Cupcakes are back in fashion ever since the protagonists of “Sex And The City” were seen tucking into a few in one of the episodes of the popular tele-series. While the immensely sudden popularity of cup cakes nowadays can be attributed to the favoritism being shown by a number of celebrities and Hollywood stars to the till now humble and kid-dish cupcake, lovers of cupcakes have always stood by the erstwhile humble sweetmeat in both its good and bad times. Since I can sincerely swear that I have been a cupcake eater, maker and lover since my childhood days, I can easily consider myself a self appointed authority for welcoming newbies into the cupcake fraternity with my tips on making perfect cupcakes with ease. So if you want to know how to make perfect cupcakes from scratch, then read on for cupcake baking tips that will soon turn you into an expert.

• If you have never baked anything before, or if you are one of those people who hardly venture into the kitchen, then let me acquaint you to the two basic fundamentals of all kinds of cooking—patience and proportion. I believe that every one can learn how to cook simply by following basic rules of proportion and balance. All you need to know is what balance to keep between your cooking ingredients—water, salt, oil and stuff etcetera and you generally end up with food that is both edible and tasty. What this means here is that if you are making cupcakes, then please follow your cupcake recipe without meddling with the method or the ingredients. If the recipe is right, your cupcake is bound to turn out right too. Not hurrying with the motions and taking pleasure in the whole process will also serve to ensure that your dish is loved by everybody.

• As with all things in life, if you are making cupcakes for the first time, then start with a simple cupcake recipe. For beginners, you can start with simple vanilla or chocolate cup cake recipes and then progress towards making more complicated cakes with frostings and cupcake decorations.

• For all kinds of cupcakes, when you start preparing the batter, check that all your ingredients are at room temperature unless the recipe mentions other wise. This ensures that all the ingredients merge together better and with more ease. Combining cold ingredients generally poses problems especially when you are dealing with milk, juices and shortening etcetera.

• The key to a fluffy and soft cupcake is how well you mix and beat the batter. Make sure that you beat everything to achieve the kind of consistency that your cupcake recipe details. At times, you might feel that you have done enough, but unless your batter looks and feels the way it should, your cupcakes may also not turn out the way they should.

• When you pour the batter into your cupcake liners or into your cupcake pan, then the golden rule to follow is not to fill the liner more than half. Some people also fill up till three fourths the liner volume, but if you cupcake recipe mentions nothing regarding this, then filling up your liner just till the half mark will ensure that your cupcake bakes evenly and that the batter does not flow out of the liner midway while baking.

• Always place your cupcakes on the middle rack of your oven unless your cupcake recipe details otherwise. When baking your cupcakes, you might find that your cakes take more or less than the time listed in the recipe. This is because all ovens behave differently and you will have to find how long your own oven takes for baking cupcakes. Smaller ovens take more time compared to larger ones and electric ovens also take longer than gas ones, so it is best to keep checking every ten minutes or so to find out how your cupcakes are baking and make necessary changes to temperature and times given in your cup cake recipe.

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