I have some cupcakes that go with a cake due saturday. Is it too early to bake tonight? Do you keep them at room temp or the fridge? It is going to take several evenings for me to decorate them and the cake so i need to bake as early as i can. Thanks!

Also my liners tend to come unattached any tips for that?

Please please reply any advice appreciated!

I am not 100% sure but bake them today, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them.

For the liners two things seem to be the biggest culprits, cheap liners...I've only had this happen with the new Michael's celebrate line which I think is crap...design completely faded and the liners came off.

Second, for very moist or high fat content cupcakes sometimes the liners come off. How long do you let your cupcakes cool in the pan? If you let them sit too long then condensation forms and that could effect the liners as well.

As far as baking in advance cupcakes can dry out quick. I did an experiment last week with left over batter. Put the left over batter in cupcake liners in my cupcake pan, froze for a couple of hours, placed in ziploc freezer bags and froze for a week. When I needed them, pooped them into my pan and straight into the over. Worked like a charm. In my mind I felt the cupcakes were a bit more dense but that could be me just over thinking it because I knew I froze them.

Also these are doctored cake mixes, I'm not sure how scratch batter would handle being frozen. I got the idea to freeze the batter here on CC

Hope that helps.

Some cupcake advice from Cook's Illustrated magazine:

What's the Best Way to Freeze Baked Cupcakes?

When freezing baked cupcakes, we wanted to prevent the common problems of freezer burn, dryness, and gummy tops. Because the texture and consistency of frostings and icings can change drastically in the freezer, only plain (unfrosted) cupcakes should be frozen. Once thawed, they can be topped or decorated as desired.

We tried several methods of storing, freezing, and thawing our favorite yellow cupcakes. We froze them--individually and in groups of four--in four different ways: in a plastic zipper-lock bag with most of the air removed, in plastic wrap, in foil, and in plastic wrap and foil. After a week in the freezer, we took the cupcakes out to thaw on the countertop for 1 1/2 hours until they reached room temperature; half of each sample was kept wrapped and the other half unwrapped.

Thawing the cupcakes wrapped--whether enclosed in foil, plastic wrap, or both or left in a zipper-lock bag--allowed condensation to form between the wrapper and the tops, which turned gooey. Those that were unwrapped before thawing were as good as new. In terms of taste, there was little to differentiate one storage method from another. For longer periods of storage, where the likelihood of freezer burn increases, we recommend double-wrapping cupcakes in plastic wrap and foil (in groups or individually) before placing them in the freezer. And make sure to unwrap them before thawing.


Hope you don't have too many to wrap and freeze!

Thank you so much for all the info! Im going to try freezing them! And i've been using the plain white ones from micheal's i think they are wilton. Gonna try another brand! Thanks!!

Underbaking can cause the papers to peel off also. If you check on the cupcake forum you will see a 4 page discussion on this topic. My test and experience for has been always underbaking. Others will say the amount of fat, but I have not found that after making an extremely buttery cake recipe in the cupcake liners they still held. It is only when I underbake that I get the paper peel away.

Sorry you did not get a speedy answer, but I notice there was only a difference of 30 minutes between your initial post and your last bump. I find it takes a little bit longer to get a response than that, especially on the cupcake board. Plus last night I was baking cupcakes, so didn't have time to come here.

I have luck leaving them on the cooling rack, popping them in the freezer for an hour, then stacking them in groups of 6, double-wrapping them in plastic, then foil. That way when you take them out of the freezer they separate easily and don't dent each other.

Wow, this is great info. I was about to (and probably still will) test freeze a batch of cupcakes for an October wedding. There will be alot and they will have to travel so I figured I wanted to get them done here where I feel comfortable doing my thing.

I also LOVE and will try (I am a scratch baker) the freeze the batter in the cup trick...that is so clever; hope it works with my recipes!

Suzi