moisture retention in cupcakes?

[tb86]

Ok guys my gf has a bakery that is having lots of trouble with the cupcakes drying out after a few hours, we have resorted to air tight containers for storage,

i know invert helps to retain moisture, any ideas for ratio of invert to add to a batter heres the recipie she is currently using, any other shelf life prolonging / moisture retainer info would be great to hear, oh by the way we live in a tropical environment, 35c minimum most every day...

recipie:

1. ไข่ไก่ 2 ใบ 2 eggs

2. น้ำตาล 1½ ถ้วย (360g.) 1.5c sugar

3. นม 1 ถ้วย 1c milk

4. แป้งเค้ก 2⅓ถ้วย (560g.) 2.5c cake flour

5. เนย 120g. 120 g butter

6. B.P 1 ช้อนชา 1 tsp baking powder

7. B.S 1 ช้อนชา 1 tsp baking soda

Edited February 11, 2009 by tb86 (log)

[aguynamedrobert]

The moisture in any baked good will be mostly from the fat that is in the recipe. When a batter has mostly butter it seems to have a harder crust and dry out slightly faster. My suggestion would be to add oil to the recipe. Oil is liquid at room temperature so it give the "moist" feel to the baked good when it is baked and ready to eat. Water will mostly evaporate out and will continue to dry out the baked good but the oil will keep it moist...

[tmriga]

At the Chocolate Show last year, Chef Nick Malgieri demo'ed chocolate cupcakes. During his presentation he mentioned the dryness of most cupcakes he has tasted, and experimented with adding sour cream to the recipe. As always, there was a tasting of these - mini's in fact - and the results were great. Not damp, just moist enough that you didn't need something to wash the cake down.

As a sugar artist, I belong to many cake deco forums. I have read where several members actually bag the cupcakes in Ziplocs as soon as they come out of the oven, and freeze them to retain the moisture in the cupcakes.

When I inquired as to whether the retained moisture in the bag causes the liners to loosen or fall off, the response was negative, that they do not have that problem.

Theresa

[aguynamedrobert]

I have seen chefs started to go this way towards sour cream as well. I'm wondering, besides the fat, what in sour cream is keeping the "moistness" factor into the baked goods. Or is it just the fat that is in the sour cream? Either way it is working...

[Lisa Shock]

Cakes made with oil do tend to be moister. They may not have the strength to hold up as a massive wedding cake, but, for cupcakes, strength is not an issue.

You might also look into moistening with simple syrup, either plain or flavored.

[K8memphis]

I recommend sealing the entire top of the cupcake with the icing.

And watch the baking time more carefully.

That will help.

Lisa, oil based cakes do very well as wedding cakes.

It's the support system that holds up the cake.

[sugarseattle]

We give our cupcakes only 24 hours to live, but we see dryness occuring in about 12 hours. Storing them at room temperature has helped; however we haven't yet figured out a plan for the summer when our kitchen is steamy hot.

[imanalienchef]

I would say that opening an establishment ..and here a bakery using cooler cases to start for your sales cases would help out in display and drying problems. As far as moistness in general Aguynamedrobert made a good point to try using simple syrup. Also another ingredient I personally have started using alot of is Coconut cream. High in fat yet tasty all the way around. Has anyone tried coconut milk/cream based ice cream? Oh my gosh it is the BOMB. So what i do and in a chocolate cake it works great is adding heavy cream into the recipe with oil also but replace half of the heavy cream with coconut cream/milk. It is just enough to keep it moist but not so much where you really get an overpowering of flavor going on from the coconut. Any other tips from people ? Kepp em coming!!!!!

[paulraphael]

I'm not convinced that oil can substitute for water when it comes to making things moist. A little oil can have a little effect, but if you go very far the impression is oiliness more than moistness.

I would put more attention into ingredients that retain moisture, like invert sugars (or in some cases, higher protein, non gluten-forming flours), or ingredients like sour cream that add moisture in the form of a fat emulsion (the coconut milk/cream idea might also be an example).