Convectional vs Conventional

Lornen

So I'm staying in someone's house and I need to bake cupcakes in their convection oven. I only have a conventional oven at home and I was wondering if anyone could tell me a little about the difference in baking cupcakes in either one.

I'm dead scared that I'll over or under cook my cupcakes and I really can't afford to give them another go if this batch goes belly up.

The recipe calls the the cupcakes to bake for 20 minutes at 180 c.

Help would be greatly appreciated!

Faith

Convection as in fan?

Usually, recipes call for a reduction in temperature of about 20 degrees when using a fan oven. So I'd probably do them for 20 minutes at 160.

That being said, you can very easily tell when cupcakes are done by the feel of them, or by sticking in a skewer and it coming out clean. As long as they're not chocolate, you'll be able to tell from the colour too. Check them after 15 minutes if you're afraid of overdoing them, but I'd usually cook cupcakes for about 20 minutes at 160 in my fan oven.

Lornen

Faith wrote: »

Convection as in fan?

Usually, recipes call for a reduction in temperature of about 20 degrees when using a fan oven. So I'd probably do them for 20 minutes at 160.

That being said, you can very easily tell when cupcakes are done by the feel of them, or by sticking in a skewer and it coming out clean. As long as they're not chocolate, you'll be able to tell from the colour too. Check them after 15 minutes if you're afraid of overdoing them, but I'd usually cook cupcakes for about 20 minutes at 160 in my fan oven.

Yeah convection as in fan assisted oven.


Cheers Faith, you're a star. Yeah I usually check them with a toothpick but I wasn't sure if the bottoms would burn or they would dry out more... Just a touch paranoid this morning! :pac:

I will try 20 mins at 160 though anyway, cheers!

Acoshla

My oven has static and fan settings, when I'm baking cupcakes I use the static option but if I'm doing them on fan I leave them at pretty much the same temp (I have an awkward oven so this is easiest) but take them out sooner, as Faith said you'll know by touch and by looking at them when they're done.

The one thing I hate about fan ovens is that they can tend to "blow" the mix sideways, meaning you get a peak at one side of your bun.

Lornen

Acoshla wrote: »

My oven has static and fan settings, when I'm baking cupcakes I use the static option but if I'm doing them on fan I leave them at pretty much the same temp (I have an awkward oven so this is easiest) but take them out sooner, as Faith said you'll know by touch and by looking at them when they're done.

The one thing I hate about fan ovens is that they can tend to "blow" the mix sideways, meaning you get a peak at one side of your bun.

Not liking the sound of this, mixture blowing lark. The oven I'm working with is a right goer so I feel maybe this could happen...

I think the oven can turn into a conventional oven, like there might be a setting but I'll have to have a look, do you know the symbol to change the oven Spadina? (assuming this is Spadina, new name change has me skewed!)

Faith

Mine has loads of settings as well, including conventional. The fan setting obviously has a little picture of a fan, and for conventional, it's two parallel horizontal lines like = but further apart. If you're worried peaked tops (which I wouldn't be, unless you're selling them or trying to make a seriously good impression), then just turn the tray around after about 10 minutes.

Lornen

Faith wrote: »

Mine has loads of settings as well, including conventional. The fan setting obviously has a little picture of a fan, and for conventional, it's two parallel horizontal lines like = but further apart. If you're worried peaked tops (which I wouldn't be, unless you're selling them or trying to make a seriously good impression), then just turn the tray around after about 10 minutes.

Trying to make a seriously good impression.

A girl I know saw some I made before and asked me to make her some lemon cupcakes for her mother's birthday as a present so I'm doing lemon cupcake stuffed with fresh raspberry mousse frosted with white chocolate and vanilla bean frosting. So they are hopefully going to look nice. I'm a little pedantic I know, considering you don't necessarily need a flat top for a stuffed cupcake. I just want them to look perfect.

AH! I thought that sign was for a grill..
I'll have a look later on to make sure they have that setting

Acoshla

Faith wrote: »

Mine has loads of settings as well, including conventional. The fan setting obviously has a little picture of a fan, and for conventional, it's two parallel horizontal lines like = but further apart. If you're worried peaked tops (which I wouldn't be, unless you're selling them or trying to make a seriously good impression), then just turn the tray around after about 10 minutes.

+1 on all of this. I wouldn't be worried about peaked tops moreso than ones that peak sideways. Some ovens can do this quite severely which make decorating difficult, our old home oven had no static option and if you didn't turn the buns they blew out over the edge of the case, enveloping the paper into them. I know this is an extreme example of it but they can be difficult to decorate and even eat for yourself, never mind selling/people you want to give them to! But again as Faith said, just turn them around about 10 mins in if you think they're peaking at one side.

Don't worry about it too much, cupcakes are pretty quick and are easy to watch for done-ness (official term!) if using a different oven. If you're stuffing them with something they'll be grand!

The static symbol is two straight parallel bars, just looking at my oven now the grill is a jaggedy bar on top of the symbol, if it helps.

Lornen

Acoshla wrote: »

+1 on all of this. I wouldn't be worried about peaked tops moreso than ones that peak sideways. Some ovens can do this quite severely which make decorating difficult, our old home oven had no static option and if you didn't turn the buns they blew out over the edge of the case, enveloping the paper into them. I know this is an extreme example of it but they can be difficult to decorate and even eat for yourself, never mind selling/people you want to give them to! But again as Faith said, just turn them around about 10 mins in if you think they're peaking at one side.

Don't worry about it too much, cupcakes are pretty quick and are easy to watch for done-ness (official term!) if using a different oven. If you're stuffing them with something they'll be grand!

The static symbol is two straight parallel bars, just looking at my oven now the grill is a jaggedy bar on top of the symbol, if it helps.

Bing. All of that noted

Static Symbol = convention oven yes?


'Scuse the stupidity. Not on the ball!

Faith

If they do peak, wait until they've cooled before doing anything. Mine usually even out a fair bit. And you can always lop off the peak if you're going to be frosting it, because no-one will know. You'd be amazed what people are impressed by - I've served cupcakes that I think look horrible in the past, and people have just piled compliments on them.

And like Acoshla, my symbol for the grill is jagged lines.

Faith

Here's a few symbols, and they've been handily marked by the person who did this:




The jagged ones on the right are for the grill.

rubadub

Not sure if this would work, but I imagine you could wrap tinfoil around the tray, not over the top but around the sides sticking up 4 to 6 inches, to act as a "wind break" or buffer to stop the air hitting it harshly.

You are best starting out at the lower 160 since you never know how accurate a thermostat is on a new oven, mine has no indications of heat, all I know is "full" is like a furnace!