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Given up on watching son playing football, standing in the rain for two hours was to much, so came home to bake them some cakes instead.Have made three batches of cupcakes, but instead of nice flat tops i have little mountains. How can i stop them rising to much, with the last tray i put them on the middle shelf and a empty tray on the top shelf thinking this would stop them. Didn't work.Any ideas?
I suppose you could make the mixture as a traybake & cut into squares! (Teehee!)
Sue,When I was making a lot of cupcakes ( about 4/5 years ago now), this used to frustrate me as well. I always wanted the flat tops in order that I could 'flood' royal icing on to the cupcakes for the prefectly flat finish, which was very en vogue at the time. It is something to do with the mixture in the middle of the cakes taking longer to set in the cooking process (giving the trapped air more room to expand in, hence the domes), than the the mixture on the outside of the cakes that is exposed to the direct heat and begins to set immeditely, (therefore containing the air bubbles and not expanding as much).Middle shelf on lower temperature for a few minutes extra seems to work (have to be careful they don't dry out). I even became as extreme as piping the mixture into the cases in a ring around the outside, leaving the middle area clear, so that the mixture could run into the gap, as it loosened before it rose and set. That seemed to work also.Luckily, fashions changed and the American style cupcake predominates and it is now ok to have a dome as it gives the swirly, piped butter icing something to stick to!
excuse my ignorance.is cupcake the modern name for fairy cakes?is there a difference? if so what?and anyone got a recipe?
Where have you been these past few years Sam! :o) They are the bigger, brasher American cousin of our own dainty fairy cakes.There is usually more cake and a *lot* more icing.Normal cake cases too small for proper cupcakes, muffin cases a much better bet.
I also meant to say that, yes, it is the same mixture for the basic cake, you just need more of it!
obviously been stuck in a fairy cake time warp.so is a cupcake a muffin then?crikey i feel so dense today.
I have an urge to make butterfly cakes now.
"I have an urge to make butterfly cakes now."Thanks Steven, will give it a try next time.Silly thing is when i used to do fairy cakes they never rose enough to slice the tops off, will dig out the recipe i used to use and see what the difference is.Sam don't bother making them, after cooking 36, slicing the tops off and icing them, i forgot to take them.Will put them in the post for you, they might get a little wet, it has not stopped raining for three weeks here.
ooooohhh yummy, will be sat under the letter box waiting.wet here too - but only last 3 days - but its sooooo needed.
"so is a cupcake a muffin then?"No - different recipes. Muffins usually use oil or melted butter and cupcakes cream the butter and sugar (But I'm sure there are lots of exceptions!!)Muffins aren't iced, often have fruit in, a coarser texture and have high, cracked tops!!I think Steve was saying the size is like a muffin - much bigger than the old fashioned fairy cakes.
The cost of cupcakes astonishes me. I've seen them at up to £3.30 each - some fairy cake! A friend's daughter had a tower of them for a wedding cake and they ended up bringing them home as no one ate them. All that piled up, garishly coloured buttercream icing makes them pretty much inedible imo.
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