what went wrong?
The cake itself was a bit too dense, maybe over mixing??
As well as it didnt have as much rise as I like. I like for my cupcakes to be a bit more than level with the top of the liner. Being that it have fresh blueberries in the batter, do you think that perhaps the moisture content was effected? And that somehow didnt give me the rise i want?


http://annies-eats.net/2011/05/06/lemon-blueberry-cupcakes/


When i search for recipes online, i typically trust the pictures. I look closely at the texture, the size and shape. It looked npretty good in the photo so i tried it. Perhaps another mistake?


Anooother thing i had trouble with, is the icing. It just seems to be the bane of my existense. For some reason, i am just not good at it. Ive tried many methods, and sometimes it comes out great, but that is all too rare..
I do try different recipes all o f the time, so i dont really have any go to recipes. A major recuurence is that theyalways turn out so liquidy. So I try adding more confectioners suger to give it more structure and fluff, but the original taste i had it destroyed and the icing ends up losing the piping lines any way. The recipe i used for the lemon bluberry cupcake came out with a consistency of pudding, but in the picture it looks much more structured. Not very light or fluffy, but structuredl



A side question/observation: I have noticed that the cupcakes rise much better in a metal liner than a paper one. As well as, im not 100% sure on this, but they also seem to have a rounder top when i bake them in my darker cupcake pan than my silver one. Though again, not completely sure about the last one. Thoughts?

Another thought: Whenever ive used cake flour in the mix it seems like the product seems to be denser, is this my imagination?

Over 100 views and no answer? :/

It would be helpful to know what recipes you are using to be of help. Also, are you making any substitutions? Generally, with icing, if it is a butter/shortening/powdered sugar icing, start with the minimum amount of liquid. There really can be so many variables here so please give us a recipe.

Stormy, if you read down the comments of those who made them, the reviews are great. I actually copied the recipe. It is not a usual recipe combination that I prefer, but it looks like everything is fine. She was thorough in her directions. In scratch baking, you must follow proper procedure to get the best result. For example, room temp ingredients, an independent thermometer, eggs incorporated one at a time, fully mixed for at least 20 seconds each... maybe more. Even your milk should be room temp.

For the icing, cream cheese icing is softer than others. I start with cool cheese and butter and let the mixer revolutions warm it up. If your icing is too soft to use, refrigerate it for a short time. It will pipe better.

The only thing I can say to you is to keep trying. If scratch baking was weasy, everyone would do it. For me, when I develop recipes, I fail over and over, and then magic! It happens. The good news is that the failures usually still taste good so my family gets all of my "almosts". Hang in there and try the same recipe again. Mastering one is better than being mediocre at many. Then go to the next recipe.

I had the same problem with this recipe. I tried it twice and both times it didn't rise and it was dense and muffiny, not light and fluffy at all. Then I read somewhere that you shouldn't use lemon juice in cake because different lemons have different ph levels and they might affect the cake. I made it again with lemon extract and zest instead and it was perfect.