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Cupcakes have proven themselves to be much more than a fleeting baking trend. With the amount of cupcake bakeries, reality television shows, and recipes in general, it’s clear they’re here to stay. Cupcakes are much easier than layered cakes to bake and transport, not to mention their cute size makes them the perfect indulgence for just about any occasion or holiday, like Halloween! It’s no wonder they’re so popular.
Despite their popularity, many cupcakes you find at the grocery store bakery are either bland or cloyingly sweet. Not to mention so many have an awful crumbly or greasy texture and artificial aftertaste. Homemade cupcakes are always better, and most recipes out there for basic yellow cupcakes are fairly similar. Small changes in the flour, fat, baking times, and baking temperatures, however, can result in very different cupcakes.
For this round of kitchen experimenting, I tested six batches of cupcakes to discover what makes a cupcake domed or flat, rich or crumbly, soft or slightly chewy, to help you create your version of the perfect cupcake. Since most cupcake recipes are very similar, I used a very basic recipe that is from no one source in particular as my control recipe. From there I tested how cake flour, extra egg yolks, sour cream, oil, and a lower baking temperature affect the cupcakes. To keep the results as consistent as possible, I used the same ingredients, utensils, techniques, and bakeware when applicable. I also maintained a 350°F oven temperature and a twenty-minute baking time when applicable. Take a look at the results to see the ins and outs of cupcake baking; I hope they help you discover the tricks to making your version of the perfect cupcake!
Control Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (6.35 ounces)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and milk alternatively, starting and ending with the flour, beating well after each addition. Continue beating for one minute. Divide the batter between the cupcake cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cake Flour
For this test I substituted the 1 1/2 cups (6.37 ounces) all-purpose flour in the recipe with 1 1/2 cups of sifted Swans Down brand cake flour, which weighs 5.25 ounces after sifting. Everything else in the recipe was left as-is. The cupcakes were visibly lighter in color with very domed tops. The texture was super fine and soft but also on the dry side with a slight crumbly feel. In taste testing these cake flour cupcakes I felt that using all cake flour was too much. If you want to make your cupcakes softer you might consider using half cake flour, half all-purpose flour.
Learn more about the science of cake flour and how it works in baking here.
Egg Yolks
In addition to the one whole egg called for in the control recipe, I added an additional two egg yolks to test how they affect the cupcake’s texture and flavor. The additional egg yolks not only lended a deeper yellow tint to the cupcakes, they also domed slightly more than some of the other tests. The batter itself looked a little grainy, which concerned me, but the baked results were slightly chewy yet still soft, ultra moist, and full of rich flavor, all desirable traits in a cupcake. These egg yolk cupcakes would stand up nicely to a rich and thick frosting. I enjoyed the taste and texture of these cupcakes and will probably use at least one additional egg yolk in my yellow cupcake recipes from now on.
Sour Cream
The control recipe calls for milk, but there are many cupcake recipes that call for sour cream instead so I decided to test the difference. I substituted the exact amount of milk with plain sour cream. The batter itself was visibly thicker and tighter, not quite as loose as the control batter. The finished cupcakes were denser and slightly chewier than the control, with the perfect amount of moisture. They also had a slight tang, which added a nice depth of flavor. These sour cream cupcakes and the egg yolk cupcakes proved to be my favorites.
Oil
Most yellow cupcake recipes use butter as the main fat, however quite a few recipes for chocolate cupcakes or red velvet cupcakes use oil instead. I wanted to see what kind of difference oil makes so I substituted 1/2 cup canola oil for all the butter called for in the control recipe. Instead of beating the oil and sugar together, I simply mixed very well by hand. The resulting cupcakes were unsurprisingly very similar to muffins in their appearance and texture. They were spongier than any of the other cupcakes but also had the worst flavor. These cupcakes almost tasted like they were fried to me, that’s how pronounced the oil taste was. There’s definitely a reason why oil is only reserved for chocolate or red velvet cupcakes, which include flavorful ingredients that mask the oil flavor. I would definitely stick to using butter in yellow cupcakes because it provides that characteristic buttery flavor and light, finer-textured crumb.
325°F Baking Temeprature
For this test I took the exact control recipe but baked it in a 325°F oven for 22 minutes. I peeked through the oven window to watch these cupcakes as they baked and they domed up surprisingly high during baking but proceeded to collapse slightly during the last minutes of baking and during cooling. As expected, they didn’t brown as much as the control cupcakes and were actually extremely difficult to remove as the edges had overflowed and stuck to the tin. Since they were so soft and tender, I ended up damaging a few of the cupcakes while trying to remove them from the tin. This dilemma surprised me and I would certainly avoid baking cupcakes at a lowered temperature again, though the lower temperature would probably work well for producing ultra soft and tender layer cakes.
Final Comparison
More Ultimate Guide Posts
- The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies Part II
- The Ultimate Brownie Guide
The article The Ultimate Cupcake Guide was originally posted at Relish.com.
I love side by side comparisons like this! One thing to note, though: as a professional all-vegan baker, I frequently substitute neutral liquid oils and vegan butter for dairy butter, even in vanilla cakes. When substituting liquid oil, you must decrease the quantity slightly for desirable results. So if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup oil should be used in it’s place! Light olive oil and melted coconut oil are both good candidates for flavor boosting, coconut oil can even lend a buttery taste 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise!
thank your for your wonderful guide to bake a perfect cupcake.
also, has anyone used coconut oil in place of the butter in a recipe like this? if so how did it turn out/how did it taste?
I dont have whole milk, we only have 1% on hand, but I do have some vanilla greek yogurt….could I poss had a lil of both together? suggestions?
Does the yogurt have a lot of sugar? Is it low fat? You don’t want it to change the taste or texture too much.
Hi! I have been wanting to recreate a hornets nest cake without any box mixes. It is usually made with a yellow cake mix and a box of vanilla pudding to make it super dense (almost like blondies). Since I’m not using a box pudding, I was wondering what I could do to make a typical yellow cake denser. Perhaps sour cream and more egg yolks? Thank you!
I loved your site. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about cupcakes.
Greetings!
Would this transfer to any basic cake recipe? Chocolate for example?
Probably not chocolate since the addition of cocoa powder or melted chocolate can really change the structure and texture. Let me know if you do experiment at all, though!
Hi, i tried making the cupcake with the extra egg yolk in the batter and it turned out very soft but not moist and it also crumbles when seperated from the liner.Could you please tell me a solution? Should i increase the butter quantity ?
I tried this recipe and it was the first time that my cupcakes ever came out. This recipe is definitely a keeper
This really helps a lot. When I bake yellow cupcakes or cakes for that matter, they never come out right. They’re usually very dry..
My question is, what if you did the flour and egg yolk recipe together? Like the half flour half cake flour and adding that extra egg all together??
Wonderful guide!! I tried the controlled recipe but the cupcakes domed and cracked a bit in the middle. However, the taste is absolutely great and I love the texture so fluffy and airy. I wonder what caused the cupcakes to dome and crack?
What do you think went wrong? 🙂
Hmm sounds like they could be overmixed. Stir in the flour until JUST combined.
I like to bake using oil and I had the same issue with the flavor until I started using the light tasting olive oil- it makes a huge difference in flavor and I think makes the cake super moist & irresistible! Plus, it’s a bit healthier 🙂