Make Cupcakes In Half The Time And Give Your Oven A Break With This Genius Hack

Cupcakes deserve a bit of a renaissance. Perhaps not on the same scale as their wild rise to the limelight in the early 2000s, but there's no denying they're tasty, convenient, and effortlessly elegant. Not only are they already pre-portioned, negating the need to cut a huge cake into even pieces, there's also such an abundance of choices when it comes to liner designs, frosting colors, and sprinkle types that you can easily dress them up for a black-tie event, or dress them down a bit for your child's birthday party.

Perhaps the only point against them is that cupcakes made in the oven can quickly go from perfectly baked to unforgivably dry due to the fact that there's so little batter in each liner. If you're tired of your favorite St. Patty's Day chocolate stout cupcakes literally falling flat, it may be time to try steaming them on the stovetop. Not only does baking them this way lock in moisture, it takes just 10 to 20 minutes because the interior of your stovetop steamer warms up so much faster than the inside of your cavernous oven.

The biggest difference between steaming and baking is that you'll want to pop your liners inside heat-safe glass or ceramic condiment molds, as a traditional cupcake tin is obviously too large to go inside a steamer. Be sure to turn the steamer on medium-high heat while you fill the liners to ensure they go into a hot cooking environment, just as if they were oven-baked.

Steaming cupcakes not only ensures they turn out moist, it's also a useful hack for when your stove is out of commission, or you need a tasty dessert in a hurry. If you time everything right, you can assemble your steamer on the stovetop, get the water started, and whip together the ingredients for your classic carrot cake cupcakes with caramelized walnuts in less time than it would take to preheat your oven properly. There are also no "cool" spots inside a steamer, so you're more likely to have an evenly baked end product.

The biggest thing to watch out for when steaming your cupcakes rather than baking them is the high moisture levels they'll be exposed to. While this creates spongy, tender cupcakes, it can also quickly turn your baked goods soggy if you're not careful. To prevent condensation from dripping into the batter as your cupcakes bake, gently lay a sheet of parchment paper or foil over the filled liners. Don't press it down or seal the edges — the idea is to use the parchment or foil as an umbrella, not as a lid.

Another issue you may have is not having a stovetop steamer readily available — but that doesn't mean you have to run out and buy one to try this technique. Instead, try one of several effective and easy ways to hack a steamer basket, including poking holes into an disposable aluminum pie tin that fits inside your favorite soup pot.