I generally prefer pies, galettes, and other fruity desserts to cake, partly because of the fruit but mostly because I attended too many childhood parties with dry cake and overly sweet frosting. The handful of cake and cupcake recipes that I do bake, including the one in my most recent Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, emphasize custardy or buttery batter that bakes up moist and light.

With a full-size, single-layer cake, you don’t have to worry about evenly dividing the batter: simply pour the entire bowlful into a loaf, sheet, or bundt pan and bake. For layered cakes, I find it’s worth weighing the batter to ensure an even portion in each pan. You can be less particular about cupcakes and just eyeball their equal fullness. Their second advantage, for the baker, lies in your ability to vary the flavors as you fill and decorate a single batch of batter.

Learn more about making and filling cupcakes and get the complete recipe for Buttery Jam-Filled Cupcakes in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

Almost any cake batter can be baked as cupcakes. Expect a batter recipe that fills a 9-by-13-inch, two 9-inch round, or three 8-inch round cake pans to make about 24 regular-sized cupcakes. A single 9-inch round or 8-inch square pan will fill about 12 muffin cups. I typically fill each cup three-quarters full the first time I’m baking a full-size cake recipe as cupcakes and then see the effect before I use more or less batter per cupcake.

Both cakes and cupcakes typically bake between 325°F and 375°F, so you likely won’t need to adjust the temperature if you’re converting a cake recipe to cupcakes. Temperature can affect rise though, with 375°F creating more domed cupcakes and the low end of the range producing a flatter top.

More important is an adjustment to time. Cupcakes bake through more quickly than a full-sized cake, so when using a cake recipe for cupcakes, I initially set the timer for just 20 minutes or half of the time called for in the original recipe, whichever is lower. I then start checking the cupcakes every few minutes and pull them from the oven when the tops have risen evenly and spring back if touched and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I leave the cupcakes in a couple of minutes after the centers have set if I want them to have lightly crisp edges.

Give Chocolate Pudding Cake, Snack or Stacked, or Triple Ginger Cake a try as cupcakes. Strawberry Clafouti (Pudding Cake) relies on an eggy custard rather than leavened batter, so it’s best baked in a full-size pan or skillet; if you want smaller portions, try it in ramekins in a water bath, like Golden Baked Custard. Loaf-Pan Lemon Cake and other pound cakes have a heavier batter and turn out more like sweet muffins. You can also find coffeecakes that convert well to muffins, and vice versa, in the recipe index.

I think homemade jams make the tastiest layers for cakes and fillings for cupcakes. You can find recipes for some of my favorite canned jams and sweet spreads here.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.