THERE’S NOTHING MORE SATISFYING THAN A TRAY OF CUPCAKES ALL NEATLY RISEN TO THE SAME LEVEL OR A STACK OF COOKIES ALL IN PERFECT MATCHING ROUNDS. HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS BAKING MAGIC? WE’LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT!

Making your cupcakes and cookies a uniform size is a matter of scooping out the mixture equally before baking.

You will end up with a jumble of different shapes and sizes if you don’t scoop out neatly and equally, so it pays (if you’re really picky about your presentation) to use a food portioner rather than a spoon to serve out your cupcake mixture or cookie dough.

Here’s how you make your cookies or cupcakes the same size:  

1. Invest in a food portioner: this is like an ice cream scoop but it is designed to hold a particular measurement. We use food portioners for scooping pretty much everything! We scoop one scoopful for both cupcake batters and the cupcake frosting to go on top. We scoop several scoopfuls to make our cakes and to frost them. This is why our cakes and cupcakes always look even, because we measure with a food portioner and not by eye.
2. Scrape your food portioner against the side of the bowl before you scoop your mixture or frosting out and click the handle to release it. This will ensure that the amount in the scoop is level. Batters and frostings don’t compress, so when the scoop is full, the excess will be scraped off into the bowl. Equal amounts every time!
3. If your mixture is very stiff, like cookie dough or whoopie pie mixture, use a bowl of hot water to warm the metal scoop in before scooping. It will cut through like butter and your mixture won’t get stuck.

As a rule of thumb, we think tins or cupcake cases shouldn’t be filled more than two-thirds full. This is to leave rising room and ensure your mixture doesn’t spill over and make a mess.

Food portioner FAQs  

Where can I purchase a food portioner from?

Food portioners can be purchased from specialist cookware and catering suppliers and come in various measurements.

We recommend a 50ml food portioner for portioning cupcake mixture and cupcake frosting. Use a level 50ml scoop for perfectly proportioned cupcakes!

We purchase our food portioners here. Similar scoops are also available from Lakeland.  

What sized ice cream scoop/portioner do you recommend?

We recommend a 50ml ice cream scoop/portioner for our cupcakes and whoopie pies. These are available from cookware shops and online retailers.