Hello All,

Does anyone have any advice or ideas why I have such a hard time making vanilla cupcakes and cakes from scratch?

I can make chocolate cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes from scratch, no problem, they are light and airy and moist. Yet every time I've attempted to make a vanilla or vanilla based (like lemon) cupcake or cake, it comes out heavy, dense and rubbery. The flavor is always right on point, but the texture is way way off. I follow the recipes exactly!

I've tried using cake flour instead of all purpose flour like the recipes call for, hoping that would help lighten up the texture, but it still hasn't made a difference.

I need to make a bunch of lemon cupcakes for a wedding order next week and I am getting frustrated that every test batch I make, using different recipes, comes out with the same results.

Does anyone know what could be going wrong?!?!?! Appreciate it so much!

By the way, the recipe that I really liked the taste so far for the lemon cupcakes is this one:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/cupcakes/LemonCupcakes.html

I'm filling the cupcakes with raspberry preserves, so there won't be any lemon curd like the recipe suggests.

Try using oil in place of butter and whipping the egg whites separately with about half the sugar to medium peaks and then incorporating it into the rest of the completed batter at the end. This is the chiffon method and will result in very light and fluffy cakes. (Yes, I sub oil for butter 1:1)

Thank you so much! I will test this out this weekend and let you know what happens! I appreciate your advice!

Try Sylvia Weinstock's Classic Yellow recipe.

Cream the butter by itself first. It should be cool and waxy, not overly soft. The mixing bowl should feel cold to your hand when you're beating the butter. Then mix in the sugar and beat till light and fluffy. Sub 1/3 of the butter for oil. Mix that in after the butter. Eggs should be at room temp for maximum cake volume. You just have to blend them until incorporated. You don't have to beat them like the butter and sugar.

Weigh and no.

Maybe its that recipe, i tried it last week and wasn't impressed either. I switched to the brown eyed baker lemon Limoncello cupcakes and am so happy now. the result is a perfect sponge texture.

I have added to the original instructions, I only ever make 'scratch' cakes and they are light and fluffy.

Hope this helps....



In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter (Make sure this is at room temperature) and sugar (use caster sugar semi milled, smaller grains) until light and fluffy (it should double in size and be light in colour). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

(Im guessing it may look curdled at this stage).

In a separate bowl whisk (this should be sieve this adds necessary air) together the flour, baking powder, and salt. (Using plain all purpose cake and baking powder should be sufficient to enable a good rise of the mixture, putting Self raising flour with baking powder could be too much and has the reverse effect).

(Add the milk, then flour mixture - try folding it in by hand so not to whisk out the air you have added to the flour, or once you add the flour only whisk enough to combine, basically as little as possible).