Let’s face it: no matter how good your cupcakes already are, there is always room for improvement. Those cupcakes may move from being decent to being absolutely amazing by being filled with delectable fillings, which is a simple method to do so. Exactly how do you go about doing that?
As a matter of fact, there are a number of different methods that cupcakes may be filled. This means that regardless of your level of expertise or the equipment that you have available to you, you will have no problem filling cupcakes! It’s time to start getting enthusiastic.
Contents
Fillings for Cupcakes
Before you start stuffing your cupcakes with any old ingredients, you should give some thought to the many kinds of fillings that you have available to you. When selecting a filling for cupcakes, the flavor should be the first thing you think about.
It is important for the filling of your cupcake to have a taste that is complementary to both the flavor of the cake and the flavor of the icing. I’m sorry, mint jelly, but you just aren’t the right filling for these carrot cupcakes.
However, you could fill those carrot cupcakes with frosting made with cream cheese instead. The taste profile is quite essential, so when you are filling your cupcakes, you need to be sure that the additional flavor you are adding is consistent with the rest of the dish.
Another aspect to think about is the texture of the filling you want to use. It is not a good idea to fill your cupcakes with anything that is really fluid and liquid since doing so might lead to a variety of problems. It’s possible that the cupcake will soak up the liquid filling, creating a gap in the middle where the filling should have been.
It is possible for the liquid filling to penetrate the cupcake paper, causing the paper to rip and creating a mess. Or, to continue with the theme of messes, you may bite into your cupcake and have the filling flow out, which would not be desirable. Therefore, you should avoid excessively soft fillings since they will only create complications.
Additionally, you do not want the filling to be too solid. The filling in cupcakes should be airy and fluffy, much like the cake itself. If you bit into a cupcake and struck a solid core, that experience would not be a positive one. That is hardly the kind of surprise anybody would want!
You should strive to get a filling that is both pliable and capable of maintaining its form. The following are some that you may wish to take into consideration:
- Jelly and Jam
- Curds
- Ganache
- Buttercream
- Chopped Fruit
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Brownies
- Pudding
- Cookie Dough
- Marshmallow
- Caramel
- Nut Butters
Obviously, you might come up with some other creative fillings for cupcakes, but everything on this list has been tested and shown to work!
It is time to turn your attention to the process of filling those cupcakes now that you have determined the kind of filling that would work best.
Remove the Middle
The first thing you need to do in order to fill a cupcake is to create a well in the center of the baked good. You have a couple options here on how to proceed with this matter.
- Put a tiny circular cookie cutter (approximately 34 inches in diameter), push it into the middle of the cupcake, and then give it a little twist as you take the cutter out. Using the cutter will cause the cake in the middle of the cupcake to pull up, creating a beautiful hole in the cupcake for you to fill.
- As a cutter, make use of a big pastry tip. To remove the central cake from the cupcake, use the flat bottom of the pastry tip (not the sharp end) and push it into the center of the cupcake.
- Make sure your hands are clean or wear gloves when you perform this step! Use your finger to poke a hole in the middle of the cupcake, pushing the center cake down to create a hole for your filling, then use your finger to do this.
- Employing a tiny paring knife, make a hole in the center of your cupcake by removing the piece of cake that is located there. This will allow your filling to have plenty of room.
- An apple corer is a great tool for removing the center of cupcakes since it is the right size and it is quite affordable. After pressing the apple corer into the center of the cupcake and twisting it upward, you will be able to remove the piece of cake that is in the centre.
- Don’t bother, simply don’t cut a hole, and use your pastry bag to inject the filling instead (there will be more information on this later in the article!).
Instead of taking the center cake all the way down to the paper when you create a hole in your cupcake for the filling, try to leave a little cake at the bottom instead. This will help keep the cupcake from falling apart. It is important for your cupcake to have a sturdy cake foundation at the bottom in order to maintain its form and to provide the filling with something to rest on.
Determine the appropriate size of the hole by first deciding how much and what kind of filling you want to put in the cupcakes. Next, determine the diameter of the hole. A smaller amount of a filling that is more fluid and squishy, such as raspberry jam or lemon curd, may go a much longer way. You don’t want more than a quarter of the cupcake to be jam, after all.
You are allowed to make the hole a little bit larger and use a little more filling when you are working with a filling that is more solid, such as cookie dough.
Bear in mind that you are preparing cupcakes, and that you want the cake to continue to be the most prominent element in the dish; thus, you should not remove so much cake that the finished product is no longer considered a cupcake.
Keep the Cake
Don’t throw away the cake when you take it from the middle of the cupcake to make room for the filling; instead, use it to create another cupcake. Later on, you will be able to “seal” the filling that is in the cupcake by using the cake, which will be discussed further on in this post! You might also choose to consume the middle of the cake.
Samples of the cake centers provide an excellent and foolproof method for evaluating the flavor of the cupcakes and ensuring that they meet your expectations.
