Recipes

[homedecor1]

@Desertdi 

boy is this true!!!  I'm yet to figure out the "perfect" time since I've moved south ... I am constantly trying to figure it out! 🤷‍♀️ Even AC and humidity have an effect.😮

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@Desertdi wrote:

Even the WEATHER can have an effect on baked goods.   ("Never bake on a stormy day" is an old saying.)

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[msh8970]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful and helpful replies..I've learned a lot from this thread, so maybe my cupcakes falling and shrinking was a blessing in disguise.. FWIW, they tasted just fine and they weren't gummy like I read on some google post..they were moist and tasty..They got scarfed up..

[Kachina624]

@homedecor1   I made brownies from a Duncan Hines mix last year.  The finished product was so greasy, I couldnt stand to eat it.  I thought perhaps a mistake had been made and emailed CS at the company.  She verified that the amount of oil was correct.  I told her the brownies were ghastly.  I now use a small amount of oil and 1/2 cup applesauce.

[Harpa]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@homedecor1   I made brownies from a Duncan Hines mix last year.  The finished product was so greasy, I couldnt stand to eat it.  I thought perhaps a mistake had been made and emailed CS at the company.  She verified that the amount of oil was correct.  I told her the brownies were ghastly.  I now use a small amount of oil and 1/2 cup applesauce.

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I don't usually use any mixes, but whenever my recipe calls for oil, I always use less. The cupcakes I referred to in my previous post are Easy Chocolate Cupcakes, which calls for 1 cup of oil. I always use less than a half cup. The other wet ingredients for that particular recipe are 1 cup of coffee and 1 cup of milk.

Actually whenever I bake I always reduce the oil and the sugar.

[ECBG]

Other than over mixing, how much batter did you put into the cups?  2/3-3/4 of the cup should be full for each cupcake.  If you did 1/2, that may be the problem.  I always had my students measure with a measuring cup.

[sfnative]

@msh8970 

Haven't read all of the replies and I know I'm coming into this late, but sure sounds as though the cupcakes were insufficiently baked, per your description.

Did you do a toothpick test?  If so, did the toothpick come out absolutely clean?  If no test done, prior to removing the cupcakes from the oven, then you might think about always doing a toothpick or thin bamboo skewer test whenever baking cake batter, as ovens can vary and not bake correctly within the confines of the suggested times on the box or printed recipe.

[nomless]

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@sfnative wrote:

@msh8970 

Haven't read all of the replies and I know I'm coming into this late, but sure sounds as though the cupcakes were insufficiently baked, per your description.

Did you do a toothpick test?  If so, did the toothpick come out absolutely clean?  If no test done, prior to removing the cupcakes from the oven, then you might think about always doing a toothpick or thin bamboo skewer test whenever baking cake batter, as ovens can vary and not bake correctly within the confines of the suggested times on the box or printed recipe.

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@sfnative , in the original post, OP said she did do the toothpick test for doneness on 3 of the cupcakes. Yes, the cupcakes were done.

[Barbarainnc]

Alot of recipes using cake mixes are based on the older sized cake mixes, 18.25 oz. The cake mix people say the new cake mixes turn out like the use to. Well they don't.

I really hate using cake mixes now, you follow directions to a "T" and they shrink up after cooking. 

I guess i'll go back to making cakes from scratch.