I've asked the question many others have asked and I've followed the threads (even staying on top of the mammoth "serious cupcake" thread for a while. Finally I pooped out. My sister, who knows about my quest for perfect domes asked me recently if I had uncovered the secret yet. I told her no. Then she said "I don't know why its so hard...some mufins dome..."

Well, that really got me thinking. What is the difference between cupcake and muffin batter. The muffin batter is definitely heavier and thicker. It doesn't "pour" into the molds the way cake batter does. So I had an idea. Today, I was using the durable cake recipe for my DH's BDay cake, and had enough leftover batter to make 2 cupcakes. You guessed it! I filled one to the top, the other about 2/3. The full one is beautiful!

Why does it work? I think the wieght of the batter keeps the cupcake from falling on itself. At any rate, I will give these the "taste test". If they pass, I'll never have flat cupcakes again!

Very interesting! I never would have thought of that. I'll have to give it a whirl. What has worked for me (I learned on CC but I'm not sure who gave me the info) was that you turn the oven on at 400 F and then when you are ready to put the cupcakes in..you turn the oven down to 350 F. And it really did work beautifully!

Thanks for sharing your idea!

Well, it passed the taste test with flying colors! I am going to try it along with the temperature technique you mentioned as well. At the same time, I also made a 4" cake and it rose WAY above the top of the pan, so I'm thininking this stuff just rises and rises! I would love to get the dome even higher!! WH-EE-EE--EE!!!

Another thing I noticed once when I made cake another time is that when I mix up enough batter for more than will fit in my oven, the second batch is not as high. It wil even fall. So Im thinking that you need to act quick after mixing the batter and fill your pans right away to get a good dome.

I love how this site is like reading an online scientific journal (baker's style) - with everyone reporting their findings... Thanks for sharing your discovery! I am exited to try it. Oh, and what is "the durable cake recipe" you mentioned?

I recently bought a cupcake tin that bakes 24 at a time! Talk about not having to deal with batter sitting around. I also have found that using a #16 disher (ice cream scoop) is the perfect little rounded "plop" of batter in the cup and that the doming is much better. I have not tried the variation in the over temp.; however, and cant wait to give that a whirl. I don't want super-high domes, but after I went to the two methods above, there was a significant difference in flat vs. nicely domed.

You must be careful over filling your cupcakes (and cakes too).. especially with scratch recipies. If your cupcake over flows.. you will lose the crust on the top and the structure underneath will have nothing to cling to and you will have craters in your cuppies. Not all recipes will give you this problem.. but trust me.. many will as I have found out the hard way.

Funny though.. I don't like it when they dome up on me too much. To each their own for sure.

I'll definately try the temp thing! Thanks for the info!

I hate to ask a stupid question, but why does one want domes? Maybe my oven just runs a little hot, but my cupcakes typically have domes. I find this annoying when I use buttercream and make swirly designs on top. If you make the swirls too high, they won't fit in some carriers. I mean, I can see it being attractive, I guess, in that you would actually have more surface area in which to apply frosting. I am just curious really. And anyone know how to bake a flat one? Maybe use less cake batter?

A lot of times muffins dome b/c they are over mixed. Muffins are suppose to be "moistened" not mixed. But most people mix, not moisten. I like a rounded dome, not a pointed dome & what seems to work for me (think it was in the cupcake thread early on) is preheat to 400--bake for 1 1/2 min & reduce heat to 350 for remaining time (about 15 min for me).

So you might try this. Be careful filling to the top. Some batters (even doctored mixes) will flatten, not dome. Then you have a very nasty pan & tops that are hard to keep intact w/ out pulling them off when removing. Just a heads up! But glad it worked for you

I tried the 400 degree, than drop down to 325/350 degree technique and it worked like a charm every time so far. I will swear by that one... I have filled cupcake liners to the brim and each time they would flop down and get stuck to the rim of the pan, leaving me with ugly looking cupcakes. Haha.

