You're Cooling Cupcakes All Wrong - Make This Mistake And They'll Be Dry - Tasting Table

"Your cannoli cupcakes smell incredible, and their perfectly golden tops have a springy bounce when you boop the center - meaning they pass Paul Hollywood's done test. However, it's at about this point in the cupcake baking process where lots of people make one of the most critical mistakes when making cupcakes: they leave them in the pan too long. You might've gotten complacent and spent 10 or 15 minutes washing and putting away the mixing bowls, or you got distracted with something on your phone, either way the cupcakes have done a complete 180. When you return to them, they've gone from perfectly spring to dry and dense."

"Well, here's the thing about pans: they hold onto heat, and they'll continue to do so long after your oven clicks off and you congratulate yourself on a job well done. If you continue to leave your cupcakes on the still-piping-hot pan, the residual heat will only continue to cook and brown them. Basically, at this point, you're giving them an extended bake rather than cooling them off."

"Leaving cupcakes to rest for a minute or two in the pan is good since it allows the cupcakes to set and firm up. However, as a rule of thumb, you don't want to leave them there for any longer than five minutes before taking them out and over onto a wire rack to cool. When it comes to cooling cupcakes - and really any other baked good - wire racks are non-negotiable. Air needs to circulate everywhere - top, bottom, sides - or else you're just creating a steam trap that over-bakes your desserts."

A springy bounce indicates cupcakes are done, but leaving them in a hot pan continues to cook them because pans retain heat. Residual pan heat causes cupcakes to brown further and dry out, turning springy cakes dense. Allowing cupcakes to rest in the pan for a minute or two helps them set, but they should be transferred off the pan within five minutes. Cooling on a wire rack is essential so air circulates above, below, and around each cupcake. Proper circulation prevents a steam trap that would otherwise over-bake the desserts and harm appearance if handled roughly.

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