It can be a frustrating thing… Spending precious time making cupcakes for an event, only to have the liners peel away from the cupcakes after they’ve been baked. Not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things, but, if you’re concerned about presentation for a wedding, for example, the little things make all the difference.
I’ve experienced this issue here and there, and luckily enough, when it happened with a bunch of the cupcakes I made for my brother’s wedding, I had enough extra that I could pick out ones which hadn’t peeled away.
Making extra cupcakes each time and crossing my fingers didn’t seem like the best idea in the long run, 😉 so I set out this year to figure out how to make cupcakes which the liners adhered to. It’s a work in progress, so I’d love to hear your feedback too, but I’ve come to a few conclusions:
How to Prevent Cupcake Liners from Peeling away from Cupcakes
- No need to spray the muffin tin with cooking spray; the liners do the job for you, and the extra grease seems to contribute to the liners peeling away.
- Fill the cupcakes liners only about 2/3 of the way with batter. For the muffin tins I use, that’s about 1/4 cup.
- A few minutes after taking the cupcakes out of the oven, take them out of the pan to further cool. If they’re left too long in the muffin tin, it seems the heat and moisture causes the liner to loosen.
- Let cupcakes cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge or freezer.
And that’s it!
Has worked well for me. If you have any more tips to share, please feel free to share them in the comments below, on facebook, or twitter.
The cupcakes for this post – lemon with vanilla buttercream – although sweet & zesty, were just a little too dense for me. Am still playing around with the lemon cupcake recipe, so don’t have one to share yet, but I’ve compiled a list of delicious-looking options for you:
- Butterfly Cake by Bridget of Bake at 350
- Meyer Lemon Lavendar Cupcakes by Sarah Phillips & Anita Chu on Baking 911
- Lemon Frosting by Amanda of i am baker
- Lemon Cupcake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting by Jamie of My Baking Addiction
- Lemon Cake by Martha Stewart
- Triple Lemon Blueberry Cake by Rosie of Sweetapolita
- Lemon Angel Food Cake by Maria of Two Peas & Their Pod
About these cupcake decorations:
- I usually like to make all my sugar decorations myself, but these gumpaste flowers are my exception. They’re from Petra International and you can find out more about them here.
- The lace around the liners is adhered with edible glue.
Off I go to bake some lemon fluffiness {hopefully!}.
Have fun baking!!
xo,
Marian
kelley {mountain mama cooks} says
Good advice! I don’t ever make “pretty” cupcakes so it’s not a worry for me! As long as they taste good 🙂
Vanessa says
Hi i love your website . how did you make your website!please look at mine and tell me what you think on a comment it would mean a lot to me !
Ruth says
Wow! They are absolutely stunning! Thanks for the tips!
D.J. says
I had the same problem with the fairly new, foil lined cupcake liners by Reynolds Wrap. The solution with those was to put them into the freezer, pan and all, as soon as I took them out of the oven. My theory is that,because of the foil lining, the moisture or “condensation” caused by them being hot had no where to go so it built up inside the wrappers (similar to yours from leaving them in the pan). When cooled quickly there’s no condensation build up. This solution has worked beautifully for me.
Basak says
Thanks for sharing these useful tips with us 🙂
ThisBakerGirlBlogs says
Ah thank you for sharing your tips! They’ve been useful 🙂
Karyn says
Question: All the photos I see of cupcakes show the pretty liners STILL pretty 🙂 When making my kids cupcakes I notice that my colorful liners are dull and sometimes un-noticeable. I tried doubling the liners but that didn’t work. How do you present such pretty cupcakes where the liners look “uncooked?”
Thanks…
niner bakes says
What a great advice, Marian!! I’ve experienced that problem many times and I think I will try your suggestions out this weekend, I need to bake cupcakes for a photographer who wants to take photos of desserts etc.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and tips!!
much love,
niner 🙂
Gail says
The cupcakes need to be filled up properly, 1/4 cup should do it (I weigh mine individually, but you may not want to do that for large orders).
The second tip I have is to make sure the cupcake is baked thoroughly.
Under-baked cupcakes will definitely result in wrappers that pull away.
I’ve had that happen about 1/2 a million times!
Great tips, Marian!!!
Julianne says
I agree with Gail. I’ve found that underbaking was causing my problems. Another minute or two in the oven has fixed all that.
