How to Bake Perfectly Shaped Cupcakes

Confession: I am a cupcake junkie. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner with no shame. I’m also kind of a cupcake snob. I know… it’s not nice to all the other cupcakes – but I’ve gotta tell you that I’m just not that into store bought ones. I’m a homemade cake + homemade frosting kinda girl. 

But — it took me a bit to figure out how to bake them without the sightly “muffin top.” Or without making them barely rise to the top. I know it has a lot to do with how much batter you put in the liner, but still, even if you do each one with the exact same amount, one will be too big and others too small. And I want all my cupcakes to be even – especially when I’m throwing a party or a baby shower or whatevs.

While I was experimenting with figuring out the absolute best recipe for frosting, I figured out the way to get them perfectly shaped every single time.

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We all know that the right tools make all the difference in the world – and that’s exactly the case with the perfect cupcakes.

Meet my new BFF – the DeMarle at Home Straight Muffin Pan. Seriously, this muffin pan has become my go-to for making cupcakes. And since I make them at least 3 times a week, this pan and I hang out a lot. 

It’s a flexible silicone mold. You can bake, freeze, bend, twist, smush into a ball and it pops right back out. It’s basically indestructible. (Well, with normal use – don’t run it through a wood-chipper or anything.)

The beauty of the pan is that a normal size liner sits snuggly right down in the mold, but you have a tiny bit that goes on up above it, so when your cupcake bakes, instead of having the “muffin top” effect of rolling over the edge of the metal pan, this acts as a dam, giving it more structure to keep going up and not over. See the perforated tray? That’s what you use to hold the pan to make sure you get even cooking.

So when they’re done, let them cool a bit and pop it out of the mold and let completely cool before adding frosting. 

Oh – and nothing sticks to it, so when you’re done you just wash it out and let dry before tucking it away. (I literally fold mine up and put it in a basket.)