Freshly baked cupcakes are a real treat for parties, after-school snacks, or any time when one needs to quench the sweet tooth. However, when it comes to mini size, the baking times may differ a bit. This quick guide of “How long to bake small cupcakes” explores the world of small cupcakes and how long you should bake them to achieve golden and fluffy perfection.
So, preheat your oven, get out your favorite mini muffin pan, and get ready for the secrets behind perfectly baked small cupcakes!
What Will You Need To Prepare
Now, it’s time for you on the journey to make those adorable bite-sized cupcakes. The recipe is the same as regular size. You just need to make some alternations in the baking time as well as baking tools.
Besides some popular funnel cakes, cornbread, and churros, cupcakes are a kind of dessert that many people would like to try to make. But if you are new, don’t worry because the recipe is included. You just need to follow the instructions and a perfect delicious mini-cake batch will be ready soon.
- Prep time: 10 mins
- Baking time: 10 – 13 mins
- Total time: 20 – 23 mins
Gather Ingredients
Here is a simple recipe for a basic vanilla cupcake. This is the favorite choice of many, so let’s see what you will need to prepare in ingredients:
- Cake flour: 1 & ¾ cups
- Baking powder: ¾ tsp
- Baking soda: ¼ tsp
- Salt: ¼ tsp
- Unsalted butter: ½ cup, melted at room temperature
- Granulated sugar: 1 cup
- White eggs: 3 large ones at room temperature
- Pure vanilla extract: 2 tsp
- Full-fat sour cream: ½ cup at room temperature
- Whole milk: ½ cup (120ml) at room temperature
- For decoration: Vanilla buttercream & sprinkles
Prepare Baking Tools
Now, it’s time to preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). To bake small cupcakes, you need to have these 2 things: Mini cupcake liners & mini muffin pans.
Keep in mind that the standard cupcake recipe will end up with 3 times in mini sizes. For example, 12 regular-size cupcakes will turn into 36 minis. Then, you will need to prepare a 48-cup mini muffin pan or 2 pieces of 24-cup pan. Place the liners into the muffin pans to use later.
In fact, you don’t need to have cupcake liners because most pans are non-stick. But the liners will make it much easier to take the cupcakes out of the baking pan. Moreover, there is a wide range of colorful and adorable cupcake liners on the market. This will help your cupcakes more eye-catching, especially when you bake cakes for your kids, birthdays, or any special occasions.
Mix The Batter
Use an electric mixer (handheld or stand) with a paddle attachment and whip the butter at high speed. Whip until it’s smooth and beautifully creamy in about 1 minute.
Add sugar and continue beating on high for another 2 minutes. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as you go.
Continue to add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat everything together on medium-high speed. It may take at least 2 minutes until it’s smooth and well combined.
Keep beating on low speed with the sour cream while gradually adding the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until they’re just incorporated.
Keep your mixer on low speed and slowly pour in the milk until you see that everything is well combined. Now, you will have a slightly thick batter.
Fill Mini Cupcake Liners
The joyful time is coming! It is easy to fill those little liners. Here are 2 simplest and easiest ways for you to quickly fill in:
- Ice cream scoop with a lever: You should choose size 50 for mini cupcakes. It can hold about 65 ounces for each filling.
- Piping bag: Just put the prepared batter in a piping bag and then pipe it into those liners.
Remember, fill 2/3 of the liners only. This follows the same rule for standard cupcakes to prevent any spilling out.
How Long To Bake Small Cupcakes?
Small cupcakes will take less baking time than normal-size ones for sure. The baking time will fluctuate between 10 to 13 minutes based on the size of your oven.
After 10 minutes, you can test for doneness by using a toothpick. Insert the toothpick into the cupcake and if it comes out dry, you’ve done. If not, continue to bake for 3 minutes more and then test your cupcakes again.
You also can use a cake tester. All you need to do is insert the tester at the center of the cupcake and then touch it to your wrist. If you feel hot, it means the cake is done. But if it is warm, you will need to bake a little more.
In case you don’t have enough pans to bake all at a time, remember to use plastic wrap to cover the remaining batter. Then store in the fridge until the next baking batch.
Frost & Decorate Your Mini Cupcakes
After the cupcakes cool down completely, frost them with buttercream with any flavors you like. Vanilla, chocolate, citrus, coffee, or peppermint – any of them can go perfectly with these adorable mini cupcakes. Almond icing is also a delicious and healthy choice. Wilton 1M piping tip is a great choice for frosting.
To have a cool and colorful finish, you can consider adding some sprinkles on the top of each cupcake.
How To Store Leftover Cupcakes?
The way to preserve cupcakes is very simple and you can do it right away. Place cupcakes in an airtight container after they are cool to keep them moist and use them in day. Or else, you can store them in the fridge for 3 days.
Bottom Line
You can confidently now master the world of small cupcakes with the above instructions. Keep in mind that the baking time might be off a minute or so from 10 to 13 minutes, depending on your oven and how small you make your mini masterpieces. But with a bit of practice, along with those helpful tips, you’ll be a small-cupcake-baking pro in no time.
