So I have a problem- I love making cupcakes from scratch instead of using boxes, but I've tried many recipes and the cups taste good and are moist for about half a day and then start to get really dried out. With cake mixes the cups stay moist for days. Is this because of the preservatives in them?

Does anyone have advice on how to keep from scratch cupcakes moist? I have tried many different recipes and its seems to be a constant problem.

I am making 100 cupcakes in May for my best friends wedding so I want to make them ahead of time obviously, but not if they are going to get dried out

would putting them in the freezer after baking help? I haven't had this problem with cakes made from scratch, just my cupcakes. Should I use more fats in them to keep them moist?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Couple of thoughts:
a) are you over baking them? Since you don't have this problem with the same recipe in cake then that is one potential issue
b) are you icing them before storing them? How are you storing them? If you can ice them to the edge of the wrapper that will seal them more like cake but mostly people don't ice to the edge and that leaves exposed cake to dry out
c) I find frosted cupcakes last about 3-4 days before they start to dry out using a doctored box mix.

Yes you can freeze them but do a test run because some people said that the wrappers peal off when they defrost them. I froze mine and didn't have the problem using the plain white wilton wrappers.

Add a little oil to your scratch mix, 1/8c or so, this really helps with the moisture in scratch cake recipes. Yes, you can freeze them, but take them out of the container frozen and place on a cooling rack to defrost (it'll take an hour or so), before decorating. This will help with the liner peeling problem - if you can bake in foil liners, then do so, these are the only type I have never had peel on me!

wow thanks guys!

I will experiment with the baking times. Now that you mention it, when I experiment with different recipes I usually dont bother with icing because I'm more concerned with how the cupcakes taste! So I suppose if I were to ice them (which the final product will be of course) then they will stay moist longer.

I use paper liners. Thanks for the oil suggestion too, I will try this also! I'm making some this weekend so I will try these suggestions out!

What's your recipe and what kind of cupcake are you making?
I find it depends on these two things.

I always make my cupcakes from scratch. I made cupcakes on Saturday the 5th and people were still eating them yesterday and said that were great. I put them sealed in one of those under the bed totes. This keeps the moisture in them wonderful. I don't add any additional oil. I even have my Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes in there that just has frosting in the middle and doesn't go to the edge. Try this out. It helps when making a large order.

I poke little holes in mine and brush with a simple syrup.