Flat Top Cupcake Recipe
Flat Top Cupcake Recipe
Baking cupcakes that not only taste delicious but also look picture-perfect can sometimes be a challenge. Domed cupcake tops might not always be the best canvas for your buttercream florals. This cupcake recipe will make beautiful flat-topped cupcakes that not only taste great but are perfect for your buttercream flowers.
Ingredients
180g Butter or margarine
3 Eggs
180g Caster sugar
180g Self-raising flour
2 tbsp full fat mik
1 tbsp oil
Flavourings of your choice
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 160C/320F/ GAS MARK 3 or 140C/284F fan. Line your muffin tin with muffin cases.
Use your stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer. Mix butter, sugar, and your flavourings on high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl's sides halfway through. This is called the creaming stage
Add flour, eggs, milk, and oil. Mix for 2 more minutes until you have a glossy smooth cake batter. Use a large ice cream scoop to add one scoop of cupcake mix to each muffin case.
Cook in the centre of the oven for approximately 25 minutes. All ovens vary so be sure to check on the cupcakes through the glass after 20 minutes cooking
Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the tray for 30-60 seconds, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool down.
Once cool, decorate them or store in a zip lock bag/Tupperware box and freeze until needed.
Flavour Variations
Vanilla: 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract per 12 cupcakes.
Lemon: Juice of one lemon plus finely grated rind per 12 cupcakes added during fins mixing stage or 2 teaspoons of lemon extract added at creaming stage.
Biscoff: One heaped tablespoon of Biscoff per 12 cupcakes added at the creaming stage.
Oreo: Half a package of crushed Oreo biscuits per 12 cupcakes, folded in after incorporating all ingredients.
Nutella: Two heaped tablespoons of Nutella per 12 cupcakes, added at the creaming stage.
Raspberry and White Chocolate: 150g white chocolate and two handfuls of frozen raspberries per 12 cupcakes, folded in after mixing. Coat your raspberries in flour first, this helps to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cupcake case.
Orange: Juice of one orange plus finely grated rind per 12 cupcakes, added in the final mixing stage. Or 2 teaspoons of orange extract added at the creaming stage.
Chocolate Chip: 150g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, folded in after mixing. Coat your chocolate chips in flour first, this helps to stop them sinking to the bottom of the cupcake case.
FAQs
My cupcake cases are peeling. What did I do wrong?
Sometimes it can be due to using low-quality cupcake cases. I only ever use Dr Oetker muffin cases as they are great quality. Most of the time the cupcakes haven’t been baked long enough or you left them in the tin to cool for too long.
My cupcakes are dark brown when they come out of the oven, what went wrong?
Everyone’s ovens are slightly different. The issue can also be that your oven is running hotter than the setting you put it on. Invest in a thermometer that goes inside your oven to ensure your temperature is accurate.
My cupcakes have sunk when I removed them from the oven. How can I stop this?
If they are sinking, they are underbaked. You need to check your oven temperature is accurate, and if it’s not, adjust accordingly. Make sure you don’t remove them from the oven too early or open the oven door during cooking.
What size muffin case should I use?
I use Dr Oetker muffin cases which are the following measurements:
Base 5cm wide
Top 8cm wide
Height 4cm
I can’t get self-raising flour in my country, what can I do?
You need to add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to your plain all-purpose flour, per 12 cupcake mix.
How do I make this dairy-free?
Use margarine instead of butter and oat milk instead of cow's milk.
How can I make the cupcakes gluten-free?
Substitute flour for gluten-free flour. Add in 1/4 xantham gum per 250g of flour to help bind the ingredients together.
How many trays of cupcakes can I bake at once?
This depends on your oven size but for a standard home oven I would only ever bake 2 trays at a time. In the middle of the oven. If you bake them at the top they will overcook and baking them at the bottom means they will be undercooked.
The tops of my cupcakes are slightly hard, is this normal?
Yes! These cupcakes will form a slight crust (like bread when it forms a crust) but once you’ve flat iced your cupcake, this will completely soften the top. You could also use a small amount of sugar syrup on top. Freezing the cupcakes will also soften the top. Please don’t be put off by the top having a slight “crust”. All cakes do.
My cupcakes have risen over the top of the cases when baking. What happened?
You’ve put too much batter in the cases. You want to make sure the cupcake cases are no more than 2/3 full.
I really hope you enjoy making these cupcakes. Do let me know how you get on in the comments section below.