Peter, I can understand why your cupcakes do not taste like Silo’s lemon lavender cupcakes and I visit Silos baking company whenever I am in Texas. Baking is very different than cooking. Baking is a science and if the right ingredients are not added in the right quantities, at the right time in the preparation of your batters your cakes, cupcakes, and pastries are not going to be the quality you would like. Think about baking as a chemistry and as such, you should always weight your ingredients as opposed to using a measuring cup. Keep in mind that one type of flour does not weight the same as another flour i.e. cake vs all purpose vs bread vs OO. You should also take into consideration whether you are using a conventional oven vs a convection oven and always use an oven thermometer to insure that when you set your oven for 350 degrees your oven is in fact 350 degrees. If you have a newer oven you can often re-calibrate your oven on your own (see your owners manual).
As professional pastry chef, I use one of two formulas that all professional bakers use when evaluating or inventing a recipe.
1. The lean cake formula, which is used to make dense cakes such as fruit and pound cakes. This formula calls for less sugar and more flour.
2. The high ratio formula has more sugar than flour. In other words when you compare the amounts of sugar and flour, there should be more sugar. Cupcakes fall into the high ratio formula categories. So if when evaluating your recipes for high ratio goodies, keep the following formulas in mind.
1. Sugar equals Flour. The sugar should weight at least the same as the flour or ideally slightly more. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar then you should use 1.5 cups of flour. Now this may seem confusing because the sugar looks less than the flour. However, pastry chefs never use cups (volume), they measure everything by weight. So you might consider purchasing a book on equivalents for baking (good quality books written by pastry chefs will have an equivalency table located in the back of the book) and a kitchen scale which can be picked up cheap on Amazon.
2. Fat equals Eggs. Fat can come in any of the following forms; butter; oils; shortening; egg yolks. Keep in mind that eggs serve two purposes in baked goods, the egg white provides structure and the yolk adds moisture. In fact, egg whites can dry out your baked goods if your ratios are not correct. So if your recipe calls for 2 eggs and your cupcakes turn out dry, try substituting 1 of the eggs with three egg yolks.
Shortening and egg yolks are the preferred ingredients for high ratio baked goods, because shortening contains emulsifiers it is much better at holding your cakes together. Butter can do the same thing, but you must insure that the butter is sufficiently aerated by creaming it. When butter is sufficiently aerated it will look pale in color and very fluffy. Eggs yolks are emulsifiers and must be added to the butter after proper aeration is achieved. You could also replace part of the butter with oil which produces a superb tender moist crumb because oil coats the protein structure far better than any other form of fat producing a moist smooth product.
3. Liquids (which include the eggs) equals sugar. When I say liquids I am talking milk, water, juice, eggs etc. I realize that cooking oils can look like liquid, however, oil should not be confused with liquid. Oils, butter, shortening are all considered fats.
the amount of leavening agent is also a very important consideration. Leavening agents are used to create light and fluffy cakes. Leaving agents create small bubbles in the batter. However, if you over-leaven the batter the bubbles get too big, pop, and you end up with a very dense heavy product.
1. If your cupcakes are dry take a look at the eggs. Eggs serve two purposes in baked goods, the whites when mixed with flour are responsible for structure, while the yolks provide moisture. If your recipe calls for two eggs, try using one egg and three yolks. I promise you will not be disappointed.
2. You should be sure to check your oven temperature. You can pick up a good oven tester cheap on Amazon.
Both recipes (the cake & the frosting) call for far too much lemon extract and really lemon extract should be avoided. The flavor profile you’ll get from lemon juice vs. lemon extract is so completely different, When considering what to use; Lemon extract versus lemon juice, consider the fact that good pastry chef’s avoid the use of extracts with the exception of vanilla. I prefer to use fresh juices, purees, and nut flours. This insures that that the taste of the finished product will insure the palate tastes all of the flavors of the product. When using extracts you risk having one flavor overpower the others. Pure Lemon extract is very potent stuff. The ingredients are alcohol, water, and lemon oil which comes from the lemon’s peel. It lacks the tartness of the lemon which is often the preferred taste of lemon in baked goods especially the frosting that accompany the cake. For the cake I use both lemon juice and peel.
Another question was the use of salted butter versus butter. Never use salted butter in a recipe unless it absolutely states salted butter (such as in Toll House Cookies). I also don’t suggest scrapping the salt in a recipe by using salted butter. Keep both types of butter in your staples. Unsalted butter should be used in all recipes and salted butter should be kept for things like vegetables and bread. I like to think of salted butter as table butter. It is great for corn on the cob, toast, potatoes, etc, but using it in your recipes can ruin a meal. Always salt to taste.
