Can you turn off the fan in the oven? I think that is why your cupcakes are baking lopsided. Also, you might want to post your question in the pro baker group area. I think it's just home bakers over here.

Here are some past posts I copied from the oldBakingCircle re your issue:
---------------------------
12/21/2004
Toffee

Convection or convection bake

I thought I was the only one who didn't like the convection for baked stuff. It
does great with reheating pizza to melt the cheese, but I can't figure out
how to not ruin cookies and bread.

12/13/2003
lorrainesfav Convection Ovens & Lopsided Muffins

Does anyone know if....convection ovens can cause lopsided muffins and cakes. Lately all my muffins have been lopsided even though I use a cookie scoop to evenly add the batter to the muffin cups. When done baking some of the muffins look "blown" to one side. Is the convection fan doing this? Maybe certain batters need a little more delicate oven than a force of hot air blowing. Maybe somethings wrong with my convection oven. What do you think?? Lorraine

Message: 2
12/13/2003
Twin2

Convection Ovens & Lopsided Muffins

Lorraine: I have had this problem and have solved it in this way; I preheat the oven. Put the muffins in the oven and turn it off for about three minutes. This seems to give the muffins a chance to do their oven spring un-molested by the forced air from the fan and also set a bit of a film over the soft batter. At about the three minute mark I turn the oven back on for the remainder of the baking period. You can keep an eye on them and turn them if necessary. This and making sure that the oven was dead level has solved my problem. We make lots of muffins and cupcakes and all my ovens are convection.
Good luck to you. Cathy

New convection oven

I just purchased a new Fisher Paykel electric double oven. I have been experimenting with some of my old recipes and using the convection mode. Some cookies recipes are fine others spread a bit much. Does any one have some hints on convertering older bake recipes to convection?

Message: 5
12/16/2004
boldarticle convection vs regular oven

Convection ovens have come a long way for the home cook in the last ten years. I bought two ovens two years ago, and one is still, the other convection. The general rule of thumb for using a traditional recipe in a convection oven is to drop the temperature 25 degrees, and check for doneness 15 minutes sooner for hour of cooking time.
Our new Viking ovens in the test kitchen have a convection bake as well as a convection cycle; it's great because convection bake runs the fan at half speed. That means no flying parchment or curved cookies; a nice feature. A lot of people aren't prepared for the fact that foods baked in the convection oven are often done on the edge near the door first; the fan blows the air straight across from the back, and the bounce off the door can create a hot spot there.
The fan on my convection is audible but not intrusive. If I'm more than a few feet from the oven I don't notice it at all.

I use convection for roasting or casseroles that would normally take an hour; when I get home late from work I can put supper on the table in 30% less time, which is a very nice thing.

cupcakes and convection oven

I usually lower the oven temperature 25 degrees less than a recipe requires. The only convection related problem I have had is lopsided muffins because of a delicate batter and the convection fan blowing too hard.
----------------------------

Twin2 (post above) owned a bakery for many years and she says all their ovens are convection so her tips may be valuable to you.

Boldarticle (post above) is a KingArthurFlour employee and she addresses your problem in her post.

You can email Boldarticle (Susan Reid) at:

susan.reid@kingarthurflour.com

and she may be able to further assist you.

Hope this helps you find resolution to your issue.

As usual, Swirth to the rescue!

Swirth, is it my imagination or is there not as much participation as there used to be on the old bakers circle? I was on late last night, but there didn't seem to be any new questions, answers or posters. I used to be able to get an answer, or someone to talk to, at any hour of the day. Even if that person was on the other side of the world. Just wondering. And I know you will see this because you are still here! :-))

Hi mrscindy! I sort of answered that question for you the other day when you asked about the oldBC shutting down in the Pecan Pie thread...did you read my reply there? I tried to cover several aspects of the oldBC and the newBC.

The newBC started a year and a week ago; at least that's when the oldBCers found out about it. The oldBC went for nine years and 5 months. The oldBC shut down for good on 2/1/2011.

It doesn't seem like there is as much participation part of the time but at other times there is a good bit of activity. Many of the old regulars/BCers left. I wrote a long reply in that Pecan Pie thread.

While it is sadly true that some frequent posters chose to go elsewhere, volume on the old BC had already dropped by quite a bit compared to when I first joined up in around 2007. In part that may just be an indication of how many other places there are on the Internet to talk about food (even just baking!) these days.

However, I think the NUMBER of posters is higher than it was 2 years ago, though there don't seem to be as many periods of frenetic posting.

