Dry, Dense, Lemon Cupcakes

Baking By NatiMF30 Updated 14 Jul 2010 , 2:18am by tinygoose

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NatiMF30 Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 3:53pm
post #1 of 14

Hello CC cakers!

I made some lemon cupcakes this weekend using Elisabeth's Prueitt's lemon cake recipe which I got off of the Oprah website. They turned out a bit on the dry side and very dense. It reminded me of dry pound cake. I never really cared for pound cake so I didn't like how these came out.

This is the first time I'd used this recipe and thought off the bat that a couple of things looked odd to me. It made enough batter to make 2 dozen regular cupcakes and almost 24 mini cupcakes. The recipes specifies to use 2 9x2 cake pans to serve 12-16. The batter called for 7 eggs and 1 egg white. i thought this was an unusual amount since most of the recipes I've used have called for no more than 5 eggs for the same amount of batter. Also it specified 5 1/2 tsp of baking powder! I thought this was an extreme amount but did what the recipe said.

If anyone is able to check out the recipe and give me some insight on what could have caused this and how I could fix it I'd really appreciate it. Or if you have a "scratch" recipe for a lemon cake that you think is wonderful and could share it with me that would be great too!

Thank you so much! God bless.

13 replies
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matthewkyrankelly Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 4:06pm
post #2 of 14

The recipe I looked at said 7 yolks - not seven eggs. That is one considerable difference. Could be the source of your problem.

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NatiMF30 Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 4:11pm
post #3 of 14

You are absolutely right! The one I have printed says 7 large eggs! I wonder if they updated the recipe realizing that it was wrong? I did not change anything when I printed it a couple of months ago nor did I check it with what was currently on the site this is where I had gotten it from.

Do think this would be the source of the dryness and denseness?

Thank you!

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TartletteTreats Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 5:19pm
post #4 of 14

Denseness..... absolutely. Dryness- probably. That many eggs could "gum up" your recipe and keep it from actually being moist.

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LindaF144a Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 5:49pm
post #5 of 14

Do you have a link to the recipe?

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NatiMF30 Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 6:35pm
post #6 of 14

res - Thank you.

Linda - if you go to oprah website and search lemon cake it comes up pretty easily.

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NatiMF30 Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 6:55pm
post #7 of 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by resmiff2

Denseness..... absolutely. Dryness- probably. That many eggs could "gum up" your recipe and keep it from actually being moist.




I'm definitely gonna try this again because the flavor was great. Could I add some sour cream or take out a couple of eggs?

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2SchnauzerLady Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 7:00pm
post #8 of 14

Is it the lemon chiffon? That uses 7 yolks and 8 whites, but I only saw one Tbsp baking powder. This recipe said to use a tube pan.

Oops - I found the one you are talking about - yes, it did say 7 yolks and one egg white!

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LindaF144a Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 8:05pm
post #9 of 14

Did you make it again with the proper eggs yolks and not the 7 whole eggs?
If you didn't, then you don't know if you need to change anything before you fix your mistake first.

I also see she uses the 2-stage method to make the cake. Possibly you may want to try the sugar creaming method and see what you get. I have used the 2-stage method out of The Cake Bible and I have not usually gotten a real moist cake. It gets a beautiful crumb, but it is on the dry side if not eaten the same day.

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NatiMF30 Posted 12 Jul 2010 , 9:11pm
post #10 of 14

Linda - Thanks for that tip. I am planning on making it again tonight. I'll try the creaming method you mentioned. I'm planning on adding some blueberries as well so that should lend some extra liquid as well to make it more moist.

Thank you everyone so much and I'll let you know how my next batch turns out.

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NatiMF30 Posted 13 Jul 2010 , 3:31am
post #11 of 14

Oh my goodness!! It's funny how having the right ingredients for a recipe can make all the difference in the world!!!

These cupcakes came out spectacular! I did the eggs right this time and use the creaming method Linda mentioned. I also changed a bit of the flavorings and added about 2/3 cup of blueberries.

They came out moist, light and the flavoring was spot on. The cake itself is not a "make your mouth pucker" lemon taste. It's more of a "wow, this is lemon? I love it!" kind of flavor. It has the tang but is much lighter in taste with a touch of richness from the vanilla. I also injected the specified "lemon Cream" into the cupcakes and that seems to sweeten it for a richer flavor.

Overall, I think this is my new favorite "from scratch" lemon cake and if you get a chance to try it you should! There's also a salted caramel and lemon curd which sounds wonderful when making the layered cake!

Thanks again to everyone's help! God bless!

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LindaF144a Posted 13 Jul 2010 , 10:12pm
post #12 of 14

Thanks for the glowing review. I'll be giving this one a try. I have a friend who loves lemon anything. I have not attempted to make lemon yet, so this will be a good place to start.

When you say you changed a bit of the flavorings, how did you do that? I am not going to use anything grapefruit, so I may get different results. I'm just curious as to what you did.

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NatiMF30 Posted 14 Jul 2010 , 2:09am
post #13 of 14

I sent some with a friend to his work and he said everyone was raving about them! One person even mentioned that she thought they were better than the local cupcake bakery! I was thrilled!

Let's see...for the flavoring in the cake I believe it calls for 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, 2 tsp vanilla. I put 3 Tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp Princess Cookie emulsion. To the buttercream recipe I just added 1 tsp Princess emulsion to tie the flavors together. It has the lemon and a touch of almond in it so I figured it would compliment.

I posted pics of the cupcakes in my photos. I should've cut one open but forgot, sorry.

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tinygoose Posted 14 Jul 2010 , 2:18am
post #14 of 14

I really like Colette Peter's white cake, with the lemon adjustment. I once made some for a friends wedding and a guest came up and asked. "Where did you get the cupcakes? Neiman Marcus?" I just smiled. That was a good day.

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