Why does this happen?
Why do the baking cups peel away from some cupcakes? I have done a fair amount of googling over this and there just doesn't seem to be one answer. My working theory is the amount of cooling time, or something that has to do with cooling and condensation, but it's just a best guess. It's happened with paper cups and metal/foil cups, some recipes sometimes but not others. Even when all else is equal (recipe, amount per baking cup, temperature, baking time, conditions, etc.). SO frustrating. We've even had a discussion about this in the Flickr Cupcakes Take the Cake pool.
Okay, bakers, I beg of you, enlighten me! Does anyone have a definitive answer??
Why do the baking cups peel away from some cupcakes? I have done a fair amount of googling over this and there just doesn't seem to be one answer. My working theory is the amount of cooling time, or something that has to do with cooling and condensation, but it's just a best guess. It's happened with paper cups and metal/foil cups, some recipes sometimes but not others. Even when all else is equal (recipe, amount per baking cup, temperature, baking time, conditions, etc.). SO frustrating. We've even had a discussion about this in the Flickr Cupcakes Take the Cake pool.
Okay, bakers, I beg of you, enlighten me! Does anyone have a definitive answer??
Comments
BUT--It was amazing how easily the foil cups came away from the cakes-I had to handle them sooo much more gently than the paper ones or they'd just let go...
I hate it when it happens!
Drove me up a wall! When you are trying to make a few hundred perfect cupcakes for a wedding and half of them have started to fall away it just seems so hopeless (but little well placed bits of frosting can save the day)
I see some people spray their liners, which makes me wonder why sometimes...why do liners have to be sprayed? Do cakes actually stick to the paper? Maybe that's causing the liners to come off
Or, is it only certain recipes or certain wrappers? Maybe the next time you make a batch of cupcakes, you could use all different wrappers to eliminate if it's the recipe or the wrappers.
Like "Xan" one was attributed to leaving the cupcakes in the pan too long to cool. (But removing piping hot minis is a pretty fragile endeavor!)
The other was baking time, i.e. overbaking (apparently even slightly). So I began to monitor my baking times tightly, and beginning to check the "doneness" at the shorter end of the time interval. THAT did the trick for me! It did involve a few opening oven, checking cupcakes, closing, waiting 30 sec, repeat, but it gave me an tighter time range for future batches and ended my frustration.
Hope it helps! :)
(1) used a box mix
(2) made cupcakes with oil (always use butter)
(3) baked cupcakes at any temperature other than 350
Thought you could at least rule out a few things.
Also thinking you are overbeating your batter.
what i do think causes it and it requires further investigation is either storing them too quickly, that is before they have a chance to cool fully. or it happens with recipes that have more liquid/are more moist. the ones that peeled last week were banana that are very moist. and the time before that was a cupcake i made with grenadine and pink champagne in it.
i do hate when it happens. it would be nice to know definitively what causes it (and therefore how to avoid). any food scientists out there?
I never seem to have this problem, luckily. I always fill the cups 3/4 full, almost to the top so that once baked, there is a nice top that is higher than the paper liner, which also makes it easier to frost.
(I live in NC, where the humidity is awful, and if I leave cupcakes or muffins out at all, the liners end up pulling away, even if they were fine when they first cooled.)
First up, cupcakes most prone to the phenomena generally contain a high ratio of fats to dry ingredients, whether it be butter, oil, chocolate or buttermilk (or worse, a combination of all these!).
Cake batter evaporates out the water molecules as it bakes, as the steam formed during this evaporation is what creates the tiny air pockets that the proteins in the gluten harden around during baking when combined with the leavening ingredients (baking powder or soda) to form the cake's structure.
On cooling, that structure shrinks slightly. When you are baking a full-size cake, you will know it's done when the sides shrink away from the pan - the exact same thing happens with cupcakes, just on a smaller scale.
When this shrinkage occurs, with high fat-ratio recipes, the fat will be absorbed by the liner (also called bleed-through), which is what causes some liners to become see-through or lose their patterns when baked.
When paper absorbs too much moisture, whether from water or fat, the fibres soften and begin to fail.
Add these two factors together, and you have a separation of cake and liner.
Given the photos that you have posted highlighting this issue, from the shine on top of the cakes, you can tell that the recipe used is extra-moist. (perhaps a packet mix with pudding?)
You have also used a Cupcake Courier to store your cupcakes for an extended period (and by extended, I mean anything longer than an hour or so). While the CC is great as a transportation device (I own several) , it is NOT condusive to cupcake storage when liner failure is going to be a problem.
The CC is made from plastic. Plastic does not breathe. Once that cover gets put on, there is no way for air to circulate around the cupcakes and help stabilise the liners from becoming too moist.
The ideal storage recommendation is for them to be placed into an airtight container to achieve some sort of longevity in eatability, but this is really setting yourself up for disaster.
Cupcakes should be stored either in a breathable container (such a covered cakebox) or frozen immediately after cooling (if not needed for a few days). The more air that can circulate around your cupcakes, the less likely it is that your liners can become over-moistened and prone to failure.
Hope that the above info is helpful!
Cheers
Juli
Just Cupcakes!
Melbourne, Australia
I've tried watching them every 30 secs so it doesn't overbake and tried removing it from the pan soon after - but that didn't help. I just don't make those anymore as cupcakes, just cake.....
That would avoid air in the cases.
Good Luck
The trouble, I found, was placing the cupcakes to close together to cool. By leaving enough room between each cupcake, say about the size of a salad plate, the papers stay in place.
Of course, then there are cupcakes all OVER the kitchen, ha! But it has worked for me. Hope this helps.
i found this happening with a key lime recipe i use in conjunction with the convection setting in my oven. although when cooking the red velvet, (which is very moist and made with oil in stead of butter), the liners perform just fine. in order to combat the problem with my key lime ones, i over fill the liners (all the way to the top) and for the last 5-10 min, turn off the convection setting, and turn up the heat 5 degrees. seems to do the trick.
Regards,
Jacinta