15 Best Valentine's Cupcake Recipes! - Easy Life Addict (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good cupcakes? ›

Place 1 marble in each muffin cup between paper baking cup and muffin pan so baking cup takes on heart shape. Make cake batter as directed on box. Fill each cup two-thirds full of batter. Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until tops of cupcakes bounce back when touched and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Don't Over-mix, Don't Under-mix

Not too much, not too little. Make sure you're mixing the cupcake batter together *just until* the wet and dry are combined. Overmixing batter, whether that's for cakes, cupcakes, breads, muffins, etc, lends a tough-textured baked good. Don't turn on the mixer then leave the room.

"Baking fluffy, moist cupcakes is all about creating air bubbles in your batter that expand in the oven," she says. "If you overmix your batter, you collapse those bubbles and end up with a brick-like cake." Always mix at a low speed to avoid this, stopping just as all ingredients blend.

Place the cupcake liners in each well of the muffin tin. Then place one foil ball at the top of each well between the liner and the pan. This will make an indent in the top of the cupcake that resembles a heart. Spoon the batter into each liner, filling it no more than halfway.

Flour is the main ingredient of the batter and provides the base for the cupcake. Butter or oil provides flavor, tenderizes the batter and helps provide volume.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

Check the temperature once your oven is preheated—if it's much higher, check your oven's manual to calibrate it so that 350 degrees actually means 350 degrees. Patterson also suggests simply lowering the temperature by 10 degrees if you notice your cakes significantly doming all the time.