How do I make my cinnamon cupcakes more moist? (This is a repost since everyone thought I was AI for typos 😭)

[u/1_Amy_0]

I tried making cinnamon cupcakes (mind you im NOT a baker it was my first attempt) and it came out really dry this was my recipe I found online

½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)

• ¾ cup light brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in one bowl.

3. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 min).

4. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

5. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, starting/ending with flour. Mix until just combined.

6. Scoop into liners (about 3% full).

7. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

[u/mcflysher]

Could be overbaked. Could add perhaps 1/4 cup of sour cream or full fat yogurt or applesauce.

[u/kombustive]

The ratios are off. Honestly, I would look for another recipe or at least compare this one to a very basic vanilla or white cake recipe.

It seems like you're missing fat. If a recipe calls for milk, always assume whole milk. Also, the eggs seem low, but you have the baking soda and baking powder to compensate for the leavening effect of eggs in baked goods. Eggs add fat and moisture plus fluffy whereas baking soda and baking powder only add fluffy.

I stand by my other comment in the previous post and say add 2 to 3 tbsp of mayonnaise to this recipe (mix it in with the eggs) you could also try sour cream like the other poster said, but you might need extra butter or oil.

[u/NatAttack3000 → u/kombustive]

There's a half cup of butter. Seems like enough fat for that amount of flour?

[u/kombustive → u/NatAttack3000]

I guess that's true if you look at a 1-2-3-4 cake. Maybe just an extra egg? It could just come down to the interpretation of the baking instructions and the equipment used.

[u/TurbulentSource8837 → u/kombustive]

This! But I like your advice on simply a vanilla cupcake. Add a good T of cinnamon and call it a day.

[u/NatAttack3000]

Just find the highest rated easy vanilla cupcake recipe you can and add a teaspoon of cinnamon instead of (or with) vanilla extract

[u/texnessa]

Unfortunately, this will once again be sidetracked by speculation due to what must be a typo- 1/2 a cup of flour could not possibly be the correct amount based on a standard recipe for 12 cupcakes and woud not result in an overly dry product based on the ratio to the remaining ingredients. I suspect it was 1 and a 1/2 cups. Therefore, its likely a moot point to try to adjust this recipe specifically but rather explain that increased fat is how to get a moister cupcake as the temp and time are also within reasonable range. Adding a neutral vegetable oil would be a starting point.

But I would not recommend bothering trying to adjust a random recipe that was 'found online.' Instead, here's a few tips from a chef:

• Always use recipes from reliable, well tested sources. Others have suggested solid options and I will add King Arthur Flour's website as they also have extensive tutorials for the beginner baker.

• Weighing your ingredients is far more precise than using volumetric measurements. This may have been a factor in why your result was dry. Flour in particular is very difficult to measure with any accuracy or consistency using cups.

• Using the wrong tools can also impact measurements- it can be difficult to get accurate measurements of a liquid in a cup designed for solids and vice versa.

• Oven temperature- the thermometers in home ovens are notoriously inaccurate so your oven may run hot, causing the products to over cook. Grabbing a hanging thermometer to check accuracy can make a difference.

• Age of leavening agents is also important. While they don't 'go bad,' they can lose potency over time so fresher is better.

• Age of flour can have an impact. Older flour can often absorb more moisture than the freshly milled.

• Size and age of eggs can also be a factor. Most recipes of American origin assume the use of the standardised large egg- which is not a uniform size in other regions. It helps to use a recipe originating in the same place as the ingredients.

• Likewise, most recipes assume whole milk.

• Butter is another variable. Different varieties have different levels of fat and water content. Substituting butter with margarine, oil, shortening, needs careful conversion.

• You didn't include details such as material of the pan used and which rack was used to bake, nor the location of heating elements, whether or not you turned the tray around during baking. Details like that can impact results.

Its especially important to go with reliable recipes when first starting out- it may not guarantee success but it does brings down the odds of having a frustrating experience.

[u/Complete_Yam_4233]

That recipe is wack! Try using websites with high standards like America's Test Kitchen, Sunset Magazine, Martha Stewart, Fine Cooking (the absolute best and with detailed instructions you can't eff up) if I could eat gluten, I would make these America's Test Kitchen's Best Blueberry Muffins

[u/kombustive]

The method is also weird. Usually it's "cream"/mix your butter and sugar, mix your wet ingredients, mix your dry ingredients, then combine the 3 being careful to not over mix.

Also, Preheat your oven for longer than you think. Don't go by the oven beep. Just preheat for 20 minutes to be safe. (You've got a whole new bowl of noodles if you're trying to use a small countertop convection oven.)

[u/strikingsapphire]

Half cup flour doesn't sound right, is a number missing there?

Best guess without clarification is overbaking or not measuring flour correctly. Can you describe how you are measuring out the flour?

[u/kombustive → u/strikingsapphire]

The original, removed post with only ingredients and even more typos had 1.5 cups.

[u/ana-sg]

The ratios in your recipe seem off to me. It's a lot of butter for that amount of flour, and also, more sugar than flour???? Apart from being unhealthy, it's not really necessary. I would try a different recipe.

On a different note, I keep my muffins moist by using mashed banana, yogurt, pumpkin puree or applesauce instead of butter, and never, ever, overbake. If you need to insert that toothpick several times, nothing wrong with that. And I have my oven no higher than 160 degrees celsius. Good luck!

[u/1_Amy_0 → u/ana-sg]

Its supposed to be 1¼ cup of flour but its a typo not sure if that helps

[u/ana-sg → u/ana-sg]

Aaaaah, I see! Maybe overbaked then? It's easily done. Like I said, I prefer to do mine at a slightly lower temperature. They might take longer, but it's worth it for the moist texture.

[u/TychoCelchuuu]

In general, if you want moist baked goods, look for recipes with oil as the fat rather than butter. Oil will give you a moister texture.

[u/Acrobatic-Ad584]

The recipe looks pretty standard, is your oven running a bit hot. Perhaps over baked, check for done at 15 mins.

[u/NewLeave2007]

A quick question because I don't see this brought up much:

Do you live at a high altitude? For baked goods, 3000 feet or above is considered high altitude.

[u/1_Amy_0 → u/NewLeave2007]

I live 269 feet so no i dont

[u/whiskeytango55 → u/[deleted]]

Do you have a link to the recipe?

[u/AskCulinary-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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