The Unexpected Way Rice Can Make Your Cupcakes Even Better

If you're planning to make cupcakes, you first have to make sure you have the right ingredients on hand. At minimum, that usually means butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and baking powder. 

Cupcake liners are also a must, but there's one other thing you should consider including in your baking process: uncooked rice. According to cake artist Felicia Maddox in Chicago, who goes by @klynnscakes on Instagram, it's the key to getting the perfect cupcake texture.

For Maddox's hack, you won't be adding uncooked rice into your cake batter but rather into the cupcake tin before setting the cupcake liners down. This allows the cupcakes to bake more evenly, so, if your cupcakes tend to be dry and hard on the outside but raw on the inside, adding rice is worth a try. 

Per Maddox's explanation, the rice absorbs excess moisture and residual oil, creating a barrier between the batter and the pan. Ultimately, this results in perfect cupcake baking conditions. Just a teaspoon under each cupcake liner is all you need.

While adding uncooked rice to the bottom of the tin is a great way to achieve evenly baked cupcakes, the hack is still beneficial even if you already have your recipe and baking technique mastered. 

As The Pioneer Woman shares, it can also help with presentation. Ever buy cute cupcake liners only to have them ruined by grease spots after you take your treats out of the oven? This is a result of the grease from the melted butter seeping out of the batter during the baking process. Since it has nowhere else to go, it collects at the bottom of the pan or is absorbed by the cupcake liner. 

But, because rice has natural absorbing qualities, it gives that excess grease a place to go. The Pioneer Woman put the hack to test and found it has no impact on taste and definitely does the trick if you want a cleaner presentation — or just don't want grease on your fingers when eating your freshly baked cupcakes.