Feb 07, 2013
Partial responsibility for the failure of these cupcakes is my own. After decades of baking I violated one of the fundamentals of baking – read the recipe thoroughly before you begin! Not to make excuses, but I guess I incorrectly assumed that these recipes were tested before they become approved for this site. This could not be the case with this recipe because it is off in so many ways! Odd measurements, odd mixing method, not to mention no baking soda in a recipe that calls for unsweetened cocoa powder? No salt? Three and a half teaspoons of vanilla for just six cupcakes? Just half an egg? To put this in perspective – if you were to double this for 12 cupcakes, or better yet, double it again for a 2-layer or 13x9” cake, if we talk just about the vanilla you’d be using almost five tablespoons! And the rest of the ingredients were off too (was this recipe guesswork?). I was too far into mixing up the dry ingredients to quit, as I didn’t want to waste ingredients. I tried to remedy this by adjusting the ingredients and their amounts but trying to mess with the science and chemistry of baking is not a good idea. Even with doing some trouble-shooting the cupcakes turned out badly – which I expected. Lesson learned – if you’re midway through a recipe and you KNOW it isn’t right, quit while you’re ahead and do not proceed. The cupcakes were never frosted or decorated - in fact, they were never eaten.
—naples34102
