I made some vegan white cupcakes for a bridal shower last Saturday. I baked them on Monday, wrapped and froze them until Thursday when I decorated. They were beautiful and the brides mother said they were perfect. Skip ahead to yesterday. I sent the bride an email about an idea I had about the grooms cake and she responded today. She was very worried about the cupcakes; they were apparently dry and tasteless. Im doing her wedding cake next month with the same cake and she is afraid it will taste the same. I did a consultation in February and made the same exact cake and they loved it. She is wondering why the cupcakes werent the mouthwatering, super moist cake (her words) that she tasted at the tasting. And I have no answer for her. I understand her being worried; now that shes brought this up Im worried.

I did make the cupcakes a tiny bit differently. I used veggie shortening instead of soy butter like I had with the tasting cake. I also baked them in the metal cupcake tins instead of the paper cups. I used the same tins when I made a cupcake cake the same week and those cupcakes werent as super moist as you would expect from a box mix. I didnt worry too much about those because they still tasted awesome; I figured the metal tins had caused the outsides to cook a little more.

She isnt asking for a refund, just answers to why her cupcakes were dry and tasteless and the cake she tasted in February wasnt. And of course shes worried her wedding cake will be the same.

Anyone have any advice on how I should handle this? What I should say to make her feel better? I thought about making a small 6 inch cake and giving it to her hoping it will maybe calm her nerves. I know Id be freaking out too and I am just not for the same reason.

you changed two variables...butter/shortening and cooking method.

not sure which is the cause...

so just like back in science class...

must isolate the variables.

so, that means (grrrr)
since we know soy in cups is a go

having to go back to orignal soy recipe and try that in tins

and then doing the shortening recipe in paper cups.

-----------

have you tried the soy butter version in reg. cake pans yet???....asking because if soy in tins is still dry, what will happen w/ soy in pans?

The soy in cake pans is what she had at the tasting and is what she ordered.

I tried the soy butter in baking cups back when I did the tasting becaue I didn't want to bake a whole cake and they didn't turn out very well. The cake was so moist it stuck to the baking cup and when I tried to pull the paper away from the cake it tore the cupcake in half. Which is another reason why I used the baking tins this time, I thought I might avoid that problem.

ok..then we know soy in pans works,

so soy in tins should work too.

but, you did shortening in tins (two things changed)

so try a batch of soy in tins to confirm that all will be okay.

then if so, you can tell her that it's all the shortening's fault!! (bad shortening -- that's a 20 day time out for you!)

Whew I hope your right. I'll make up a batch of new cupcakes today.

Let us know how it goes. Best of luck (... and Doug's right... bad shortening... time out!)

i would tell her that you changed the soy butter brand (if there is different brands) and say that you will return to the orginal one, since the other brand is not performing how you had hoped.

Alrighty, soy butter in cupcake tins = moist and delicious cake. BAD BAD shortening. I can't believe that little ingredient could mess up the whole cake. I thought you could use shortening as a replacement for butter. I'll never use it that way again that's for sure.

I'm refunding the bride's money. I feel terrible about it I should have known better, never mess with a good thing. I spoke with the bride's mother today and she was very hesitant to even talk to me about how bad the cupcakes were. I appreciated her being nice with me and not flip out and start demanding money etc.

She is coming to drop off the remaining balance on the wedding cake and I'm giving her the cupcakes to give to the bride in hopes it will ease her mind. I know the last thing I'd want to be worried about when I cut my wedding cake is if it were going to taste like crap or not.

No problem The wedding is Aug 5th so you won't have to wait to long for that pic! Thanks so much for the help!!

I'm sure you checked, but I would be careful in the type of shortening you use because they aren't all vegan. Not sure why she's vegan, beliefs or dietary reasons, but that makes a difference. Only crisco all-vegetable shortening is vegan, no other shortenings.

LNW- I'm so glad it worked out. You handled it beautifully. I'm sure once she tastes your new batch of cupcakes all confidence will be restored! Can't wait for that pic.

If your first recipe is so tasty, would you consider sharing it? I would LOVE a good vegan recipe. And maybe, if you have experience making vegan cakes, you could tell me the difference between confectioner's sugar and "veganized" powdered sugar? : )

[email protected]

Every once in a while I bake a cake that, for some reason, isn't as moist as it should be. If I'm too short on time to bake a replacement I make a simple syrup to brush on the layers in between the filling.

My simple syrup recipe is pretty simple:

1 part Torani syrup (usually french vanilla)
1 part warm water

I put mine in a squeeze bottle (like for candy or for ketchup) and squirt it all over the split layer before the filling. Works pretty well : )

Laurie
www.sweetcelebrations.us