FAQ

I am making cupcakes for my daughter’s reception. Can I freeze the unfrosted cakes? If so, how long will they take to thaw and how long after I remove them from the freezer can I frost them?

Answer: Yes you can freeze cupcakes, but you have to be VERY careful. For short storage, you can place cupcakes in a freezer bag and freeze them, but you have to make sure the seal is extra air tight. Also, the cupcakes will get ice crystals on them. We have placed a piece of wax paper over the tops of the cupcakes to help mitigate that and to keep the tops of the cupcakes from getting too moist after thawing. Also, the shorter amount of time in the freezer the better (a week or less).

Two of the biggest issues with freezing cupcakes is drying out the cake and bending or crimping the cupcake wrapper. Since the cakes are so small, if the recipe is delicate freezing can make the cake dry out. Also, if you have to stack the cupcakes in your freezer, you run the risk of bending the pretty cupcake wrapper.

In terms of thawing time, they don’t take much time at all. If you are icing the cupcakes with a butter cream swirl, you don’t really need to thaw them out. If fact, icing them while they are still a little frozen will help seal in moisture. Of course for optimal flavor, all cupcake bakers recommend that you avoid freezing the cupcakes and baking and serving in the same day.

If you have the time, experiment with one of your recipes and try different freezing and storing methods. You can test ahead to ensure the defrosted cupcake is as flavorful and moist as your freshest batch!

Why do my cupcakes shrink after I put them on my cooling rack? The cupcakes are smaller than the liner, unattractive and difficult to decorate.

Answer: It can be frustrating to have your cupcakes turn out different than expected. Contrary to what some people may think, baking cupcakes isn’t that easy sometimes! I’m not sure what type of oven or recipe you are using, but here a few basic things you can check:

1) Your oven temperature. I have a small oven thermometer I keep handy for this purpose. In my kitchen, I have two ovens and one oven definitely bakes hotter than the other.

2) Your batter level. Make sure your cupcake liners are filled to the appropriate level (about 1/2 – 2/3 full). If there isn’t enough batter, the cake could be overbaked.

3) Your ingredients. Measure carefully. If you have too much leavening in the mix, the cupcakes will appear to bake up nice but collapse or shrink after baking as the cakes start to cool.

One Last Tip: If you bake from scratch, you probably know that some cake recipes work better for cupcakes than others. Try using a different recipe.

I have been making cupcakes for a while and they all turned out great! My Dad suggested I try caster sugar in my recipe, so one day I made the cupcakes using this ingredient (I’ve always used white granulated sugar). Unfortunately, the cupcakes turned out awful. My brother said they tasted like “fish” and it was all brown on the inside. What’s wrong, please help!

Answer: I know that caster sugar is a finer texture than regular granulated sugar. Since it’s a finer sugar, it dissolves a lot more quickly. In fact, it’s often times used in cake recipes to help increase volume. I would have expected that the sugar would affect how your cupcakes baked, but the bad taste is really shocking. I can’t think of a reason why caster sugar would create such an awful flavor. Sugar can absorb moisture, but the worst thing that happens is it gets hard and clumpy. If you had such a bad result with the substitution, it’s probably best to stay with regular sugar for your recipes.

an I bake cupcakes a couple of days in advance? What’s the best way to store cupcakes after I’ve baked them?

Answer: If you want the freshest, best tasting cupcakes, you’ll want to bake and decorate them within the same day of your event. Putting a frosting coat on the cupcake will help seal the cake in and keep it moist. However, there are occasions when trying to do this in one day is not possible. I’ve stored my cupcakes in the refrigerator before, but if that’s not possible and your room temperature is relatively cool you can store them in a cupcake caddy or holder. I’ve also seen people use other types of plastic containers, but I am sensitive to making sure food products are stored in food-safe environments. One of my favorite cupcake carriers is the Cupcake Courier. You can easily store and transport up to 36 cupcakes.

Please note that my storage suggestions are for cupcakes that have butter cream frosting, but no candy or fondant decorations. You also need to keep in mind that if you store cupcakes in the refrigerator with decorations, the decorations will develop condensation once outside. In most cases, the condensation beads up and dries. But if you have some delicate coloring or dusting powder on anything, it may affect it. Also, some decorations may run or melt if allowed to stay on a cupcake for more than 24 hours.

Why do some candies “melt” into the cupcake frosting over night?

