Why are my cupcakes crunchy on the top?

[bedmonster]

Every time I make them, they go hard on the top. I have tried cooking at a lower temp for a bit longer, still the same. Why do they not stay fluffy and light on the top? The sponge itself is lovely, but every time I make them, the top is crunchy :(

I have this problem with lemon drizzle cake as well.

Try tin foil over the top, or very watery icing sugar mix on top as they are cooling. (last one only on the basis that lemon drizzle cake goes nice and soft again on top once it has been drizzled)

A bowl of boiling water sat in the bottom of the oven during cooking should help.

Does it look like a little volcano eruption? Too much sugar in the recipe, or not mixing thououghly.

Could it be the sugar? I used to get this if I hadn't mixed it enough.

x post with cakebitch

Cream the butter and sugar for double the time you are, should be fine. It should look like buttercream before you add anything else to it. Do not do as I did and forget that you're creaming butter and caster sugar not icing sugar, and scoff a big dollop off your finger, bleurgh!

Okay, thanks for the advice, will try mixing a lot longer and putting water in the bottom of the oven. Thankyou very much! :)