Cupcake, buns and muffin disasters.

gary29428

Been baking for a while now but no matter what kind of cupcake recipe I make the buns rise up and then just spread out instead of rising straight up. Don't know what I'm doing wrong, anybody got a good cupcake recipe with good instructions that will give a nice bun shape.....

Thanks

Lisha

Have had the same issue
Would you be using a muffin baking tray instead of a bun sized baking tray by any chance?

gary29428

Lisha wrote: »

Have had the same issue
Would you be using a muffin baking tray instead of a bun sized baking tray by any chance?

Have used both to be honest, I just want something my kids can enjoy decorating and not have to fill a big hole in centre of the bun before they start...

Dizzyblonde

Donal Skehan's recipe is a reliable one, I've used it quite a few times: http://www.donalskehan.com/2010/02/basic-cupcake-recipe/

An old-fashioned way of making them is to weigh 2 eggs, then weigh out the same amount of butter/margarine, flour and caster sugar. Cream the fat and sugar as normal, beat in the eggs and then mix in the flour.
I always use margarine because I find butter is too heavy. And make sure you put plenty of mix into your paper cases.

dee_mc

I always let the mixture sit in the cases for 10-15 minutes before putting the tins in the oven, it's something my Mum always did when making queen/fairy/cup/whatever-cakes and I don't know why but it seems to guarantee a nice, even rise!
Also, be careful not to over-mix: The ingredients should be just bound together, over-mixing will result in tougher queen cakes with an uneven 'eruption' when they rise.
I always feel it helps if the butter or margarine is very soft before you begin, always seem to get a lovely even rise if the butter is almost meltingly soft
If you're making cupcakes for decoration this is a great recipe IMO,
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/340648/Basic-cupcake-recipe
I use a potato scoop to fill the cases (about 2/3 capacity of scoop per cake) which gives you a nice rounded shape, no peaks or bits of mixture on sides of paper cases
Good luck and happy baking!

gary29428

Thansk for all the advise folks, am away travelling at the mo but will try a few of these when i get back...

tfak85

Are you using self-raising flour or plain flour and a separate raising agent?

Sometimes using SR flour can result in an uneven rise or can cause cakes to rise up and then sink.

Could also be that you need a slightly deeper tin?

If you are going to Ikea or know anyone going you could get some of their cupcake cases, they are quite rigid, hold their shape well.

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/70208129/