baking results by using inexpensive, non-coated steel muffin pans. They are both cheap AND effective: win-win!
So what started out at a completely frustrating conundrum turned out to have a very simple solution, and I am now all set to enter the world of cupcake extravaganza! And I’m going to start by entering these Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cupcakes into a local cupcake-lovers meet-up: CupcakeCampColumbus. Wish me luck!
[…] Cupcake Conundrum! […]
I made the Magnolia Bakery recipe cupcakes last night and they totally burned. I am going to try making them again this afternoon with this tip. Keep your fingers crossed
This tip totally helped! My cupcakes came out wonderful! I am so grateful 😀
I’m so glad it worked. Happy to be of help! 🙂
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! My daughter’s 1 year birthday has just been saved!!! Bless you!
I’m so glad I could be of help! I always say: We learn from our mistakes, and all of my troubles with cupcake-baking have certainly been a learning experience for me! I hope your daughter’s birthday is a big success 🙂
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing. I’ve been going through the same situation. What a simple solution! I’m exited to finally bake a decent cupcake now!
I am so glad I found this! I have been craving red velvet cupcakes but my pans always burn my muffins/cupcakes! I am gonna try this out.. WISH ME LUCK!!
Good luck, Lori! Let me know how it turned out for you 🙂
I have been using the cheap non coated pans and have the opposite problem… the TOPS of mine keep burning! Any suggestions?? I’m getting frustrated, I want to decorate these babies, not throw them away batch after batch!!!
Hi Lisa- My guess is that if the tops of your cupcakes are burning, then it is probably not a problem with your pans; your oven is probably too hot. I would suggest using an oven thermometer to check the actual temperature of your oven when you heat it. I typically bake cupcakes and cakes at 350 degrees F, regardless of what temperature the recipe may call for. Try baking your cupcakes at 350 degrees F until the tops spring back and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cupcakes typically take about 25 minutes to bake (give or take a few, depending on your oven).
I hope that helps!
Thank God!!
I have burned the Magnolia cupcake recipe twice now. I was close to tears because this latest batch was for company. I wish I had read this solution before today. Next time I will know. Thanks so much!!
You’re welcome, Donna 🙂 I always say: “We can learn from our mistakes.” But it took me a really long time to find a solution for this particular problem. I’m thrilled if other people can benefit from my experience. No more burned cupcakes–hooray!
Cool Beans!
I just burned my Black Bottom Cupcakes for the last time : )
Can’t wait to try this with muffins too!
Thanks!!!
Hi , Really appreciate your helpful tips . Do you have any advice on how to have the paper cupcake liners come out looking pretty ? Mine are always slightly crispy, lightly browned, and or greasy oily [from the batter]. I have heard replace with a second over the top of first liner , or replace with a new paper liner – but then it doesn’t stay on the cupcake . Most of the cupcake bakeries seem to manage to have pretty cupcake liners on all their beautifully decorated cupcakes . How do they do it ? Thank you .Rose T.
Hi Rose, I wish I knew how the cupcake bakeries do it! It’s a big mystery, isn’t it? The best luck I have had baking cupcakes at home is using the foil cupcake liners. They resist the grease and stay attached to the cupcakes fairly well. They also don’t turn brown like papers do when baked. That, unfortunately, is unavoidable.
One thing I have noticed with using paper liners is this: If I bake cupcakes in non-stick muffin tins (i.e. Teflon-coated), the dark lining of the coating draws in the heat of the oven and makes the papers–and thus the cupcakes, too–much darker. (Hence, my conundrum!) I have better results when I bake in plain metal cupcake pans. The papers do not turn dark (unless I am baking chocolate cupcakes).
Lastly, if you do not spray the cupcake pans, the paper liners should not come out too greasy. They will probably still absorb some of the fat from the cupcake batter, but they shouldn’t be too bad. That also helps the paper liners adhere better to the cupcakes (when you do not spray the pans). Good luck!
I think you have just given me the answer to my problem! Thank you! I will try this today. :))
Thank you for providing this tip! I made St. Patty’s Day cupcakes last night (planning to deliver them to friends and co-workers today) and burnt the sides and bottoms to a crisp (middles undone just like yours). I was completely perplexed. In a never-say-die moment, I cut off the sides and bottoms and am serving them as “mini cupcakes.” Sure wish I didn’t have to do that – won’t have to again!
I usually don’t reply to sites but I had to take the time to say thank you,because I’m trying to start a small business making cupcakes cause with 4 kids it’s not easy and cupcakes I thought oh how easy YEA right I’d rather try to make a turducken than cupcakes..I burned them and I burned them and burned them I’m not even gunn a tell you how much money I wasted on batter ..all this money going out and no money coming in.I was gunn a give up until I came across your site and I have a batch in the oven RIGHT now so I thank you for helping us bakers out.
Great! I hope all the suggestions under this topic can help you troubleshoot as you experiment with your cupcake recipes. Lots of readers have shared their own experiences with what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully, it can help you, too! Good luck 🙂
NEED HELP!! everytime i bake cupcakes or muffins my paper holders stick to the cupcake and when i take it off it pulls the whole bottom of the cupcake off.. any suggestions?
Hi! It seems you are having the exact OPPOSITE problem as everyone else! 🙂
The only time I have experienced problems with the paper liners sticking to the cupcakes so much that they take the cupcake apart when removing them is when the cupcakes are still warm & fresh out of the oven. Once I allow the cupcakes to cool completely, I never seem to have a problem with the papers sticking too much. Try letting the cupcakes cool completely before removing the papers.
