Perfect Cupcakes Every Time!
Do you get frustrated when you need your cupcakes to look uniform and you try your best to make them that way only to have some ginormous ones and some look like the runt of the litter? I hate when that happens! So here is my “Quick Tip” for perfect cupcakes.
Remember this guy?
Picture Perfect Cupcakes:
I know you are probably thinking, “This woman is crazy!” Well, I may be crazy but when I need pictures of perfect cupcakes this is how I do it. I use my handy dandy little scale from Wal-Mart. They didn’t have a picture of it on their website but, here is one at Amazon for less than $20. I don’t use it often for cupcakes but, when I know I need picture perfect cupcakes, I reach for the scale!
After I mix the cupcake batter (this one is from a box but don’t tell anyone), I pour the batter into the cupcake papers while they are in the muffin pan. Then I pick out the fullest looking one to get the weight.
Then, one by one, I weigh each cupcake and add or remove some batter to make them all weight the same. Then bake according to your recipe.
UPDATE: One of my nice readers told me if you place the cupcakes with the liners on the scale, you fill one to the weight you want it then, push the “Tare” button and it will take you back to a 0.0 weight. Fill one and zero the scale out. It couldn’t be more simple.
When they are done, they will all be the exact same size for your cupcake photo shoot! Like I said before, I don’t do this every time I make cupcakes. I would use this method for special occasions like birthdays, weddings or blog pictures that I want to be perfect.
I used this method for these pumpkin cupcakes, Dracula cupcakes and Mr. & Mrs. Frankenstein cupcakes. They all turned out perfect. Here are a few baking tips from Better Homes and Garden for perfect cupcakes.
Happy Creating!
You are brilliant!!!!
I am the same way……….but I use a measuring cup to make sure each cup has the exact amount of batter.
I tried that but I found myself scraping batter out of the measuring cup. When I did it this way, I pour the batter directly into the cupcake paper so I don’t have to scrape the measuring cup.
and I hate scraping out of the measuring cup so I will be trying your way next time.
I’m a religious scale-user for many things, so I think this is brilliant! I’m wondering if you can just put the pan on the scale and spoon the batter in?
I hate doing math but you could. When I weigh each one individually I know exact how much is in each one with out having to think. (Please don’t tell my high school math teacher I hate math…lol)
I LOVE IT!!!!! YOU ARE BILLIANT!!!! I am dusting off my little scale right now! Thanks a bunch!
Hahahaha! Did you read my mind or what?! This is sooooooo smart! I always use a cookie scoop then end up with it everywhere! If I mixed in a large spouted cup it eliminates that! Lightbulb just came on. Thank you, friend!
Are those red velvet cupcakes I smell?? haaaa.. Your picture looks so great it looks like you could just grab them off the screen but I think I’ll wait ’til you frost them. Clever idea my sweet friend.
For some reason this didn’t come to my e-mail, I’m having computer trouble and hope to get it fixed soon!!!! This is a great idea!
Hi Lisa,
Like Elizabeth L, I am also a religious scale user. Too add to her suggestion, if you put the pan on the scale and hit the tare button, then fill one cupcake to get the weight, tare it again and continue doing the same thing with the rest. That way there is no math. You will have the same weight for all without taking the cupcake batter out of the pan. I hope this makes sense. I do this all the time when weighing my ingredients.
Thank you!! That makes perfect sense! This is why I love the internet.
I will do it that way next time. Thanks for sharing:)
By the way, I should have said, that your post IS an awesome idea! I’ve always just used the cookie scoop. Weighing them is brilliant! 🙂
This is brilliant. I really need to do something. My cookie pictures look like a garage sale….probably can’t use this method on a sugar cookie huh?
I will still use it for cupcakes. The different sizes drive me crazy.
Thanks for the tip.
Okay, you are so brilliant! And I thought that I was Type A! LOL This really is a fantastic idea, Lisa, and so much cleaner looking than the way that I do mine with an ice cream scoop! I will have to remember this! Thanks for yet another great tip!
THANK you! I started doing this last month and loved the results. But I felt like geez I must be a nut to go this far to get uniform cupcakes 😉 – I’m glad I’m not alone!
just curious. do u use 2 wrappers? while baking. i am trying to find an alternate to buying speciality cupcake liners. i live in a small town where we don’t get the special wilton liners which doesn’t change color after baking. do u have any suggestions or any other brand in name. can you please email me the reply. thanks
I get the grease proof cupcake liners from http://www.bakersstock.com. I really like them because the papers don’t fade that much.
Thanks Lisa for the reply I will give it a try.
I use an ice cream scooper.
LOVE that idea! My cupcakes were always wonky! Some would be small and others looked like they could take over the world! LOL
I like the ice cream scooper idea and most of us already have those. Thanks for sharing! 🙂