Cupcakes are too tiny to hide their imperfections. Although cupcakes are great for enjoying holidays and even little happy moments, but their baking can be as trouble as any other big-sized cake. Baking delicious cupcakes with a nice texture and outlook seems to be a matter of practice. And if you’re a beginner and want to become a star baker, you may likely end up with sticky cupcakes in starting.
This is a common problem that people face after a lot of hassle. And if you are also one of them asking why are my cupcakes sticky, you can follow this little informative guide.
Here we’ll tell you all the possible reasons for your gooey cupcakes. And once you know the reason, you can fix it on your own. So, let’s dive deep.
Why Are My Cupcakes Sticky?
Cupcakes got sticky just because of the hygroscopic nature of sugar. Sugar attracts water molecules in the air and makes a chemical reaction. And this accumulation of water on the surface of cupcakes leads to the formation of sticky film on tops.
And if you are thinking of brown sugar, stop here. Brown sugar is more hygroscopic in nature than white sugar and makes your beloved cupcakes just a soggy pile.
The attraction between sugar and water occurs most likely during the cooling process rather than baking or cooking. So, if you place your delightful baking creation in a humid surrounding, they’ll quickly absorb water and lose their texture.
Storing warm cupcakes in a cake tin or container is another reason for gummy cupcake tops. This way, the released moisture settles back on the tops of cupcakes and ultimately ruins the whole recipe.
How To Fix Sticky Cupcake Tops?
Sticky cupcakes are not a matter of distress and a nuisance for everyone, as many people don’t even consider it a problem. But if you want to get perfect baked cupcakes with no gummy or gooey sensation, there’s a couple of options that you can try.
However, you cannot keep cupcakes away from sticking if you are using sugar in the batter, that is the essential ingredient. So, you can make them less soggy on the top or at least cover it.
Cut Off Sticky Tops
The simplest and easiest way to get rid of the sticky sensation is to cut off the cake tops. This way, you can get the soft spongy cake interior to enjoy.
After cutting, you can either try glazing or make the pile of frosting high to give a nice stunning look to cupcakes.
Use Powdered Sugar
Cover the tops of cupcakes with powdered or ground sugar. This way, you can block the direct chemical reaction between the cake tops and water.
Moreover, you can also play with icing sugar to make attractive shapes or patterns on cupcake tops. Besides sugar, you can also use cocoa powder in the same way as sugar.
Go With Frostings
Frosting can do things right to prevent unwanted stickiness. So, go with your favorite frosting and make your sweet treat more palatable and appetizing.
Try to use creamier frostings as they’ll cover the tops well and fill your mouth with delicious, creamy, and umami taste notes.
Glaze Your Cupcakes
Glazing could be another life-saving trick when it comes to decorating or covering cupcakes. So, give a nice eye-catching finish to your delight food and do the magic.
But try to avoid watery or runnier glazing as it can ruin the whole texture. So, try to go with a nice thick finish that suits the soft interior of cupcakes. You can also use dark chocolate here smartly for extra oomph.
Why My Cupcakes Get Sticky To Wrappers?
Cupcakes get stick to the wrappers or liners when hot. On cooling, they lose their grip and shrink a little bit, thus can easily leave the wrapper.
It’s a problem that you can face when trying to eat warm cupcakes. So, bring them to room temperature first, and then enjoy.
Somehow the quality of wrapper or baking paper also affects the cake goodness. For instance, cheap wrappers cause cupcakes to stick more likely than ordinary ideal wrappers.
Moreover, if you’re using too much sugar in the cake batter, chances are that your cupcakes cling to the paper because sugar caramelizes on cooking, making your sweet treat sticky.
Read Also: Why Are My Cupcakes So Dry?
How To Fix?
Make sure to prevent cupcakes from sticking to the wrappers in order to preserve their noble goodness. So, keep in mind all the above reasons why your cupcakes stick to the wrappers or liners and try to avoid them.
Grease Your Wrappers
The first step to get non-sticky and easily leavened cupcakes is to grease the cake wrappers with a cooking spray or oil. And pour your cake batter into the greased wrappers.
This will prevent your soft delicacy from sticking and becoming crumbly in your hands.
Try Baking In Non-Stick Liners
As I have already discussed, not all cake wrappers are the same and best for use. And you must be selective before buying them.
To avoid this hassle, try to use non-stick cupcake liners. The adding advantage of using liners is that you can pour the cake batter without even greasing them, and it sounds great.
However, you can also grease them a little bit to get perfect cupcakes without being sticky and crumbly.
Bring Cupcakes To Room Temperature Before Eating
It’s the easiest way to avoid the unusual stickiness of cupcakes. Cooling causes the cupcakes to lose their grip and leave the wrapper easily.
So, wait a little bit after baking and let them cool. After that, enjoy your comfort food without any trouble and nuisance.
Final Words
There are several reasons answerable for gooey cupcakes. Sticky tops are just because of a weird chemical reaction between sugar and surrounding water molecules. Avoid this interaction by either glazing, frosting, and chocolate layering.
And cupcakes got sticky to the wrappers because of cheap wrappers. Try to grease the wrappers before pouring cake batter in them or use non-stick liners instead of cupcake wrappers.