I have a recipe for a 8-inch layer cake to bake about 25 min. at 350.  I want to make cupcakes with the batter instead of cake, but it doesn't give me a time for it.  Anyone have any idea how long to bake? 

Also, how do I prevent the cupcakes from looking like someone sat on them after they come out of the oven?  I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but they usually flatten across the top with dry overhang.  It's very frustrating!  Any and all help is appreciated!

1st off, in my opinion you are baking at too high a temp.  Turn your oven down to 300 to bake you cake or cuppies.  It may take longer but will give you a much nicer, more moist cake.  If you are getting 'dry overhang' you definitely are overbaking them at too high a heat.

Wow - 300?  I suspected maybe I should turn down to 325, but 300?  Ok boss, I'll give it a try.  Obviously need to be baked much longer at 300...  Any ballpark idea how long?

I make sure not to overfill, bake for 10 minutes at 375 then turn down to 350 for another 10 minutes or until done.

Joanne,

Yours don't over-bake at 375 and 350?  Whenever I bake any cupcakes at 350 for around 18-20 min, they are usually flat with dry overhangs.  I'm confused. 

1. 20 min is way too long for cup cakes at high temps.  I seldom made cuppies so the amount of time needed would be a guess for me.  I know for a cake that is just one mix it takes about 35-40 minutes.  I would think maybe 1/2 that for cuppies.  I bake a lot by sight and smell.  If they look done use the 'finger test' :)  Touch rather lightly - if they spring back (not leaving an indent)  &/or stick a toothpick in - if no wet batter clings to it and you can smell that wonderful aroma of baked cake in the next room they are done :)  
2.  As for the 300 - if you want moist, delicious cakes/cuppies *turn down the oven*!    Another point - are you super sure your oven is calibrated?  Have you had it checked?  The electric &/or gas company should check it for free (at least here in the US).  It should take at least 1 hour to properly do a calibration which is accomplished by taking an *average* of high and low degrees over a long period of tine.  In other words, they set the dial for say 300 degrees, let the oven  heat noting when it turns itself down, wait until the temp drops below that setting noting when it comes back on.  Doing this several times over a long period (the hr mentioned) and averaging those times.  I hope you can understand all that:)
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I bake cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for 16 to 18 minutes.

I am a little confused with what you mean by dry overhang... Do you mean the cake overhanging the cupcake liner? If so, then you are either overfilling them, the oven is too hot or there is too much leavener in the recipe. Check the temperature of your oven and also make sure you are only filling your cupcake liners 2/3 full.

Yes, I only fill them no more than 2/3 full, but either they rise nicely and then fall when cooled or they just slightly rise and spread out over the pan.  Just once (well, maybe more!), I would love to make a beautiful looking cupcake without having to hide it all with frosting.  But I do wonder now if my oven is too hot or maybe I'm just baking a little too long.  I always thought if you start checking too soon, that would make your cakes fall.  Is that right or just an old wives tale?

There might be an issue with the recipe if your cakes are falling. Are you at a higher altitude? 

The cakes can fall if you are frequently opening the oven and letting heat out, but I'm not sure if that's the case of not.

Opening the oven door too soon is mostly an old wives tale.  Ovens have improved a whole lot since those days :)  kramersl is right - opening frequently is letting heat out & can cause problems but once won't hurt them really.  You would have to time it *just right* for it to be a major problem.    I'm beginning to wonder about your recipe too.  Tell us about it.  Maybe, just maybe there is something there.

I live in upstate New York, so I know it's not because of high altitude.  I wonder if I am just either baking too long or the degrees are just too high. Or my oven bakes too hot.

I made this recipe before but as a cake.  It came out fine, but I wanted it for cupcakes for Easter.  There is no bake time for anything but the two 8-inch cake pans.  That's why I was wondering if anyone knew how long to bake cupcakes for, but preferably without the dryness or overhang problems I usually have that go along with it.  lol 

Anyway, here is the link:

http://food52.com/recipes/30792-funfetti-cake

Well, I don't see anything particularly strange about the recipe except for the lack of protein. Protein provides structure and support for popping air bubbles caused by leavening agents. So it could be that.... Also, it could either be that you are actually under baking the cupcakes or over mixing your batter. Sorry the answers aren't so straightforward, but a lot of different things can cause the same outcome.

They come out perfect.  No overhang and not overdone.  Maybe it is my recipe.  I always have at least 1 cup of liquid.