Answer: I’m not sure what type of candies you are using, but I’ll try to answer the best I can. This can happen for a variety of reasons. If you are storing your cupcakes in the refrigerator, condensation can build up on the candy. After the cupcakes are removed from the cool environment, the candies would become wet. I’ve had decorations develop a “sweat” after being taken from the fridge. For me, the moisture dried up and didn’t run, but sometimes you’re not always that lucky! Another thing that can happen is the grease or moisture from the frosting can be absorbed into the candy and cause it to soften and melt.

What many cupcake artists do is decorate cupcakes just before serving. That of course, is a labor intensive proposition. If that won’t work, perhaps you can put your candies on at the very last minute. It will keep your display fresh looking and allow you to do much of the icing and decorating ahead of time.

Why do my cupcake papers or liners release from the cupcakes? Also, why do my cupcakes have holes in them? Sometimes the cupcakes even sink!

Answer: I’ve actually had my cupcake papers separate before. It can be very frustrating! It sounds like the two issues you are having are related to moisture. Two reasons this can happen is: The cupcakes are under baked; or the cupcakes have been left in the cupcake tins too long causing them to steam up in their liners.

Here’s a few of things you can try: 1) Check your oven temperature. You can do this by purchasing an oven thermometer; 2) Fill your cupcake liners to the appropriate fill level (1/2 – 2/3 full); 3) Bake your cupcakes for the full allotted time specified in the recipe, test with a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through; and 4) Remove cupcakes from the pan as soon as they are baked. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.

One Last Extra Tip: Try a different cupcake pan. Cupcake pans can affect how the cupcake will bake in the oven.

Keep in mind that some recipes call for ingredients that add moisture to your cupcake. If that’s the case, the baking time and temperature become even more critical.

How do you stop the edible photo cupcake toppers from wilting on the frosting?

Answer: To be honest, I haven’t personally used edible photo images as cupcake toppers as of yet. But I have two ideas on this:

1) Frosting with high butter content will wilt easily no matter what type of decoration is on a cupcake. One suggestion is to use a frosting that doesn’t use ingredients that are so temperature sensitive such as shortening and non-dairy ingredients.

2) Place the edible wafer designs on fondant. Just roll out the fondant on a flat surface and adhere the design to it. You may need to let the fondant sit out until it sets up a bit.

I am seeing a very thickly piped frosting swirl on cupcakes. What is this frosting and how is it applied?

Answer: The frosting used on the cupcakes is a basic butter cream frosting. You can find the recipe for it on this vanilla cupcake frosting page. (You can adjust the flavoring, I don’t use as much vanilla extract.) In terms of the application, you start from the outside of the cupcake to apply the icing. As you squeeze out the frosting, move the icing bag around while applying even pressure until you reach the center of the cupcake. My swirls weren’t exactly perfect the first few tries so I had to give myself a couple of practice cupcakes to start with.

What should I charge for my cupcakes?

Answer: This is often a sticky question for any cupcake or cake decorator since some designs are much more labor intensive to make. For comparison, a basic decorated cake is about $5 per person or serving. More complex designs can be any where from $6 – $8 per person or serving. If you are decorating with fondant, it may be even higher than this. Cupcakes would be priced somewhat similar roughly $3 – $5 per cupcake depending on the design. A fondant cupcake, particularly one with an intricate rose or other flower, would commmand a much higher price. When figuring out a delivery fee you will need to calculate your mileage/gas, time spent driving and set up time. For local deliveries you may want to charge a flat rate like $30, but anything beyond that charge by the mile.

What is the difference between gumpaste and fondant? Are they really the same thing?

Answer: No. Gumpaste and fondant are not the same. Gumpaste is much stiffer and has more ingredients in it to make it ber when it’s rolled out or stretched. Fondant is a denser material that can be used to actually cover cakes. While you can use fondant to make decorations, you don’t use gumpaste to cover cakes. Gumpaste also hardens and dries out much quicker than fondant. However, gumpaste is excellent for making flowers with delicate petals since the material is much ber and holds up when cut into intricate patterns and shapes.

Icing cupcakes with a spatula is hard for me. Is there an easy way put frosting on? My icing never look as good as the ones I see pictures.

Answer: There’s two things to keep in mind when frosting cupcakes with a spatula: 1) Make sure the frosting is the right consistency; 2) Make sure you have enough frosting on your knife. You can work the frosting in the bowl for a bit stirring it around and making sure it’s loose and not too stiff. That ensures it’s the right consistency. Next, clean off your spatula if you need to and then get a nice large dollop of frosting on the tip. You should be able to ice your cupcake in one stroke!