Every time I make cupcakes, one of two things happen. They either don't rise properly and end up looking like someone flattened them with a mallet, or they go really dry and crack on the top. I don't know what to do? I use the same mix as my cake mix, and it doesn't do that. I use a muffin tin to cook them, sometimes I use a cooking spray and sometimes I use paper muffin cups. I have even tried a water bath underneath the muffin tray. No luck. I need to make some for valentines day for a order, and I'm so upset! 
Does anyone have any tips for fool-proof cupcakes? Please help!
hmmm, what temp are you baking them? and where is your oven rack?
Hi there! My cupcakes come out flat as well. When I say flat I mean there is no nice big round dome at top and a bit lopsided looking. I believe this happens because like you, I use a mix and most of today's mixes (DH,BC etc), even though it doesn't say it on the box, have "pudding" in the mix. In about the 70's the mix manufacturers advertised it on the box as a selling point but now it is just part of most mixes as a general rule as consumer prefer a moister product. Anyway, the "pudding" in the mix creates a denser and flatter rising cake. Not domeless but flatter.
Wilton came out with a new cupcake book recently and all the cupcakes are really domed and rounded on top. They look great! but I can't get my cupcakes to do that and I'm not building up a ton of icing to create the same effect.
If I were ambitious, and I am not feeling it right now...I would try a scratch recipe and also space the cupcakes out in the tin, leaving every other one empty. That may help with even heating of the metal and result in more domed cupcakes. I have tried baking them in the individual silicone cups with the mix but they come out lopsided and flat. BTW, the aren't lopsided cause my oven isn't level. One will be lopsided, another will be fine and another will be lopsided in another dirction or position.
Amalia
i bake them on 350, same as a cake, in the middle rack. I've made a store bought cake mix before, and made one small 8" round cake, and used the rest of the batter in muffin tins - so it's the exact same batter from the exact same batch - and the cake rises, but the cupcakes are flat. I just don't get it. I guess it could be the mix I use, with the pudding added... perhaps I'll just have to resort to making a scratch recipe. That brings me to another point... can I half a scratch recipe if I only need to make a dozen cupcakes, I don't need a huge amount of batter... could I cut the recipe in half? I know sometimes the end result of something just doesn't turn out if you alter the recipe in any way, so I don't know if it's the same with a scratch cake mix or not.
Thanks for the replies girls! 
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