I read some of the comments on the recipe and one woman who made cupcakes said they sunk, so I'm thinking it's the lack of protein in the recipe. If you don't mind the slight yellow hue, use 2 whole eggs (make sure they are room temp) instead of 4 whites OR sub the cake flour for all purpose. 

Sorry, my baking science was a little off when I wrote this.... It's what I get for trying to multitask....

From looking at the recipe and just applying standard cake recipe rules, the ratios are off. You can try to use all purpose flour instead of cake flour   and increasing the liquid by 1/3 cup. 

As I said, I made this recipe only as a cake and had no problems with it.  I was just curious about making cupcakes with it because there was no time frame on cupcakes.  Do you think if I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour and increased the milk to 1 1/3 cups, it would make them rise nice without my original problem?  What about using the 2 whole eggs instead of the 4 egg whites or doesn't that matter?  Also, there's still the problem of the degrees and time?  What do you suggest with that?

I bake cupcakes at 300 for 20 minutes and they turn out perfect. So there's another vote for 300 :) Just be sure not to overfill as others have said. I use a piping bag to fill mine and works nice with no mess.

Ok, thanks.  I will try that and see what happens.  Do you or anyone else have experience baking with sprinkles in the batter?  Just wondering if I up the liquid and exchanged the 4 egg whites to 2 eggs if it would make any difference with sprinkles bleeding in the batter? 

I think everyone may have a different time for baking their cupcakes and that's probably dependent on both the variability of oven temperature and difference in cake recipe being used. As a general rule, I bake cupcakes at 350 for 19 minutes across the board for most of my recipes. All of my cupcake recipes originated from cake recipes so it's just a matter of a little experimentation. 

Stick with the 4 egg whites, but swap the cake flour for all purpose flour. Egg whites have more structure, but the milk needs to be increased to fully saturate the sugar. The cake may have turned out fine when you made it before, but I think it was luck. Some commenters on the recipe had the same issue with the cake rising and falling when they made it. Also, make sure you get sprinkles that will melt in the heat, some don't and then you will have crunchy sprinkles in your cake.

Ok, I'll give it a try and see what happens.  Thanks to all for your comments!  I really appreciate it!

One more thing, if you have the time to before Sunday to experiment then make adjustments to the recipe. If not then try this one... http://www.browneyedbaker.com/homemade-funfetti-cupcakes-from-scratch/?m

I've used this recipe in the past and was successful.

I'm glad you posted this question.  I made the WASC cake batter with the intention of using it for cupcakes.  I'm not sure if I overfilled or overbaked because I too, had the overhang and the rims were very crisp.  At the time, I thought that maybe this was not a good batter to use for cupcakes, but now, I'm thinking I overbaked.  

Thanks for the link, kramersl!  :)  It looks like a really good recipe.  I think I will give that one a try instead and see what happens since I'd rather not experiment with mine right now.  I guess now my only problem is going with 350 for 15 min or try the 300 for 20 min.  What did you do?

do both by using different pans 

I use the big dark 24 cavity cupcake pan, fill my cups 1/2 to 3/4 full and make for 12 min at 325 in a gas oven.  Come up super moist and perfect!!!

Good Luck and Happy Baking

Martabell, I baked my cupcakes at 350 for approximately 16 minutes. Just test with a tooth pick or the "push" test before you take them out of the oven. 

Sounds good!  We'll give it a try!  Thanks again for all your (and everyone else's) help! 

Ok, I just made kramersl cupcakes and they came out beautifully!!  :)  What a nice, thick batter it was and tasted delicious!  I baked at 350 for 16 min and were perfect!  I had 5 extra, so I put the liners on sheet pan since I didn't have another cupcake pan.  I wish I would have waited to use one of the pans that came out of the oven since the ones on the sheet spread in the liner.  Oh well, at least I didn't get my dreaded crispy overhang.  I filled them to about slightly over 1/2 full and I think I'm realizing that may have been my problem all along with the crispy overhang.  Normally, I would have just kept filling the 24 cupcakes until all the batter was used up.  I never thought I was overfilling until now.  It seemed like I was filling to around 2/3 full, but maybe it was more because I always thought a cake recipe would give me 24 cupcakes.  At any rate, that mystery is solved. 

Now for my next dilema...  How to keep the cupcake tops nice and puffy after they come out of the oven?  lol