I made the all occasion recipe for cupcakes this evening and I called myself filling them less than normal.. the last time I made them (just using extra batter) they overflowed the cups a bit and flattened out.. I searched the blog and saw rose’s suggestion to lower the b powder although it will call for a less tender cake. she also suggested that it may help to let the bater site for about 20 minutes.. I need to rebake these (not tonight, but in the morning) and I guess I will attempt to lower the b powder, but I thought I would check to see if anyone had any suggestions first

I would go back to the blog and search for posts by Elicia as this topic has been discussed quite a bit there.  I think it comes down to what type of cupcakes you are looking for.  If you want a flat smooth top like a perfectly baked layer cake, then you would actually increase the baking powder, decrease it to do the opposite—a peaked curved top.

thank you Matthew.. I had actually read/searched the blog for hours but I did go back to search for the person you said.. She mainly uses a different recipe so i decided to lower the powder and I used less batter. ( i usually use a yellow (20) disher this time I used a black and then a lil bit on top (had left overs) with a mini scoop) I didn’t really care if it domed or not, i just wanted it to be the size of the paper LOL.. so here is a side by side of what I did last night and what I did this morning..

Fantastic comparison - thanks so much for sharing this photo!!!

thank you patrincia.. I did find some ref. to cupcakes and the all occasion yellow in the bok, but after reading it just says that she has used it and that half a recipe makes 9 cupcakes.. i was considering trying (not today though) just to use less batter and not changing the amount of powder.. I did however not in my book the amount of powder I used for the recipe this morning lol

Lilthorner: I have had exactly the same situation with the yellow cupcakes.  thanks for your comparison photo…I will also decrease the baking powder and use less batter.

mushroom cupcake!

Guys I’m having the same problem with my cupcakes too.  It’s so frustrating.  They rise beautifully then collapse in the last 5-7 minutes of baking or while cooling.  The tops flatten out and even sink.  The bottoms “float” above the liners so that the bottom of the cupcake, when felt through the liner,  feels hollow.  The top forms an almost crunchy crust but beneath it the cupcake is tender and moist.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! 

This recipe never failed me before.  But we moved to Jakarta Indonesia about 6 months ago and since then—-failure! failure!  failure!  The variables I face are:

1)  New type of cake flour - 8% protein but doesn’t look as white, therefore, not as chlorinated as the flours I used before
2)  Gas oven with heat source at the bottom -  I used to use an electric convection. Baking temp is still 350 deg F as measured by the same oven thermometer I used to use
3)  Different brand baking soda - although it’s still double acting

I now have butterflies in my tummy when I think of making cupcakes.

When I use this recipe for layer cakes, I have no problems at all with it.

I’m ready to throw in the towel!  Please help!

MOMOF4BOYS:
  Good morning. I must say Mom that it is very hard to troubleshoot a recipe when the baked product bakes in one configuration & then the exact same recipe fails in another configuration. So therefore, what I have to say to you I say it only because you are in a foreign country. I would not mention this to anyone in America.
Judging from what I have read from other members postings in various culinary clubs I will mention that the only thing I would speculate is the sugar granules. You see Mom, if the granules are larger in diameter than the sort we have in America this condition will cause your muffin failure. Larger ones do not melt as readily. Why not in the layer cakes???? well in the layer cakes you bake it somewhat longer in time giving the cake time to melt the sugar. In the muffin bake the muffins they get done in 18, minutes perhaps not enough time to melt. Sooo, inspect the sugar to see if they are larger somewhat… if so then place same in your food proc. & give it a 20/30 second twirl. That will be very helpful. Now then if that isn’t the case I would sugges you post the recipe & it’s directions &   anything else you think is important. I know we can help you.
  Good luck to you Mom & enjoy the rest of the day young lady.

  ~FRESHKID.

Oh MY GOSH KID!  I hadn’t even thought of the sugar.  You’re right.  They are much bigger here.  You’re a genius Kid!  You’re my kinda kid

He’s a smart “kid” alright! I had one other idea if grinding your sugar finer doesn’t fix all the problems—perhaps you need to reduce the leavening a bit. Baking powder in the US is mixed with some cornstarch so it is a “standard” strength—standard for the US, that is! Perhaps the type you’re getting there is stronger.

I just made a half batch of All Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake for cupcakes.  I used 1.5 tsp of baking powder and found it to be perfect - the cupcakes tasted great, and had a wonderful texture and a nice top.  I also weighed my filled cupcake liners before I baked and found that for standard sized cupcakes, 26 g of batter rose exactly to the top.  About 34-36 g of batter made a nice lip - not so big that it broke when I removed them, which had been my frustration in the past.  Hope this is helpful to others making cupcakes.  I’m off to have another “taste-test”!

Thanks Gia! I’ve tried both the All Downy Yellow Cake and White Velvet cake about 4 times now, and each time the tops of my cupcakes come out crusty and dry (but the insides are perfect, so I know there is hope for these recipes!). I think it mostly has to do with my oven temp, but I’ll try reducing the amount of baking powder to 1.5-2tsp as well, because I like to have a domed cupcakes too.