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How Long To Cook Cupcakes At 350°F (With Tips)

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Vanilla, chocolate, with frosting and without, with filling, or even just plain! We all love cupcakes no matter the type. But cooking cupcakes can be tricky as overcooked or undercooked cupcakes are just as off-putting. 

How long to cook cupcakes at 350°F? Most recipes suggest cooking cupcakes at 350°F. But the cooking time may vary depending on the size of the cupcakes. Standard-size cupcakes take around 15-20 minutes to cook at 350°F. Mini and jumbo cupcakes take 10-13 and 20-22 minutes to cook at 350 degrees respectively. 

In this article, you will learn how long to cook cupcakes at 350°F and how to check them for doneness. You will also get more tips for baking the best batch of mini cakes each time!

What Decides The Cooking Time Of Cupcakes? 

You may be good at baking cakes and muffins. But you may still fail to achieve the perfect level of doneness for your cupcakes

The cooking time of cupcakes depends on multiple things. 

  • Baking temperature. How long the cupcakes take to bake largely depends on the baking temperature you are using. The lower the temperature the longer the cupcakes will take to cook through. While 350°F is the usual temperature for baking cupcakes, it may slightly differ from recipe to recipe. 
  • Denseness. The main reason why cupcakes take less time to cook than muffins is the fact that muffins are denser. Cupcakes are usually much lighter and fluffier. With this said, there is a number of various cupcake recipes. Some may have denser batters than others. Thus, they may take more time to cook. 
  • The size of cupcakes. You can use the same batter for cakes and cupcakes. But the cupcakes will cook faster as they are smaller. Similarly, the bigger are your cupcake molds the longer will the cupcakes take to bake through. The cooking time for mini, standard, and jumbo cupcakes varies significantly. 
  • The oven. Not all ovens are created equal and not all of them function in the same way. You may set your oven at 350°F as the recipe tells you and bake for as many minutes as needed. And still, you may end up with undercooked or overcooked cupcakes. This is why it is important to always check on the cupcakes and not rely on the timer only. 

What Is The Best Temperature For Baking Cupcakes?

Most cupcake recipes suggest baking the cupcakes at 350°F. While cupcakes cook well at 350°F, a temperature between 325-375°F will work too

Some sources suggest baking cupcakes at lower temperatures rather than higher. Doing provides the cupcakes with flat tops which are helpful for when you will be decorating the cupcakes. 

Additionally, it is recommended to reduce the cooking time by 25°F if you are using a dark pan. In case you didn’t know, dark metal pans absorb and distribute heat quickly. So, your cupcakes may brown sooner than they get cooked inside.

How Long Does It Take Cupcakes to Cook at 350°F?

As we have mentioned earlier in this article, the cooking time of cupcakes mostly depends on their size. 

For standard-size cupcakes, bake them for 15-20 minutes at 350°F. Mini cupcakes take less time to cook.

They will cook through within 10-13 minutes. And if you are baking jumbo-size cupcakes, bake them for around 20-22 minutes

When considering the cooking time for cupcakes being baked at 350°F, keep in mind that this cooking time is true if your oven is preheated

When the oven is preheated, the temperature fluctuations are brought to a minimum. If the oven is cold, the cupcakes will take a few minutes longer to cook. This largely depends on how long your oven takes to preheat. 

How Do You Know The Cupcakes Are Cooked?

Knowing when your cupcakes are done just by looking at them comes with experience. This happens when you are very familiar with the cupcake recipe you are using and know full well how your oven works. 

When baking cupcakes with a recipe you have come across on the internet, it is important to know how to check them for doneness.

As you already know, the cooking time of these mini cakes depends on many factors. So, relying on the cooking time mentioned in the recipe is risky. 

Here are three things you should know about checking cupcakes for doneness. 

Check The Cupcakes For Doneness At The Minimum Baking Time 

Even if the recipe states the cooking time for cupcakes, always check them for doneness before you remove them from the oven. Moreover, do it 5 minutes before the time mentioned in the recipe. 

For example, if the recipe tells you to bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes, check them at the 15-minute mark to make sure you won’t overbake them.

An overbaked cupcake isn’t any better than an underbaked one. It loses all its moisture, becoming rather unappealing in texture. 

The Toothpick Test

The easiest way to check the cupcakes for doneness is with the toothpick test. All you need to do is to insert a toothpick into one of the cupcakes.

If the toothpick comes out clean and there are no traces of moist dough on it, then the cupcakes are cooked and you can remove them from the oven

Feeling The Cupcake 

You don’t have a toothpick or a bamboo skewer to insert into the cupcake to see if it is done or not? Do the finger test. 

Gently press on the cupcake with your finger. If it springs back, then it is already cooked. If it is undercooked, your finger will leave an impression on the cupcake. You can use this trick to check the doneness of cakes and muffins too. 

Tips For Baking Cupcakes 

Cupcakes are mini cakes. It seems like it should be easy to get them properly cooked. But it is not only the cooking temperature and time you should get right.

Here are some tips for baking the best cupcakes every time you decide to make these mini cakes for dessert. 

Don’t Make Changes In The Recipe

Before anything else, the best advice we can give you to bake good cupcakes is to always follow the recipe.

Not only should you use all ingredients in the same amounts as the recipe states but you should also make product substitutions only if the recipe states that you can do that.

Or, if you have enough baking experience to know that your substitution will work. 

Fill The Pan Cavities Appropriately 

It is important to fill the cupcake pan cavities with an appropriate amount of mixture. Both overfilling and underfilling the cupcake cavities or liners can be a problem. 

If you overfill, you will end up with mushroom-top cupcakes or the batter will simply overflow into the oven as the cupcakes cook. And underfilling will result in lower cupcakes. 

As the cupcake liners and pans come in various sizes and cupcake recipes usually don’t tell you how much batter to put into each cavity, follow the general rule. Fill 2/3 of each cupcake pan cavity with batter. 

Always Preheat the Oven 

If you are an avid baker, you probably have the habit of turning on the oven before you start preparing the batter. But if you don’t bake that often, preheating the oven might be a step you sometimes skip. 

If you want your cupcakes to bake perfectly, preheat it to the degree you will be cooking them at. You should have the right temperature from the beginning for your cupcakes to rise and bake perfectly. 

The secret behind a preheated oven is that the baking powder or baking soda you use as a leavening agent for the cupcakes is successfully activated when the batter goes straight into a preheated oven.  

Related Questions

Now that we’ve gone over how long cupcakes should be cooked when baked at 350°F, let’s take a look at a few related questions!

How long does it take to bake 12 cupcakes?

Baking too many cupcakes at a time may slightly affect their cooking time. Twelve regular size cupcakes will take 15-20 minutes to bake. Baking 12 mini cupcakes will take around 10 minutes.

If you are baking a few dozen cupcakes at once, give them a few extra minutes to cook. 

How long to bake cupcakes at 400°F?

If you don’t need your cupcakes to have a flat top for decorations, you can bake them at 400°F. When you expose the cupcakes to such high temperatures, the sides quickly solidify, causing the center to rise. 

We recommend baking the cupcakes at 400°F first for 5 minutes and then reducing the temperature to 350°F until the cupcakes cook through. This will take around 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cupcakes. 

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