Any help would be appreciated. I am having trouble with making cupcakes. big and small. they always come out flat. i am using a scratch recipe. any ideas on how i can get it to have a mound on top?? would a mix give me better results??? i have never been able to make them well at all. feeling like i cant bake now. 
HELP.
What works for me is to fill a 1/4 measuring cup to the brim with batter (level off the excess), this way each cupcake is uniform. I made a batch of scratch cc last weekend and did not get much of a mound, however I made a batch with a mix last nite and got a nice mound ( I added a box of pudding and 1 extra egg). If you measure the batter at least the cupcakes will be uniform even if you don't get a mound.
What works for me is to fill a 1/4 measuring cup to the brim with batter (level off the excess), this way each cupcake is uniform. I made a batch of scratch cc last weekend and did not get much of a mound, however I made a batch with a mix last nite and got a nice mound ( I added a box of pudding and 1 extra egg). If you measure the batter at least the cupcakes will be uniform even if you don't get a mound.
what size cupcakes? i will try that tomorrow when i am doing over the recipe.
What works for me is to fill a 1/4 measuring cup to the brim with batter (level off the excess), this way each cupcake is uniform. I made a batch of scratch cc last weekend and did not get much of a mound, however I made a batch with a mix last nite and got a nice mound ( I added a box of pudding and 1 extra egg). If you measure the batter at least the cupcakes will be uniform even if you don't get a mound.
what size cupcakes? i will try that tomorrow when i am doing over the recipe.
I do this for the standard size cupcake liner, I just checked my pkg, its 2-1/2 inches. It takes a little longer to fill the pan when measuring each cupcake but I think you will be satisfied with the result. Let me know how you make out!
It looks to me like you are filling your cups too full. I'm a scratch baker all the way. I did a lot of experimenting with yellow cake recipes last year before I opened my business. Everything from my old trusty Better Homes cookbook to Martha Stewart to the Cake Bible. The Hardy boys from the Food Network where on one day making a yellow cake. They also said they had done a lot of experimenting with yellow cake and had found one that they thought was the best. I immediately tried it and agreed that it was the best along with several taste testers. It produces a small crown if the cups are filled about 3/4 of the way.
If you can't find it on the Food Network, please PM me and I will send it to you.
I had the same problem too and I think it has to do with overfilling. The 1/4 cup helps eliminate this problem even though I've still had a few that wouldn't mound. But at least they were even. While it still bugs me when they don't mound like I want them to, my friends and sister have told me that they could careless.....as long as they are edible it is fine by them lol.
If you were to take a walk through a farmer's market, where there may be several bakeries, I would bet that most of them have flat cupcakes, not ones with crowns on them. Personally, I prefer the crowns. It's the best part of the cake, cupcake, muffin!
Theresa 
What temp are you baking them at? I bake my cupcakes at 350 & fill them about 3/4 full.
According to my bakers manual under Muffins: Problem: Muffins flat-
These could be some problems. You are filling the cups too full. Fill 2/3 full for best results. Your baking temp is too cool. You may have excess liquid or baking soda in your mix. Measure baking soda carefully. For successful muffins bake at 375-385. Batter should be cold. Keeping the batter cold will let the baking soda and or baking powder begin action in the oven, where it is supposed to. Use cold water. As soon as you fill your pans, bake. If you are not baking right away, put filled muffin pans in the frig. These tips should help to get a crown. Heavy steel pans are best for baking, light weight pans may cause the crust to brown before the middle is done.Hope this helps some. Test for doneness,when it springs back. Most of the time you will see cupcakes not peaked, since most of the time they have icing on them, and most people don't care if it has a crown, however for appearance sake a good muffin will always have a crown.
What temp are you baking them at? I bake my cupcakes at 350 & fill them about 3/4 full.
i bake them at 350 also.
thanks guys for all the help. i will look for that recipe on food network and try all the tips and let you all know how the next batch turns out.
This may sound silly, but are you greasing the top of the pan? Some people do, because it's quicker, but that allows the batter to spread more when it gets to the top -- so do not grease the flat part of the pan, only the cups.
Good luck!
This may sound silly, but are you greasing the top of the pan? Some people do, because it's quicker, but that allows the batter to spread more when it gets to the top -- so do not grease the flat part of the pan, only the cups.
Good luck!
no i dont grease the pan. i use liners. way easier.
I would guess it is something in the recipe . . . I have no problems with my yellow cake recipe when i make cupcakes, but my chocolate cake recipe does not like to dome. The last time I wanted chocolate cupcakes, I just added cocoa to my yellow cake recipe rather than use my chocolate cake recipe. I think it has to do with the texture of the cake and the weight of it.
Something else that might attribute to flat cupcakes is overbeating, which I sometimes am guilty of doing. The last 2 times I made cupcakes, I followed the correct beating time and no flat tops.
I agree with adjusting or finding a new recipe.
I love the vanilla cupcake recipe from the Whimsical Bakehouse, but the choc cupcake recipe is not as good, and the tops do run out like that.
is that book a good one?? i have been looking at for a long time on amazon. can you pm me the recipe? thanks.
Yes, the book is very good. I am so cheap I don't buy many books, but it is one of the 3 decorating books I own. I couldn't stand to give it back to the library, so I asked for it as a gift.
Here is the recipe: I usually double it, but the double batch makes more than 24 cupcakes.
http://www.katespatisserie.com/2005/08/vanilla-cupcakes.html
I cannot stop eating these cupcakes. They are awesome.
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