Cupcakes baking with crispy, lacey tops and a gummy texture inside.

[Niki]

I moved about a year ago into a new home with a older viking oven that seemed to be working fine. I used to have an online cupcake business, and have baked thousands of cupcakes in my life. When we moved, I think burnt out on cupcakes, I was baking other things: macarons, cookies, brownies, etc. with varying success although they were all mostly new recipes and I was experimenting- so I didn’t really have a reference point. The oven was running hotter on one side than the other, but I’d rotate my bakes and they, again, seemed generally fine. I decided to start baking cupcakes again, and every. recipe. I. tried. came out the same way!!! Crispy, lacey tops (never had that before), with gummy almost “steamed” inside. I made my tried and true recipes I’ve baked many times- same problem. I tried other people’s recipes- same problem. I tried different brands of ingredients- same problem. I was convinced it was the oven, so we had a specialist come out and indeed, our oven needed work, he inspected it and replaced basically the entire bottom portion that we discovered was essentially falling apart. Once that was fixed and a new window gasket was put in, I was convinced my cupcake problems would be eradicated! I checked using oven thermometers, and the two sides of the oven were now cooking evenly. But…baked multiple recipes and STILL THE SAME PROBLEM!!!!! Really makes you want to pull your hair out! I just cannot figure it out. I’m baking in the center rack of the oven (also checked temps higher up in oven and lower- both the same temp). So I cannot understand what is happening. Again, the cupcakes have crispy, crunchy tops, and there’s a thin layer of practically raw batter right beneath the crispy top. Then the inside is sort of chewy, gummy, and when I pull them out of the oven the cupcakes almost immediately pull away from their wrappers. The sides of the cupcake, (after peeling away wrapper) have a sort of shiny look to it instead of a normal cake crumb (and sort of spongy/bouncy when poked- again almost like it was steamed or something!!!) so bizarre. I’ve baked them longer too, like to the point of burning l just to see, and the gummy texture issue is still there, so it isn’t an underbaking issue. I apologize for the novel, but wanted to check if anyone has ever experienced this issue before, and wanted to give all the details. Any recommendations would be soooo appreciated! I am a really experienced baker (well, with cupcakes!) so I really know how to properly make a batter, and know that isn’t it. It’s heart breaking not being able to make my recipes I spent sooooo long perfecting. Thank you

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Oven is too hot.

I used to have double Viking ovens.

If you have convection ovens, turn it off. Convection home ovens don't work.

Convection is designed for commercial baking, when multiple pans/sheets are baked at once. The convection feature circulate heat between the pans/sheets AND multiple racks.

In a home oven with one or two tins or one sheet is on one rack all that hot blasted on the batter/dough causes the exterior to bake and set way too fast. The interior is still raw.

If you do not have convection, reduce the temperature of the oven by 25°F.

The bakeware is also important. anodized aluminum, coated metal, and dark metal conducts heat much more intensely than natural uncoded m.

To control temperature better it is best to use natural uncoated metal.

 

[Mona]

It sounds like your oven issues might be causing the cupcake problems you're experiencing. Even though the oven was repaired and is now heating evenly, there could still be minor temperature fluctuations or calibration issues. You might want to check the freshness of your baking powder or baking soda, adjust your ingredient ratios slightly, and ensure you’re not over-mixing the batter. Also, consider the environment around the oven and any potential humidity issues. Small tweaks in these areas might help solve the crispy tops and gummy centers you’re seeing.