Hi all,

I made some cupcakes today and it was also my first time making cupcakes. The recipe I tried was wonderful, we really liked it when we ate it. But I use my new cupcake baking papers and I had a problem. I filled each cupcake cup two-thirds full with batter but most of the papers were disfigured! So ofcourse after baking, most of the cupcakes disfigured too. I tried to use double paper but didn't help. Do you guys have any solution for this?
You can see one of the disfigured cupcake in the middle on this picture:

What brand liners did you use? Did the cupcakes disfigure while baking or after cooling? I have found that I can't use the cheapo brands because the pleats are stretched out too much and become misshapen when batter is placed in them. Ideally you want a liner with tight pleats that sits almost all the way in the baking pan even without batter to push it down. I make sure to keep my cupcake liners in a safe place (any place away from my toddler!) so they don't get stretched out before I can use them. If they do get a little stretched out I can sometimes squish the pleats back together. This way they don't buckle and fold quite as bad. I mostly use wilton brand but just bought some reynolds brand to try out. I have yet to use them but the pleats are tight and the paper thickness is about the same as wilton.

Edited to add: now that I look closely at your photos it looks like you are using decent liners. It also looks like they pulled away from the cupcakes a bit around the edges. Sometimes if your cake is too moist or oily it will cause the cakes to shrink funny in their liners as they cool, and can also cause the paper to detach easily from the sides. I have been dealing with this with my carrot cake recipe, it's just too moist for cupcakes. Could this be a contributing factor?

Hi CookieMakinMomma,

As u said, I guess I used really cheap and decent papers. Because they disfigured before baking them, the first time that I filled them with batter! First, I thought if I used a too oily recipe but when I ate them they were perfect, I guess its not because of that, as I first said, they disfigured when i was filling them two-thirds full with batter. Maybe I should buy I proper brand like wilton as you said.
I will let you know when I can get the wilton's papers and try them (I don't live in US so I will order them online, and it will take time). Thank you so much for your interest and help.

Can anybody please send me a link of the cupcake baking papers that you use and do not experience any problem with it?
I made a search on wilton but couldn't be sure which one to buy.

I made cupcakes recently with Wilton's papers and they were good, but the color and design just disappeared. Not so bad with the vanilla, but the chocolate was awful.

These are the best liners I have ever used! Love them!

http://createcupcakes.com/jcms/

I have never used the patterned Wilton liners, just the plain, standard white. Shepsit, instead of ordering something online just look around your local stores for wrappers that seem to have a tighter cup shape and give them a try. I really think the Reynolds ones I bought will work just as well, I just haven't tried them to be sure. Glad you found the source of the problem! (a troublesome liner is WAY easier to fix than a troublesome recipe!)

Hey CookieMakinMomma,

I just wanted to show you the baking pan that I use to bake my cupcakes. Each cup measures 7 cm wide and 4 cm high. I guess it is ok for my cupcakes. So I need to find a proper baking papers right?

Very shiny! I just pulled out my pans and measured them, it looks like they are the same size as yours. Mine are about 5cm wide at the base too, if that helps. From what you said it does sound like the type of papers you are using is the culprit. I will have to take a photo of my good wrappers as well as the lousy ones I still have lying around. That might give you a clearer picture. (no pun intended!) Be right back!

I recently purchased some foil ones at walmart for $1.14 for 50 count. They were such strong foil that they actually sounded like tin if i dropped it. The package siad that you didnt even need to use muffin tins as the liners would stand up right on a cookie sheet.

i attached (hopefully) a pic that has a close up view of the foil liners. They look like they maintained shape.

Ok here we go. I haven't uploaded pictures to a post before so I hope this works...

From left to right these are: Reynolds, no-name cheap liner, Wilton.

Now my cheap ones are ridiculously lousy but they illustrate what a liner SHOULDN'T do. Notice how they flare out significantly just while sitting on the table, and virtually hover over the baking pan instead of sitting down inside it. The better quality ones have tight pleats to them and are almost completely inside the baking cups before the batter is added. I noticed that the pleats on the Reynolds brand seem a bit bigger than Wilton, but they are just as tight so I don't foresee a difference.

yesterday I used some new liners for the first time. they looked foil on the outside, but paper on the inside. some got un-pleated as i was pulling them out of the stack, and the resulting cupcakes were also a little disfigured. it's not a big deal at the moment, but i'm glad i saw this thread and heard your stories so i know what to look out for next time.

Ok I took the picture of my papers too
When I compare it with yours, I guess they r bigger than the one in the middle of your picture but I still believe these are the most horrible cupcake papers CookieMakinMomma, I am really grateful of your help, interest and the time you spare to me, thank you soooo much, you r an angel

And jenng1482 ; buying foil ones can be a good idea too. I'm just thinking how will they look after I design them with fondant.

Ah! CookieMakinMomma, when I refresh the page, then i could be able to see your first picture too (I couldn't see the first one at first), the one that u put the papers into the pan. So as u said, wilton's look perfectly fit in the pan. Maybe i should buy exactly the same ones? If so, would u please send me the link from wilton's page to show which papers are they?

I have used Reynolds liners, Wilton liners and no name liners from local craft store. The only time I do not get any separation from the liner is when I use Reynolds liners. I intend to only stick with those.

Something cute I saw somewhere and could be used here is to back your cupcakes in the wilton white liners. They almost disappear with chocolate cake mix. Then place you cupcake with the white liner and all into the decorative liner. It will let the design show through instead of the paper design not showing up when baked. I'm going to try this with a batch I'm making next week.

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E3153EB-475A-BAC0-59D872ECC4DB63DC&fid=DA569DB7-423B-522D-FCA3E35CACEC1A89 You would get the standard size for your pans. Enjoy!

Appreciated!