Also, the new threaded format doesn't lend itself to long discussions, because it gets to be too hard to find new comments when they're in the middle of the stack and you have to figure out which ones you've already seen.

Yes, I read your post. I guess I was hoping some of the new people would be as active as the old ones. What a sad thing for this site to lose so many people. King Aruther Flour must just be sick at their stomach about that. I know if I was in charge of the circle I would be. And looking at the Pro Baker group is even more dismal. There haven't been posts on some subjects EVER, much less some that haven't had posts in months! Who thought separating the two was a good idea?

Was there ever a time when KAF asked the people in the old circle how they would like THEIR circle set up or re-done? Did we ever have the chance to contribute to the change?

I know I'm coming in late on this, but I don't ever remember getting anything from KAF about the change, or asking for participation in the change. I would have been there with bells on! I love this site and always have. It just breaks my heart when I see what's happened.

Anyhow, I'm sure you've heard all of this many times from the old ones who just quit. Well, I won't quit, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. There are just too many new bakers who need the encouragement and expertise this site offers. Sad we lost so much of that. Thank the good Lord that we have you. I'm not sure anyone else knows how to find this stuff!

Okay, that's all out of me! Have a great day and I'm sooooooooo glad you're still here!

~Cindy

Yes, they did ask for some input in KC in 2009, and several of the things that were brought up there appear to have affected the design of the new BC.

However, speaking as a software designer with 40 years of experience, when you go from a completely custom written program to one based on an open source platform, some things are going to be different just because that's how the new platform does them.

I'm probably less harsh on KAF for their design choices than many were, because I've been on the other side a lot.

Just love your comment.....

'Well, I won't quit, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.'

My sentiments, exactly!! I actually haven't been here all that much til a month or so ago...but, I get so many requests (emails) for help on things on the oldBC and lost recipes and other things of this nature so I figured maybe I could help more folks if I posted here like I always did on the oldBC.

There were so many hurt and hard feelings over shutting down the oldBC and it got so 'not so pretty' that it made me cringe. I tried my best to stay out of it, the wrangling.

KAF bought a ready-made software pkg. and tried to adapt it to the BakingCircle and there were tons of threads and requests of what folks wanted and how they wanted things to work. Again, not pretty much of the time.

No, we never were asked from point blank what we'd all like in a new BakingCircle. And when the oldBCers found out there was a newBC already up and running, that really started things off on a sour note.

We have so many wonderful new posters here on the newBakingCircle and I enjoy reading their input and seeing their interests and none of my comments are meant to be negative toward any of them in any way; just trying to explain the transition from the old to the new for mrscindy who missed out on all the spirited action.

I was so sad to lose all those many thousands of posts that were like a library that so many of us had enjoyed and contributed to thru those many years.

I do think more folks post in the adverse winter weather months when it helps us survive, so to speak, so maybe you'll see more action in a few months. Lots more baking goes on in the cold months, =)!

mrscindy,

I'm one of the newer posters having just started last November. Mike Nolan was the first who responded - I was having trouble with caramels. Because of that, I kept dipping my toe in further and further (farther?) and have learned a great deal. This is the 1st forum I have been involved with. I, too, miss some of the older members who chose not to stay and I worry about people like VibeGuy, who just seems to have disappeared. I'm thankful that swirth has decided to come back because she is such a wealth of information and I find that there are people whose posts come and go. I agree with swirth that the weather and time of year probably have a lot to do with the slowness of the postings. But KidPizza has returned and he has exceptional knowledge and I love to read his answers to people.

Thanks for coming back and while it might not be what it was, maybe it will become something else you enjoy. I look forward to learning from you, too. Carol

I came on this circle when the OBC was still there. Thank goodness for that. I had time to get a lot of wonderful recipes put on my page. I brought up an old post from the transfer time for you to look at. But it is sad that some old Ttimers choose not to come here anymore.The post is called "We all love to bake" and is on the General discussions.

Well, like Swirth, I'm back! I'm sorry I dropped out for so long, but serious health problems slowed me down. I can't promise they won't be back, but I will continue to contribute as much as I can.

I feel like I have a obligation to this site. When I first started here I had been baking bread for about 20 years. Thought I knew everything about bread. Boy, did I get my pants kicked! I learned so much from so many incredibly knowledgable people, who shared unstintingly, that I was blown away! Because of those loving, giving bakers, my breads became so much more complex and wonderful. I was empowered to experiment waaaaay outside my comfortable little box. If I can give that sense of comfort to a new baker and encourage someone to try something they never would have attempted before, then I have given back to a site that gave me that sense of accomplishment.

