Baking is a science, but you don’t have to be a scientist to make great cupcakes. They’re also easier and quicker to make than cakes. That said, there is a certain mastery required to getting the perfect rise or crafting an icing that has just the right texture. After baking hundreds (if not thousands) of cupcakes over the years, I’ve stockpiled quite a few helpful tips and techniques, starting with “follow directions” and “be patient.”
At Magnolia Bakery, our bakers turn out millions of cupcakes a year, the majority of which are decorated with our trademark signature swirl—which can take up to forty hours to perfect! But don’t worry, I’ve made it easy for you to decorate beautiful cupcakes using some simple techniques.
Bake your way through this chapter and you’ll surely emerge a cupcake master.
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR PERFECT CUPCAKES
To evenly portion cupcakes, I prefer to use an ice cream scoop. A #20 scoop is exactly ¼ cup and is the perfect size for most cupcake recipes. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, the general rule of thumb is to fill your cupcake wells about halfway. You can use a ¼-cup dry measuring cup or place all the batter into a large resealable plastic bag, cut off about 1 inch at one corner, and squeeze the batter into each cupcake well, lifting the bag between cups.
Cupcakes can be affected by oven temperatures being off or uneven. Check your cupcakes about halfway through the baking time and rotate the pans front to back, top to bottom, if they are baking unevenly.
When checking your cupcakes for doneness, be sure to check the cupcakes in the center of the pan before pulling your pan out of the oven. A cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean, the cupcake should gently indent when pressed with your finger, and the room should smell like cake.