This trick did not work for me After my first batch of failure cupcakes I found this tread and decided to give it another try with the temperature trick (starting at 400 then dropping to 350). But they still sunk down in the middle. What am I doing wrong?? I am using the Mermaid Bakery buttery scratch recipe could that be the reason? I thought cake recipes could be used as cupcakes also just not as long cook time. Anyway plz help!!! The taste is wonderful but they look terrible

Another idea is to refrigerate the batter a bit. I find that it is also easier to scoop into the pans that way, cause it's a bit thicker, less runny.

Hi,

I'm a newbie and just came across this thread. I bake cupcakes all the time and they are the perfect dome. The secret I have is "FRESH Free range or organic eggs". I once used eggs that were not so fresh (they were sold to me as fresh ) and my cupcakes all came out flat.

I have altered the recipie to make different flavours and they all came out with a perfect dome. I also used an incecream scoop and place one level scoop in each cupcake liner. I also bake my cupcakes at the top of the oven.

Oh and my batter doesn't mind sitting for 30 minutes while waiting for the first batch of cupcakes to cook. Still get a perfect dome.

I hope this might help someone who might be having problems.

I don't want my cupcakes to dome, but I always want my muffins to dome. To get high domed muffins, I fill the pan to the top. Yes, right to the top. I preheat the oven 75 degrees higher than the recipe calls for. I bake at the higher temp for 5 minutes, then drop down to the recommended temp. I get a beautiful, high top muffin every time. I think the higher temp sets the sides first and your muffins have no where to go but up.

With muffins, if you overmix the batter it will dome everytime--learned in my food science class. People mix muffins, not moisten the batter

My recipies are from scratch. I don't want any unnatural stuff in my cakes.

What recipie are you using (if you don't mind sharing)?

Ihate to be the rain on this parade, but a dome on a cake is a sign of cake abuse. It means the cupcakes were baked in too hot an oven, and aren't as moist as they could be, or they have too much leavening and are subject to craters.

domed cake= bad cake

Ouch! Though the last 2 batches I've made using that trick didn't work either....

Sorry txkat but I disagree with your comment.

I have been running a successfull cupcake and cookie business for the last 3 years. My domed cupcakes are so light and moist. I have not had one complaint as yet. I have customers who keep coming back for more.

The temperature is not too high, it's perfect. The cakes are perfect.
As they say, the taste is in the pudding......or cupcake in this case!!

I just got back from a visit to New Orleans. I went to a cup cake shop there and not ONE of their cupcakes had domes on them. I asked about the batter and the gal told me they use more 'liquid' in their batter, so they don't get light and airy like regular cupcakes. Of course I had to buy one at $2.25 a piece and it was a more dense cake and moist. I had the White Almond with Almond BC frosting. Hope this helps the 'doming' issue and affirms, that dome or no dome, what counts is the taste. No one was batting an eye at paying over 2 dollars for one cupcake.

Does anyone at CC use a seperate batter for their cupcakes? I had never heard of this and the lady wouldn't tell me what 'additional' liquid they used. For us in the cake business, I always use my left over cake batter.

I think it depends on the batter. I've baked in the same oven temp & had some come out flat, some flatten & spread everywhere & then some have a slight dome. I mean dome, not peak!

But I did find that 400 for 1 - 1 1/2 min then down to 350 for about 14-15 min was perfect. I don't overbake & mine are always moist.

hi There,

I'm really enjoying reading this thread and am looking forward to making some cupcakes tomorrow!!

Can anyone post or pm me their favourite no fail recipe for vanilla & chocolate cupcakes. The ones I've tried so far are just average and I want a cake that's nice and moist. (Please note I live in London, UK so can't get hold of crisco/shortening, which I see in many recipes)

TIA x x

I'd like the same Hailinguk, please pass the info along if you get any. I have had to stick with boxed yellow cupcakes because all my scratch recipes I've tried have been a bust.

Crud I wish I could help. I like using doctored cake mixes. I know that I've NOT had luck w/ using the Hershey's Chocolate cake recipe for cupcakes. Maybe someone else can help on scratch recipes. Try this http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dtxcrsv_94f2877ghh I hope it works. For some reason my copy & paste function isn't working on my computer so I had to type it in.