How to make cupcakes without cupcake pan: 8 main alternatives

Today, cupcakes are considered one of the most sought-after desserts. Cupcake mix is ordered for celebrations and is prepared for the family as a dessert. However, the necessary equipment is not always available at home. Learn more about how to make cupcakes without a cupcake pan in this article.

The principle of making cupcakes

Before proceeding to the study question, of how to make cupcakes without a cupcake pan, you should familiarize yourself with the features of the dessert. Cupcakes are small portioned biscuits that are covered with icing and other decorations.

The basic recipe is that the ingredients are measured by volume. Therefore, there is no need to use scales. The classic recipe is to use:

• oils – 1 glass;
• granulated sugar – 2 cups;
• flour – 3 cups;
• eggs – 4 pieces.

Thanks to the increasing popularity of cupcakes, housewives, and bakeries began to create different recipes.

Some of them are considered difficult because they use unusual components.

The main advantage of cupcakes is the ease of preparation and practicality.

They take a little time to bake. At the same time, it is even easier to carry them to treat friends. When cooking cupcakes, you can rely on your imagination. To prepare cupcakes, you need to mix the ingredients until a thick dough consistency.

Then it is poured into a special baking dish and baked in the oven. However, they are not always at home.

Therefore, the question arises of how to make cupcakes so that they retain their shape.

Advantages of using a cupcake pan

For ease of work, special forms for cupcakes were created. Thanks to this, the dessert retains its shape. This allows the heat from the oven to pass through the dough better.

The recesses are complemented by metal sides that warm up faster. Therefore, using a metal cupcake tray, you may notice that heat penetrates better into the base of the dessert.

Thanks to this, cupcakes cook quickly and evenly. The result is a light and airy sponge, which has a perfect texture.

Along with the forms, you need to use special syringes, thanks to which you can form cupcakes that are uniform in shape.

Alternatives to cupcake pans

Quite often, old forms fail or disappear. If something like this happens to you, don’t worry.

There are several ways to help you prepare cupcakes without a cupcake pan.

Foil liners

A similar cupcake pan can be formed independently of aluminum foil. However, it is more rigid when compared to paper cups and holds its shape better when adding the cupcake batter. You need to form cupcake liners, lay them out on a baking sheet, and fill them with dough.

You can get perfectly shaped cupcakes because aluminum foil linings conduct heat perfectly. These cupcake liners can only be used once. However, if you’re in the business of making custom cupcakes, these cupcake liners can get expensive.

To make foil liners last longer, and you can use them several times, you need to put a little paper in each of them. The cupcake itself will stick to the paper lining. You have to take it out, but the foil cupcake liner can be reused.

Ramekins

This is a pretty good option if you’re making cupcakes for a celebration or party.

The downside is that it is quite difficult to remove the finished cupcake from them.

However, to eliminate the disadvantage, you can put a paper liner inside.

Paper cupcake liners

You can find these paper liners in the store, or you can make your own. However, the paper liner is not durable, so it can deform finished desserts.

To make things easier, you can fold several paper forms into one. This makes a paper liner strong and stable, and it can withstand the weight of the swollen dough. You need to fold 3 paper cupcake liners together and put them on a baking sheet. Add the cupcake batter, and start baking the dessert.

Use of mugs

Previously, cupcakes were prepared in mugs used for tea. If they are made of ceramic, you can safely use them in the oven. You can also put paper cupcake liners inside, so you don’t have to wash the dishes afterward.

If you would rather not waste your paper cupcake liner, you can brush the sides of the cup with a little oil. This prevents the dough from sticking, and you get perfectly shaped muffins. If you can’t take the cake out after it cools down, go around the edges with a knife. Work carefully so as not to crumble the dessert.

Mason jar lids

For additional fixation of lids on cans, special metal rings are used. You can use them to support cupcakes when using paper liners.

You need to lay out the metal rings on a baking sheet and put paper cups for baking cupcakes inside them.

Fill mason jar lids with dough. After cooling the cooked cake, remove it from the ring.

Baking tray

This method is the best option if you need to quickly bake cupcakes. You need to prepare the classic dough and grease the cupcake pan.

Pour the dough into the cupcake tray with the same thickness as the cupcakes. Then it should be placing cupcake liners in the oven and bake cupcakes as you normally would.

Then arm yourself with a cookie cutter that matches the diameter of the cupcake. It needs to cut out circles of pies. This allows you to create an imitation cupcake that you can decorate and serve.

Silicone cupcake liner

Often at home, there are cupcake liners made of silicone. They have rigid walls when compared with paper cups.

Therefore, the baking dish does not collapse under the influence of dough expansion.

Try to use quality baking dishes if you bake cupcakes. Its main advantage is that it can be used many times.

Forming your inserts

If you don’t have paper liners at home, you can make your own. Try to use stronger paper, so it doesn’t fall apart when you make the cupcakes. The best solution would be to make parchment paper because they have non-stick properties.

First, you need to make squares of parchment paper, the dimensions of which are 6×6 inches. For ease of use, arm yourself with a ruler. You need to cut out the squares with scissors. You can lay the parchment paper in 2-3 layers to make the baking dish more durable.

It is better to cut out more squares in advance so that you can make more figures. Standard servings of cupcakes are 12 pieces.

Therefore, you have to make 12-36 paper cups in advance. Next, you need a cup in which the base is the same as the baking tray.

The bottom diameter should be 2 inches. Lay the parchment paper in the bottom of the container.

After you need to turn the cup over and put a sheet cake of parchment paper on the bottom. Align the square so that the corners have identical space. Pinch the paper to form 4 folds.

After that, you need to form folds between the corners to simulate the shape of paper cups. At the end of the work, you get 4 clean folds. Run your fingers along the edges to complete the job. To seal the base, press on the edges with your fingers.

FAQ

When looking for alternatives to cupcake liners, many questions may come up.

Results

As you can see, the lack of cupcake pans for baking is not a reason to refuse dessert. You can use a homemade baking tray or other materials manually if you plan to bake cupcakes. The main thing is desire and a little patience.