I♥cuppycakes!

Ask iHC

Have your cupcakes ever separated from their liners? If so, do you know why that happened? (via twitter)

Hi [wishes to remain anonymous]!

I get this question ALOT from my cupcake minions… ahem… readers. Here are a few things that I’ve noticed when I bake that may play a role in cupcake separation from liners.

(1) Humidity and excessive rain (weather) is a big factor. If there is more moisture in the air than usual or you live in a high humidity environment combined with the heat from the pan, steam will occur between the liners and the pan if you leave the cupcakes in the pan to cool. Regardless of increased moisture, I usually take my cupcakes out of the pan after they come out of the oven and let them cool on a rack or baking sheet to avoid the build up of steam. Also make sure that before you start baking that your cupcake pan is dry too!

(2) I have found that there is variation in cupcake liners. I usually like the party nut cups for their simple structure and it allows me to get away with not using a cupcake pan but when I’m baking for clients many request the normal cupcake liners since they are easier to unpleat and eat. I suppose the customer is always right. HA! In my experience the plain white liners seem to work better than the more decorated ones. To be honest I’m not sure if there’s something different about some of the decorated ones vs the plain white ones. That’s just an observation I’ve noticed. Decorated liners have a little wax maybe? *shrugs

(3) Make sure to fill your cupcake liner to the correct height so that the cupcake rises enough towards the top of the liner. I’ve noticed that the cupcakes that aren’t filled enough seem to separate more if they don’t rise above the top of the liner. Maybe there’s less moisture build up at the top of the liner so they are able to stick better? Unfortunately all recipes are different so you’ll have to experiment with each recipe for the amount to fill the liner before the breaking point of overfilling. I aint gonna lie. It’s a fine line. I usually fill mine about 1/2-2/3 full depending on the baking soda/baking powder measurement in the recipe.

(4) There’s also a fine line for overbaking. I try really hard to pay attention to my kitchen timer when I bake but life gets in the way sometimes and when the timer goes off at 17-20 minutes (although most of the time I rely on the toothpick test more than time) but the dog is running up and down the stairs b/c the UPS man is at the door, it’s really hard to remember you’ve got cupcakes baking. (I think I need a clone.) Overbaking cupcakes could result in dry cupcakes that tend to pull away from the liners. And who wants a dry cupcake? Let the UPS man wait.

(5) In contrast, underbaking could be an issue too. If the cupcake is too moist especially from excessive butter, buttermilk, sour cream, oil, water etc that could result in the cupcakes not adhering to the liner.

(6) I don’t use cooking spray on my liners. It seems to defeat the purpose of wanting them to stick to the cupcake liners IMO.

Hope that helps!

-CB

PS- You all have no idea how much it irks me that I could not come up with 4 more reasons to make it an even 10. I’m a list and numbers girl. It’s either 5 or 10. Anything in between is just weird on the eyes. Is it just me??

PPS- Please remember that I have no scientific proof. (It pains the scientist in me to say that.) I’m just going off what I’ve seen in my own kitchen. If any readers have something to add to my list, feel free in comments! Preferably 4 more things… Please and thanks.

Ask IHC

Hi CB!

I love your blog! Your giveaways are always so awesome! I want to start doing some giveaways on my blog too.

Why do you do giveaways?
How often do you do giveaways?
Can you give me some tips on how to get sponsors?
Do you use your own money? Where do you get the money?
How do you set up your giveaways?

You don’t have to answer if these questions are too personal.

Thx, Anna

Hi Anna,

Whoa. Slow down with the questions. I’m getting whiplash! LOL

I am pretty much an open book (just don’t ask me my age and weight) so I’ve answered these questions a few times for other readers.

Why do you do giveaways?
- Honest truth? I am a comment whore (CW). There I said it. Simple as that.

How often do you do giveaways?
- I really don’t have a schedule. Just whenever I feel like it. I try to space them out though. Don’t want my readers to get giveaway overload.

Can you give me some tips on how to get sponsors?
- When I started my blog I wasn’t in it to get sponsors. I think you should take time to focus on your blog and the sponsors will come. You have to be dedicated though. I try to blog 2-3-4x a week. Sometimes it’s less but that’s my weekly goal. On the other hand, sometimes I’ll find a product that I love and want to share with my readers so instead of waiting for them to approach me, I am proactive and email them. I just briefly tell them about my giveaway idea and my blog. You can’t be afraid of rejection though. But the worst they can say is “no” right?

Do you use your own money? Where do you get the money?
- I’d say that more than 1/2 of my giveaways are funded by me. Also don’t forget that shipping costs add up too. All of the money that I make from my blog goes into my blog budget and that’s the money I use to sponsor my own giveaways. I like the idea of giving back to my readers. (I tried to convince husband that I should be able to use the money in our house savings too but for some reason he said no. Go figure?)

How do you set up your giveaways?
- I assume by “set up” you mean how I figure out who wins? I structure my giveaways pretty similar for each one. I’ve found I get the most entries by making it easy. I know that *I* rarely (if ever) enter giveaways that require me to re-post on my blog. Too much work IMO. Sometimes I’ll give extra entries to do other things but the main way to enter is to simply leave a comment and answer a question. Winner picked by random number generator. Easy peasy.

This is what works for me. I am always changing and modifying but for the most part I stick to this formula. It may not work for you and it’s all good. We all find our own way.

Hope that helps!

CB

PS. What’s your blog?

Ask IHC

It’s been a little while since I’ve done an “Ask IHC” segment huh? I’ve answered this question many times via emails so I figured its about time to just post the darn thing for everyone to read. Sound good?

PS. I found the most adorable heart sprinkles in the $1 spot at my favorite french store. You know? Tarjay… LOL. You can bet I am getting in the Valentines mood. I am thinking chocolate cupcakes with heart sprinkles are in the near future, no?

Dear Ms. I heart CuppyCakes,

I have a question related to cupcake, I make a big quantities when I have time for my kids, so i need to know how many days it can be refrigerated, I know you would like to know the ingredients, it’s very simple;

Betty Corker Ready Mix cake + eggs + oil + water

and the frosting is:

Butter + Icing sugar + 2 spoon of fresh milk.

I would love to know how many days i keep the cake in the fridge and also the frosting.

Looking to hear from you very soon.

Thanks & Regards,
Nadya

Hi Nayda!

I have to admit I giggled at being addressed as “Ms. I Heart Cuppycakes”. So cute! :)

I would say refrigerated maybe 1 week but I personally prefer to freeze my cupcakes if I am working on a large cupcake order. I’ve baked cupcakes unfrosted and froze them for up to 1 month and they still taste yummy after defrosting!

50 naked red velvets and 50 naked vanilla cupcakes “chilling” in my freezer

What I usually do is bake the cupcakes, let them cool, wrap each one tightly in saran wrap and freeze them unfrosted. I find that the saran wrap helps the cupcakes retain their moisture. When I am ready for them, I unwrap and let them defrost at room temp for maybe 20-30 minutes (maybe longer depending on your freezer temperature) and then frost with buttercream (or whatever you use). I also like to make big batches of frosting ahead of time and put them in airtight containers and freeze them too! Just let it defrost at room temp before frosting the cupcakes.

Hope that helps!
-CB