Another way that liners can pull away is by storing cupcakes in airtight containers, particularly if you pop them in there before they are 100% cold. Don’t do it! The next morning your perfect cupcakes will all have pulled away from their liners horribly and will look terrible! Put them in a box, just make sure it’s not airtight.
Amanda Pritchett says
I have had this happen to me I baked 350 mini cupcakes and 80% of them had their wrappers pull away, the trick the used because there were not enough extras to choose from was to press them bake into the muffin pans and bake for 5 minutes, it worked like a charm, they stuck right back on.
Amanda says
Great tips! I’ve found that I make sure they are baked completely, and when they come out of the oven, I use a spoon and tip them on an angle in the pan and let them cool a bit like that and then transfer them to a wire rack. Ever since doing that, I haven’t had one single cupcake pull away!
Kimmie says
Great advice and the cupcakes look amazing, simple and elegant, a perfect pair and always a win, win combination!
Karen says
I remove them from the pan the moment they come out of the oven. The pans are super hot, but with oven mitts and a little bit of luck I don’t get burned. Since I started doing this I haven’t had a single one peel away.
Karen says
@ Karyn:
Karyn, there are some higher quality brands of liners that stay bright after baking. I know Reynolds has some now. I often use Cupcake Creations liners. There are quite a few other premium brands out there too. They main thing you want to look for is greaseproof in the description.
Tricia says
I tend to take mine out of the cupcake pan with a fork 🙂 slide it down the side of the liner to the underside, mine peel away when I touch them so as long as I can keep all the pressure off the cupcake liner they stay in place.
Gail says
I needed this advice this past weekend when I had 80 cupcakes to do for a wedding! I ended up baking extras. I’m bookmarking this page! Thank you!
Erin Schaafsma says
I find it is only the butter cakes that shed their liners. The recipes with oil in them do not have a problem. The only way that works for me is to leave them in the pans until cooled. And to take them out carefully. It seems to opposite of everyone else, but if I try to get them out while hot, the paper pulls away wherever I touch them.
If the liners are opaque enough, I have squeezed a tiny bit of buttercream into the loosened liner and gently press it against the cupcake – not always perfect for a wedding with a swirl on top, but works for other smoothly iced cuppies!
marian says
Thanks for droppin by @ kelley {mountain mama cooks}! =)
@ Vanessa: I’ll hop on over to yours in a sec.
Thanks @ Ruth!
Interesting, @ D.J.: I need to try that, thanks!
Thanks @ Basak & @ ThisBakerGirlBlogs!
Hi @ Karyn, I think a higher quality liner helps with that. Look for thicker liners which are labelled as greaseproof.
Fun @ niner bakes! Good luck! xo
Perfect, @ Gail! Thanks soo much for your tips!
@ Julianne, @ Amanda Pritchett, @ Amanda: More amazing tips! I need to try them! Thanks!
marian says
Oops, missed yours @ Karen! Thanks for the advice – looking forward to trying it!
Thanks @ Erin Schaafsma! Something else to try.
Mary Bolger says
This post came at a perfect time! I have been struggling with this problem due to the humidity this summer. I have discovered the liners pull away when the cupcake recipe is very moist (that is why I think some people have stated not to underbake their cupcakes) and if the cupcake has not risen to the fluted top of the liner- it needs to “grasp” onto the liner’s edge. Now I make sure the liner is filled 2/3 full so it rises well.
Deea says
@ Vanessa: I just love the name of your blog! Super cute! Your cupcakes look delicious! 🙂
Deea says
Thanks for the great tips! I made 300 cupcakes for a graduation party last month & had this problem. Very frustrating. Your cupcakes are gorgeous!
Rachel Benton says
Thanks for the tips!! I never knew why they did that, nor did I know what to do, but from now on I will follow your advice. I did buy some measuring scoops from Wilton to fill cupcakes with, have not tried them yet but at least now I will be able to make uniform sized cupcakes!!!
marian says
Ahhhh! Good point, @ Mary Bolger! Thanks!
Thank you, @ Deea and @ Rachel Benton!
Vanessa says
@ Deea:
thanks i love to show people no matter what age you can do almost anything!
bridget {bake at 350} says
These are great tips…I’ve always wondered why that happens!
