Cupcake liners pull away from cake
I love the bright colors and designs of the popular Swedish-made cupcake liners (brand name Cupcake Creations), but the liners pull away from the cupcakes. Product reviews show many wonderful 4- and 5-star reviews, along with the 1- and 2-star reviews that describe this problem. I did a side by side test - same batch of scratch-made batter - using 6 of the Swedish liners and 6 generic grocery-store type paper liners, all baked together at once in a 12-cupcake sized pan. The generic liners faded in color and appeared less attractive once the cupcakes were baked, but remained adhered to the cupcakes. On the other hand, the prettier, sturdier, more expensive, and - I should add - greaseproof specialty liners, in time, ALL separated from the cupcakes. A clerk at my local cake supply told me she uses the specialty liners all the time and has never experienced this problem. She uses a cake mix; I bake from scratch. She suggested that my recipe likely had more moisture than a cake mix (but my recipe wasn’t problematic with the generic liners!). I have experimented with covering the cupcakes in different ways - lightly covered with plastic wrap, tightly sealed in Tupperware, in a Tupperware container with the lid cracked, and under a glass cake dome. None of these techniques makes a difference. My beautiful Swedish liners separate from the cake regardless. (Might the problem have to do with the fact that these are greaseproof? Could it have to do with the fact that I typically bake with butter as opposed to some other type of fat?) It was suggested to me that I bake my cupcakes in plain white liners and then set them into the specialty liners for serving, but this seems wasteful. Please help! What can I do so that I can use these specialty liners? They are absolutely gorgeous, come in a wide range of designs, and are brilliantly colored - far more beautiful than the generics.
Comments
Hi Mary - how disappointing! You've already done a lot of side-by-side testing to determine what is causing the problem, which is exactly what we would do here. I would say it's probably not anything related to your cupcake recipe or how you are baking them with a couple exceptions. If the Swedish cupcake liners are bigger than the traditional liners and you're adding more batter to those they may be under-baked and that could cause them to pull away from the liners. Also, make sure to remove them from the cupcake pan very soon after baking. It's possible the added moisture as they cool could be causing these particular liners to pull away during cooling. Although, I'm guessing these aren't the problem. I think it's the construction of the liners. "Greaseproof" sounds like a good idea but, in this case, you *want* the batter to stick to the liner as is cooks. In doing a little research, many people have similar issues with this brand of liners so I don't think there is a quick fix. Sadly, I think if you really want to use that particular brand you'd have to do as suggested and bake in inexpensive liners and then transfer to the Swedish ones. Otherwise, I'd search around for a different brand of attractive liner that works better. I've had good luck with some of the thin, tulip-shaped liners. They aren't necessarily as colorful, but they do make the cupcakes more attractive. I wish I could be more helpful. Good luck and let us know if you find something that works! Best, Lynn C.