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scratch cupcakes are dry - King Arthur contest Friday - HELP

post #1 of 12
8/16/11 at 9:29am
Thread Starter 
I am in a fair contest this friday, using a King Arthur flour recipe, we can change flavors, add things etc... Did a test run today, they are a bit heavy and dry - any tips? Recipe follows...

2 cups sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cups soft butter
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Any ideas? I am thinking of a carmel cupcake with a chocolate ganache center with vanilla frosting and a carmel drizzle. Or a rasp hazelnut flavor cake with a nutella frosting. Which sounds better?

TIA!
Laura
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Laura
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post #2 of 12
8/16/11 at 9:32am
Do you have to follow the recipe exactly or can you tweak it?
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post #3 of 12
8/16/11 at 9:45am
Thread Starter 
it says we can "substitute flavorings, add dried fruit, nuts, baking chips - be inventive" but that's all I have to go on.... they are just so heavy icon_sad.gif Even after adding in some Cappella flavor drops they still don't have a whole lot of flavor to them.
Laura
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Laura
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post #4 of 12
8/16/11 at 9:55am
My usual cupcake base that I start with is 1 cup butter, 2 sugar, 3 flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup liquid and then I add from there.

Maybe try adding the yolks only after creaming the butter and sugar and then whipping the whites and folding them in at the end to add more air? That way u aren't changing the recipe, just the technique.
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post #5 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:03am
This is a good basic recipe.

Did you freeze them? Did you add a flavoured simple syrup right out of the oven? After do that, make sure you don't over bake. Also make sure you cream the sugar and eggs well before adding the dry ingredients it should look like a fluffy pale yellow mixture. Sift your flour then measure it again you might see a difference in volume. Then add the salt and baking powder and sift again for even distribution and lightness. Make sure you are using fresh ingredients also and use unsalted butter.

Either recipe sounds good, but in my area they prefer standards so I would choose the Carmel.

Good luck.
Award winning cake designer and fine art sculptor.

"An artist discovers his genius the day he dares not to please." ~Andre Malraux
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Award winning cake designer and fine art sculptor.

"An artist discovers his genius the day he dares not to please." ~Andre Malraux
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post #6 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:04am
Thread Starter 
The technique is strange, add the dry ingredients, add the butter to that, then add the milk and vanilla then the eggs. Seems strange to me. Batter tastes kind of like sugar cookie, but the baked cupcake has no flavor at all. icon_sad.gif
Laura
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Laura
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post #7 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:06am
did you weigh your flour? King Arthur goes by a standard weight of 4 oz flour per cup. Also, sift the flour after weighing.
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post #8 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 
Did not freeze them, tasted them right out of oven. Did not add simple syrup, but I can, I will weigh flour and change the technique and see if that helps. I don't usually do scratch - ugh! Out of my comfort zone icon_smile.gif
Laura
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Laura
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post #9 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:19am
My white cake recipe adds the butter to the dry ingredients. What I do is add the butter in tablespoon size pieces to the dry. Mix it on medium speed until there are no white streaks and the mixture resembles wet sand. Then add the wet and mix on medium for 1 1/2 minutes. Also, bake them in a 325 degree oven. I hope this helps! Don't despair - sometimes it takes a few little tweaks....

Best of luck!
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post #10 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:31am
Thread Starter 
Simple syrup seems to be rolling right off the tops of the cupcakes, think it's gonna soak into the papers...
Laura
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Laura
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post #11 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:40am
poke holes with a toothpick just in the top surface and brush the syrup on.
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post #12 of 12
8/16/11 at 10:41am
That's not a strange technique. It's called two-stage or reverse creaming method.

It's supposed to give you a very tender cake. The only thing that I seem to do different (from the recipe above) is that I mix the milk, vanilla and eggs in a little container and add to the "sand-like" mixture of powders and butter in 3 increments.

325 degrees, as people said above.

Here are some links:

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=48028

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-706229-.html&sid=eec08cb4ef9e249ffdecbfe1580a9b6b

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6031722.html
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