Page 69 - Hummingbird Bakery Valentine's Day Cakes and Bake

EXTRA TIPS FOR CUPCAKES AND MUFFINS

• As mentioned, a deep muffin tin is ideal (usually with 12 holes). The deep ones
are more suitable than regular ‘bun tins’, which are designed for fairy-cake style
cakes rather than our generous Hummingbird cupcakes.

• For all our cupcake and muffin recipes, we recommend using standard muffin
cases. (Note that regular cake cases are too small – you will get fairy cakes, not
cupcakes.) Dr Oetker muffin cases are readily available from supermarkets, as

are own-brand muffin cases. Don’t worry that the muffins and cakes are cooked
in the same-sized cases; the nature of muffin batter means that they will rise
more, resulting in a ‘muffin top’.

• To fill the cases evenly, so that your cupcakes or muffins are uniform in size and
height, we suggest using an ice cream scoop to measure an exact quantity of
batter each time. You can easily buy a suitable scoop from supermarkets,
cookshops or online. The scoop we use holds 50ml (1¾fl oz) of batter, which is

just under 4 tablespoons. (Of course, you can measure with a tablespoon
instead, but this is more long-winded.) A less accurate method is to simply fill
each case three-quarters full.

• The cupcake recipes all make 12–16 cakes, so you may find that you’ve filled
your 12-hole muffin tin and still have some batter left over. If you own a second
tin, fill more cases with the remaining batter and cook at the same time. If you
have only one tin, set the remaining batter aside in a cool place, wait until the

first batch is out of the oven, remove them from the tin, then fill more cases
with the remaining batter and cook a second batch.

• The mini cupcake recipes make 24–30 cakes. You can buy 24-hole mini muffin
tins, and mini muffin cases are available for lining them. If you have leftover
batter once the tin is full, either cook simultaneously in a second tin, or set the
batter aside in a cool place until the first batch is out of the oven, then you can
re-use the tin for the remaining cakes.

• All cupcakes should be cooked on the middle shelf of the oven for 18–20
minutes (apart from the mini ones, which take 12–15 minutes).

EXTRA TIPS FOR LAYER CAKES, CHEESECAKES AND PIES

• When making a layer cake, you want all the layers to cook and rise evenly. For

this, it is best to bake them all on the middle shelf of the oven, so you will
probably need to bake in batches, putting two layers in the oven at a time
(unless your oven is wide enough to fit more onto the shelf).

• Cheesecakes can be tricky to perfect, because they often crack across the top. A
good technique to avoid this is to put the cheesecake tin into a ‘bain marie’ (a
water bath) while it is baking. (A roasting tin is ideal, filled with water to about
5mm (¼in) from the top of the cake tin.) This creates moisture in the oven to

prevent the cheesecake from drying out and cracking. If you’re worried about