I have since taken classes from Peter Reinhart, Dorie Greenspan, Martin Yan, Dorothy Huang and many, many others. I never would have done this if my sense of curiosity had not been awaken at the Baking Circle. Each one of the members pushed and prodded every one of us to reach a little further and question everything and want to learn more. I hope I can continue this learning experience for a new, inexperienced baker, just starting with that first loaf of brick, that first failed cake, that second cookie rock (or pan of cookies that spread into one huge cookie "sheet") or just be there to hold a hand and answer a question. Like I said, I owe this site so much for 10 years of "being" there for me. Now it's my turn to be there for some one else.

Okay, Swirth, and any other oldsters, put me to work. It is going to take some time for me to work through the new site and find my way around, but I will do my best to get up to speed and help as much as possible. No more whining and griping, I promise, just an honest effort to help.

And Cass, I had forgotten how much I loved the gentlemanly way you answer every question. Never mind that your answers are so experienced and knowledgeable, you make everyone feel so special. You never talk down to anyone and always end on such an "up" note. There are very few true gentlemen left, you are one and I am forever grateful that you are one of "us" on the BC!

~Cindy

If Swirth would ever decide to quit this BC I personally will go up to the far North-East wherever she lives (I have a picture of her house !!!) and beg her to come back. We truly would be lost without her.

I'll go with you. Yes, the baking circle would really be lost! Hear that, Swirth?

~Cindy

CHRISTINAJETT:
Good morning to you. I am sorry you are having a hard time with your comm convection ovens. Truthfully, I do not have any special knowledge about baking with them. I can tell you that they are notorious for sustaining screwed up muffins & other small baked products. My main purpose in posting to you is the portion you wrote about "THE MIDDLES ARE MOIST"

That to me means not baked thru although the outer portions are. If you post back & you have not solved this problem I would like pursue this problem with you perhaps I can help you there.

Good luck to you & enjoy the rest of the day.

~KIDPIZZA.

I believe she lives near West Salem Illinois. There was a series of posts about it on the OBC when there was an earthquake in the area (in 2008, as I recall) as the epicenter was within 20 miles or so of her house.

That and thousands of other interesting threads went away when the OBC shut down. :sigh:

I hear you guys! I'll do my best to lend a hand here as long as my brain stays in tip top shape, LOL!

They sorta changed the epicenter after the initial reports settled down and located it east of us about 6-7 miles, more near Bellmont, IL and Bone Gap, IL.

That 5.2 shook the house so badly at 5:37A or so and then an aftershock of 4.8 or so hit maybe at 10:10A...I actually thot of that this morning when I heard a strange noise.

Hope I never have to go thru that again. We had aftershocks til way up in July that year from April 18th, I think it was. I kept emailing some TV weather guys every time we'd have an aftershock and we visited back and forth for several months about this.

My husband did lots of repairs in West Salem that year and one of the houses he worked on was all over the TV stations on news stories of the earthquake.

OMARIA&MRSCINDY:
Good day to you both. If you do need to go to seek out
Mama SWIRTH, she lives in the most south east portion of ILLINOIS. In fact if yo were to stand facing east & the wind was blowing from the west...& you spit,It would land in Indiana.

If you do go do not go during the winter months. You will need a ARMY TANK to get thru the 10 feet high snow & no working utilities. Wait till the spring or summer months. If you do not find her right away go the north 40, find the chuckwagon there she may be there feeding her face once again. If she isn,t there mosey down south into the fields of yellow corn. She is sure to be there counting out the profits of the rows of corn she will be soon be making her. Do not disturb her till she is finished tabulating. Then ask If she will come back to the BC & would she bake you some muffins. If you see Miss Sarah tell her secret pal sezzz HEY!!!.

Enjoy the rest of the day Ladies.

~KIDPIZZA.

MRSCINDY:
Good day my dear elegant friend. I have not seen one of your postings in a very very long time. I am happy to see that you will be active again.

The reason I am posting this is to THANK YOU for all the nice thoughts you have of me & expressing same for the whole world to read. I am sorry to say that there are a few members here that will disagree with you. But & however I would like to say thank you again with a few tears coming from my eyes (I hope your happy now,LOL)

My late wife Shiela thanks you as well as my late parents & I thank you once again.

~CASS.