Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A cooking disaster


This cupcake might look all innocent but it was actually the third attempt at getting them right. My first few batches came out of the oven looking all pretty, then, about 5 mins later they sagged in the middle. When I looked to see what was going on the inside was hollow and there was just a crust! Very very weird!

Perhaps any experienced bakers could shed some light on my cooking "issues"!? Kellie xx


Photo by Kellie Collis for Ada & Darcy x

28 comments:

  1. I am so not a baker and commend you for trying 3 times. I am sure someone will enlighten you! Looks so pretty though. A-M xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe too much butter or not enough craming of the butter. You also should sift the flour twice to help the cakes rise! Hope that helps

    ReplyDelete
  3. haven't baked in ages.... just can't find the time to do it. this Nigella can't come to the rescue :))

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad to know I am not the only one that makes floppy cupcakes
    Alison

    ReplyDelete
  5. Do you add baking powder? Mine are never perfect until my perfect cake friend told me to make them by hand folding in ingredients one by one. Takes much longer than my magimixer but always comes out better.

    Failing that...fill the hole with buttercream and nobody will care!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Kellie....they still look so delicious...and I kind of like a bit of crunch in my cupcake :)

    Now..Im not expert baker..but my nan is ..and so I asked her..her response ( and this applies to baking in a tin..but same thing goes with cupcakes )

    possibilities.

    * the oven temperature is too hot
    * over-beating the batter
    * over-filling the cups/liners
    * underbaking

    Solutions.

    Beat only until everything is mixed. A minute after adding an ingredient will usually do.
    Let the batter sit in the pan for a few minutes before putting it in the oven. Excessive air bubbles will pop.
    Hold the cupcake cups an inch or so above the counter and let them drop to pop air bubbles.

    Hope this helps??

    A x

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think Anna has pretty much covered it. Great advice.
    I don't bake - I eat :o)
    Angex

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Kellie, atleast they look pretty!
    I'm in the middle of cooking passionfruit melting moments, fingers crossed they turn out. Kx

    ReplyDelete
  9. A Nanna would know! Good advice above I would say. Hope your next batch works out! They still look gorgeous. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love cooking but baking cakes is not in my repertoire !! I'm sure that the first two batches were a fluke and that you will be fine from now on !! The one in the photo looks delicious. Practice makes perfect they say so keep on rolling out those batches .... I'm sure that Luke won't mind !! XXXX

    ReplyDelete
  11. i was making cupcakes for my best friends engagement party & the same thing happened! in the first batch i used brown sugar but then changed it to caster sugar for the second & they just did not turn out!

    you cupcakes look lovely! i feel like one right now.

    lulki x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Don't look at me! I can't help in this area at all but I am impressed that you kept trying to get it right. My other problem would be if I bake it, I'll eat it and that probably would be true with the less successful attempts as well. Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
  13. well....on the outside
    it looks lovely.
    x

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love cupcakes, no matter what they look like... and yours looks adorable btw :)

    xoxo Laura

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oooh and it still looks so cute! My foolproof recipe is to cream butter and sugar, add your 2 eggs one by one then sift and fold in flour and baking powder plus any cheeky extras. I have got the hang of my oven now and know to cook at 170 degrees for aout 20 minutes. They still look good enough to eat! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  16. This one looks pretty, beautiful arrangement, Kellie. xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. I would totally eat that yummy looking cupcake! Unfortunately I don't bake very well and therefore have no advice to give. On the plus side, I have an excellent palette and if you are every unsure of how they turned out I will sacrifice my taste buds for you... lol!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Im glad it turned out alright in the end! Looks yummy!
    The Design Dish

    ReplyDelete
  19. ...lots of great advice so I won't add to it ...but to say this one looks YUMMY!..how did you do the icing!?

    ReplyDelete
  20. I've had that happen when I've over-beaten the mixture. If the texture if ok, just fill the hole in with icing or berries!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Glad you did not give up..these ones are lovely!
    I tend to burn things..I blame it on my old oven!

    xoxoo

    ReplyDelete
  22. It's a beautiful photo! Trial and error...that's my motto. **kisses** Deb

    ReplyDelete
  23. Lovely! I wish I could help, but I'm just learning myself, to be perfectly honest...

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  24. hmm i am the queen of cooking issues - can't be much of a help for you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Perfeito!!! Muito lindo !!! Me inspira... Parabéns pelo trabalho ...Gostaria muito de fazer parte de sua listinha de blogs .Parabéns e aguardo uma visitinha ...Bjs Aleyka
    http://kykartes.blogspot.com-- Bouquet de Idéias

    ReplyDelete
  26. Those look so lovely, and I definitely admire your perseverance... had a weekend of cupcakes, and yet again failed to learn that icing cakes while warm leads to escaped puddles of icing all over the place. I just wish they'd turned out as pretty as your ones! Still, is very reassuring to read about the work that goes into the beautiful things that appear online, otherwise it might be very disheartening to think that I'm the only one out there not able to get it all perfect first time. Thanks so much for sharing your baking story!

    ReplyDelete
  27. When cupcakes flop I whip up some cream and fill up the hole, looks like that's how it's meant to be! If the cupcakes are plain, a touch of jam before the cream would be nice. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  28. That's baking for you..the strangest things can happen! Some good advice here though, don't you love that about blogging? Have a lovely weekend..Rachaelxx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. Mrs.Darcy xx