How often do you eat a dozen of cupcakes in one sitting? I am guessing hardly ever. You’ll notice when baking cupcakes that most recipes yield twelve or multiples of twelve cupcakes.
The natural thing, of course, is for us to try and prolong the shelf life of these beautiful yummy goodies so they don’t spoil and go to waste. If you have read one of my previous articles, you’d know that refrigerating is often not the best way to keep cupcakes. That means we would have to resort to freezing.
I’m Angie, a self-taught baker who’s been baking for over ten years. I specialize in making cupcakes and have my own little cupcake business. Baking as a business means that we need to have things in stock. Often times our products are made if not partially made ahead of time, frozen for maximum freshness.
Freezing cupcakes is pretty straightforward. It’s the easy part. There’s not much skill involved. In this article, I’m going to share with you the steps to freeze cupcakes.
Let’s get freezing!
Contents
How to Freeze Cupcakes?
Before I begin, I’d like to point out that my methods may be different from some of the other blog posts you may read about. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t other methods out there, simply that these are the only ones that have worked for me!
Method 1: Airtight Container
The best way I know how to freeze cupcakes is to do so with airtight containers/tupperware. I’m talking rectangular plastic containers that will fit your cupcakes with the added height of frosting in consideration.
The size of the containers depends on your fridge. If you’re lucky and own a larger fridge, you can certainly freeze more at once using bigger containers.
Plastic containers allow you to organize the cupcakes and will fit many of them without them touching and smudging. On top of that, airtight plastic containers can prevent other odors from contaminating your cupcakes and vice versa.
Using a freezer-safe plastic container for your cupcakes will also prevent freezer burn on your beautifully baked goodies. Freezer burn happens when moisture is sucked away in the freezer causing food to crack and dry up.
Method 2: Wrapped Individually
Wrapping your cupcakes individually can make sure that all the crevices are nice and protected. That said, wrapping cupcakes individually is a lot of work.
You can’t wrap cupcakes right after frosting them because your cupcake frosting is still at piping consistency, meaning it is soft and will easily get smooshed and ruined. We don’t wanna throw away all that hard work.
Instead, you need to place your cupcakes in the fridge for a minimum of one hour to harden. Once your frosting is hard to the touch you can then quickly wrap it in clingfilm and then put them in the freezer.
How to Defrost Cupcakes?
There are two ways to defrost frozen cupcakes. If you are not in a rush, you can put your frozen cupcakes in the fridge and let them thaw overnight. If you are short on time, you can simply take out your frozen cupcakes and leave them on the counter for just over 30 minutes.
FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions about freezing cupcakes. I’ve answered them below.
Can you freeze cupcakes in the paper liners?
You can freeze your cupcakes in paper liners. Generally speaking, your cupcakes will defrost just fine. If however, your cupcakes didn’t rise fully before you freeze them, it’s possible your cupcakes will experience shrinkage and if that is the case, your liners are prone to detaching from your cupcakes.
Do frozen cupcakes taste the same?
Frozen cupcakes SHOULD taste the same as they were before they were frozen IF you make sure to keep them in an airtight container. This will prevent the odors of other foods in your freezer from contaminating the cupcakes.
Can you freeze cupcakes with whipped cream frosting?
Generally speaking, cupcakes with whipped cream frosting don’t freeze well because whipped cream is very light and airy. It is much higher in water content compared to buttercream therefore it can easily lose its form and melt into your cakes.
Final Thoughts
Feeling better about your leftover cupcakes? Now that you learned the above, not only can you avoid wasting your hard work, you can also keep a stash of these yummy goodies for any time you feel like treating yourself.
How do you store your cupcakes? Do you freeze them as I do? Have you encountered any trouble doing so? Share with us your own tips and guides in the comments section below!
About Angie