Flour Power

It’s not the most riveting topic so I’ll attempt to garner some interest and promise not to punish you for longer than necessary. I’ve noticed that while some of my cupcakes come out quite nicely, others come out a tad on the chewy side. I’m not talking flapjacks here although they come pretty close. The problem is more apparent in plain cupcakes that are quite light in texture. Initially, I thought it was because I skimped on the ingredients and preparation times when I took my eye off the ball for a couple of seconds, but this turned out not to be either as I later discovered.

While scouring the net for clues, I stumbled across a site which provided some clarity on the confusion. You see, I’ve always assumed that any type of flour will do the job regardless of what I’m baking, but it appears flours suitable for baking cakes are high in starch content, refined and have 5 – 8 % protein composition. The outcome is you wind up with light and fluffy cakes that are less likely to collapse when they come out of the oven. I had a look at the flour packet in my cupboard and was intrigued to discover the protein composition was bordering 12% which is significantly higher than the recommended guide.

Suffice to say that I was down my local supermarket afterwards like a shot examining all the flour packets and trying to establish the best brand for my cupcakes. Eventually, I bought a packet of McDougalls Supreme Sponge Flour with the protein composition of 8% which isn’t too bad. Another tip I discovered floating around the net is to mix all purpose flour with a bit of cornstarch. This is supposed to work a treat when you are out of the real stuff so I might give it a go when the packet I bought runs out.

I can’t wait to get baking to see whether this really does make a difference. See that wasn’t so torturous after all :-). I’ll let you know how I get on.

Cupcake Treats London x