Wednesday, July 11, 2012

How to bake cupcakes without burning the bottoms.

Let's be honest: sometimes real life is not pulling twelve perfect chocolate cupcakes out of your oven. 

Sometimes it's wanting cake for breakfast, following a recipe's bake-time exactly, and still ending up with cupcakes that burn on the sides and bottoms before they're done in the middle. It's the worst... because no matter how much vanilla frosting you layer on top, once the bottoms are burnt, the whole flavor of the cupcake is ruined. 

Can I share a baking tip I recently learned? 

All those cupcakes need is a little extra something between the baking pan and the heat source to protect the bottoms and sides from burning while the centers finish baking. You could set your pan on a flat baking sheet, but I always have trouble with burnt sides and edges so I was taking no chances. 

I double-panned it!

And it worked!

Simply set your filled cupcake pan inside an empty cupcake pan and bake for the normal amount of time.

And boom. Consistent, perfectly-baked, unburnt cupcakes. Seriously, this simple tip has taken all the stress and uncertainty out of baking cupcakes. Which is the way it should be.


And if you're thinking cake for breakfast... the answer is yes. Always. 

Double-pan it!

P.S. Find these cheesecake-filled cupcakes here