{{ps….thank you for the sweet shout-out!}}
fran says
@ Karyn: You need to get greaseless baking cups. I know the website Bake it Pretty makes them.
Melissa T says
I’ve only had this problem with the mini-liners. Now I’m thinking that it probably was from pulling them from the oven just a minute or two too soon. Thank you!
Maria says
The prettiest cupcakes I have ever seen! Love them! And great tips too! Thanks for the link love! xo
Lisa B says
Here’s a great lemon recipe 🙂
Lemon Chiffon gather the following ingredients. 2 cups sifted cake flour(not all purpose) 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar,1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola), 8 eggs separated, 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 4 teasp lemon extract, 1/4 cup water, 4 1/2 teasp lemon zest, 1/2 teasp cream of tartar. Preheat oven to 325, sift flour,sugar,baking powder and salt into large bowl. Using electric mixer at low speed, beat in vegetable oil, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon extract, water and lemon zest. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in another large bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 th of whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites. Line cupcake tin with paper liners and fill each about 2/3 full (I use a #16 scoop). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cake is springy to the touch. Cool in tin 5 min, remove to rack and cool completely.
Vanessa says
NEWW POST!!!!!at my website
Cookiegirl11 says
Thwnk you so much! I make things called “cupkies” (a mix between cookies and cupcakes) and the liner almost always peel off. I love your blog!
Mary says
I love the standard-size greaseless papers. I never have a problem with peeling. The mini greaseless papers, however, were a NIGHTMARE and almost all of them popped off – a real drag considering the cost. I did fill them well and turned them out immediately, and I don’t think the cakes were underdone. I DO believe the small greaseless papers are very stiff and the sides angle out considerably – after baking the papers just relaxed back to their original shape. I’m going to try the “re-baking for a minute” and “freezing” ideas next time. Thanks!
Michelle says
Thanks for the tips! I’ve experienced this only a few times, but I agree with only leaving them in the pans a few minutes to cool. In fact, I usually take mine immediately out of the muffin tins and allow them to cool on racks.
Vanessa says
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Vanessa says
please
Shay @ Whine Less, Breathe More says
Beautiful cupcakes!! Thanks for the tips. Can’t wait to try them out!
marian says
Good way of thinking @ Vanessa!
@ bridget {bake at 350}: Thanks and loved your butterfly (lemon) cake!
Thanks @ Lisa B: I’ll have to try it!
‘Cupkies”… hahaha! Thanks for the giggle, @ Cookiegirl11! I’ve made those before too!
Interesting, @ Mary! Someone on facebook said the same thing about the tiny liners. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, @ Michelle, we’re definitely on to something then!
Thanks, @ Shay @ Whine Less, Breathe More!
Heidi@bits of sunshine says
Such great tips! It hasn’t happened to me a lot before – but it is a devestating feeling when it does happen and they are for something important – you can’t rebake a batch at the drop of a hat!!!! I love all the lemon ideas!!
Marci Johnson says
Thank you for the tips! I also am still looking for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe. I also do not prefer a dense cupcake. Please let us know when you find it so I can give it a whirl. 🙂
marian says
Thanks, @ Heidi@bits of sunshine! I know; such a devastating (and annoying!) problem. Hope my solutions work for everyone.
@ Marci Johnson: Will do!
Vanessa says
@ marian:
10000 viewsss hahahhahhahhhahahhahahhahhahhahah
Rinda Sjarif says
Hello Marian:)
Now I learn another tips on this frustrating issue. As for me I guess (still) and observe that because I reside in Singapore, I suspect and blame it to the humidity! And I hv been using this recipe which all of us like that so moist:)
I would say recipe is responsible for it at least 50%.
Thanks for sharing:)
Warm regards from Singapore, my lovely Little Red Dot,
Rinda
Karen says
It’s been a while since I’ve made cupcakes and I don’t recall having a problem with the liners peeling. However when I make muffins I do have a problem with the muffin sticking to the liner!
Momsu says
In the 1960s I had an old gas stove and for years my cupcake papers popped off. FRUSTRATING! Then we moved and I had an electric stove and two electric stoves later I have not had a single problem. Do any of you with this problem have a gas stove?
shelly (cookies and cups) says
Great tips! I have had that happen to me one too many times!