You just saved my life! I never burn my cupcakes – but I most recently got dark non-stick pans…I will now be double panning!! Thanks!
Great! I’m glad you can benefit from my experience. Always happy to help share any tips & tricks I experience while baking so that we can all benefit!
hmmm…the trick is to double up on the dark coated oneida cupcake pans? no water in the lower pan? just a pan in a pan? burnt cornmuffins are the pitts! aloha from hawaii…
MAHALO NUI LOA (thank you very much) for your KOKUA (help)!!! it worked! 2 pans stacked inside of each other & the corn muffins are golden brown. i will share this trick with others…
aloha from Hawaii!
Great! I’m so glad this trick worked for you!
Since I moved into my new house this has been happening! I thought it was my oven! That makes sense I was given Teflon pans as a moving in gift and that is all I have been using! Thanks for the info!
Absolutely! Glad to be of help 🙂
Thank you so much! Do you mind if I repost this on my blog? I just burnt cupcakes last night for my daughters birthday snack at her class and had to buy them this morning at the grocery store. What a pain!
Sure! If others can learn and benefit from our (unfortunate) experiences, all the better! Save the cupcakes!! 🙂
YOU are my salvation!! Last night I posted on my blog that I had become a cupcake assassin!! I’ve been burning the bottoms off of everything and it’s soooo not like me!! I kinda feel like Super man did when he lost all his powers and wasn’t quite sure what to do next! And so – with your anti cryptonite suggestions I will hopefully be creating un-burned bakery delights before bedtime!! 😀
Fantastic! I am so happy that you (and I hope others) can benefit from my own unfortunate experiences. It’s great when we can solve our baking problems and share them with others so we can prevent hundreds–or even millions?–of other cupcake tragedies!
Thank you for this! I have been trying to figure this out for forever. I will DEFINITELY do this next time. I really wish the recipes would explain this in the recipe instead of having to go through the embarrassment of burning my food. I can bake just about ANYTHING else just fine but have been stumped by baking cupcakes. Thanks ChefRB!
Robin Beth (“RB” ;))
You are so welcome!
Ooh wow! i did not know these tricks till now.. the same thing has been happening to me, not all the time but sometimes.. & i didn’t know why?? thanks so much for your tips! i will be sure to try them next time. 🙂
Is this the same for mini cupcakes too? What do you think about silicone mini muffin pan?
I am so happy I found this website but now that I have I am soooooooooooooooooooo happy. I am going to try this and see if it works. Will let you know.
I have had the same experience with mini muffins, too. As for silicone pans, I have never tried them. I wonder if any readers out there have any insights from their own experiences baking in silicone pans?
THANK YOU! I’ve been baking since I can remember (as soon as my mom trusted me with an oven), and I never had a problem with baking failure–UNTIL I started focussing on cupcakes. No matter which recipe I used, the cupcakes burned on the bottom. I adjusted the oven temperature, the baking time, the cupcake liners, and the cupcake pan types…but I never thought of double panning. I’d almost given up on attempting another cupcake batch again, and the insistent burning was shredding my confidence as a baker. I shall bake cupcakes today! Let there be peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes with fudge truffle topping!
Sounds delicious!! I hope the double-panning works for you, too!
Thank you for this! I’m going to have to try it tomorrow. I bought some cake mix I want to use for cupcakes, but the last few times I tried to make cupcakes the bottoms burned. The first time I thought maybe I just left them in a little too long, so I took them out a few minutes early the next time. Still burned. 🙁 I’ll try putting them on a cookie sheet and see if that keeps them from burning this time.
Yes, I hope that helps! I also found that double-panning the muffin/cupcake pans also helps, as well. Good luck!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU sooooo much for sharing this information I’m so grateful!!!!
Double muffin tins works perfectly! thank you so much ChefRB for this trick. After years of trying everything to stop burning bottoms, I replaced my old tins with Wilton and Paderno heavy pans, (expensive! )but heartbreakingly, they burned not just bottoms but sides too!! Fortunately I had saved my old muffin tins so after reading your post today I plopped the new tins inside the old ones, filled them, and have just baked my first 2 dozen perfect muffins, EVER. I’m pretty old so “ever” is a long long time, LOL> Thankyou thankyou THANK YOU !!
Happy to help! Happy baking!
For everyone who wants to know how bakery’s stop there cupcake liners from burning. I have been at a few because I’m trying to become a baking apprentice. They just wipe them out with a dry clean towel sometimes paper towel. They have no special techniques for the one’s I’ve been at. It doesn’t work for everyone because they all have different ovens but this is how they do it. Hopefully it can work for you guys! : )
Thanks for sharing your experience and insight! Good to know!
Thank you for sharing the wonderful tips. I, too, am trying to avoid the brown, faded cupcake liner problem. I hope that my beautiful Valentine’s Day Cupcake liners will look as beautiful as they do right now sitting in their pretty, new package – hey, I’d even settle for a liner that has ‘somewhat recognizable’ liner designs after baking.
I didn’t understand what “Hope This Helps” meant when she said, “They just wipe them out with a dry clean towel sometimes paper towel.”
My Q’s – What gets wiped with a paper towel (the baking tins, the liners?) Is she talking about wiping something down before or after baking?
Please help.
ChefRB,
I just tried your method of the two pans and it worked very very good. Thank You sooo much…