Check out my article on creative uses for your cake trimmings for additional ideas on how you can use the cores of your cakes.
Fill the Cupcakes
Following the completion of the preparations for the cupcakes and the selection of the filling, it is now time to discuss the specifics of how to actually fill the cupcakes. No problem!
1 – Pastry Bag
When filling cupcakes, one of the most typical techniques involves placing the filling into a pastry bag, cutting off the tip of the bag, and then using the filling to pipe it into each individual cupcake. This approach is quite effective, particularly for fillings that can be piped with little difficulty.
This approach works particularly well with spreadable fillings such as curds, jellies, soft ganache, nut butters, and frostings. As a result of its speed and effectiveness, using a pastry bag to fill cupcakes is the method of choice for the majority of cooks who work in the baking industry.
If you choose to leave the middle of your cupcake unbroken, using a pastry bag that has a pastry tip attached to it will be the most effective method for inserting the filling into your cupcake. Prepare the pastry bag by filling it and having the tip ready, and then insert it deeply into the cupcake.
Apply the filling with as much pressure as possible until it begins to emerge through the top. Take off the pastry tip, then proceed on to the next cupcake.
2 – Ice Cream Scoop
To ensure that each cupcake has the same quantity of filling, measure the filling out using a little ice cream scoop. By using this procedure, you can be certain that each and every one of your cupcakes will have a same quantity of filling.
It is also a systematic and clean technique to fill cupcakes, as you scoop the filling straight into the hole in the middle of the cupcake over and over again. This makes the process simple and accurate.
Filling cupcakes with any kind of filling, from a runny jam to a solid ball of cookie dough, may be done with the help of an ice cream scoop if you have one handy. When filling a regular-sized cupcake, the ideal tool to use is a little ice cream scoop with a number 100, and this scoop should be used.
3 – Simple Spoon
Even while using a spoon to measure out the filling for the cupcakes isn’t as accurate as doing it with a measured ice cream scoop, this method is still very effective. Put your filling in the cupcakes with a common, old-fashioned soup spoon. It is certain that the task will be completed successfully!
4 – Teaspoon or Tablespoon
Filling cupcakes using a teaspoon or a tablespoon is an effective method because the deep spoon can retain the filling securely as it is being transferred from the bowl to the inside of the cupcake.
This approach, as you probably figured, is also incredibly precise since it allows you to verify that each cupcake has exactly the quantity of filling you would want to have in it. One further advantage is that everyone who bakes their own cupcakes will already have a teaspoon or tablespoon measurer in their kitchen.
5 – Use Your Hands
You may easily use your hands to place the filling in the cupcakes if you are working with a filling that is more solid, such as cookie dough, brownies, or chopped fresh fruit.
Why make things any more difficult than they have to be?! After all, your hands are the most effective instrument you own.
6 – Pitchers and Measuring Cups
When working with fillings that are more liquid in consistency, such as jam, curd, or a ganache that has been melted, first transfer the filling to a pitcher or measuring cup, and then pour it into your cupcakes. The pitcher has a pointed tip, which will make it easier for you to precisely place the filling in the middle of your cupcake.
7 – Fill the Cupcakes Before Baking
Instead of filling your cupcakes after they have been baked, fill them before you put them in the oven. This will ensure that the filling is evenly distributed. Put a dollop of jam in the centre of the cupcake batter, sprinkle some chocolate chips in the middle of the cupcake batter, or put a small scoop of nut butter in the middle of the batter.
When the cupcakes are baked, the batter will harden around the filling, resulting in a cupcake that is perfectly filled. It should not be that difficult, should it?
Finish the Cupcakes
When you are through filling your cupcakes, you may return the cake centers that you saved back in the middle of the cake. This will ensure that the filling stays contained inside the cake and is entirely encased in cake. Icing the cupcakes whatever you choose, then serving them!
If you do not choose to, there is no need that you replace the center cake on the cupcake once you have removed it. When you ice the top of the cupcake, you will automatically encapsulate the filling in the cupcake.
If you want the filling to be a pleasant surprise for whomever bites into the cupcake, make sure that you put sufficient frosting on the top of the cupcake so that the filling is properly hidden and can’t be seen.
You need to give some thought to the possibility of decorating your cupcakes with a topping that is an exact duplicate of the filling. Placed a dab of the jam that you used, such as raspberry jam, on top of the frosting that you put on the cupcakes.
Put a few chocolate sprinkles on top of the chocolate ganache-filled cupcake, and then decorate the cupcake with chocolate sprinkles. Have you baked lemon curd into your cupcakes? As a garnish, use a lemon zest that has been candied.
It is a lovely touch to tie the entire cupcake together with a topping that mirrors the filling. This allows all of the tastes to be shown for everyone to see.
You are probably ready to begin filling some cupcakes, and at this point, you have a good understanding of what you should be doing. It’s time to fill those cupcakes like an experienced baker! Happy baking!