First of all, as you've discovered, cupcakes are not really suitable for convection baking. Convection is great for cookies, roasted meats, and other things where the sides of the item are accessible. Certain things, need bottom heat - souffles, popovers, cupcakes, etc. By the way, my gas convection oven doesn't automatically lower the temperature - I tend to use the temperature recommended by the recipe but then watch the time for doneness. YMMV As far as the fan goes, I don't know your specific oven, but in general the fan at the back of the oven is the convection fan and it should come on when the oven is in convection mode. If it isn't, it sounds like a service call is in order. I don't know if your oven has a cooling fan. Even if it does, it will only come on in certain circumstances. Your oven most likely wasn't hot enough for the cooling fan to come on - but you could ask the service person when you call about the convection fan.

It would be the unit, but the cookware makes a difference. Induction cooking works by creating a very strong alternating electromagnetic field in a coil under the ceramic glass top (the Hob). When you put a ferrous (iron/magnetic) material in this field its properties change (you can't see this as its at an atom level). This change creates a current in the material, this in known as induction. Because the field in the coil is alternating, it creates an alternating current in your cookware. As with any metal that has a current running through it, depending on its resistance, it will generate heat. The more resistance, the more heat it will generate. Whenever you send a strong alternating electric current through a coil, creating a magnetic field, it will hum. Period. This is because the material in the core that the coil is wrapped around expands and contracts with the cycle (frequency) of the magnetic field. This is called magnetostriction. Depending on the quality of the components and the engineering of the cooktop, you may hear this hum more pronounced with one cooktop than another. As a matter of fact, you may get a different result even between the same make and model. A perfect example of this is between Cushy and me. We both have the same unit and I am fortunate to not have a pronounced hum. This also explains why you may also get a hum depending on the setting the unit is placed. Different strength current, different expansion and contraction, hum or no hum. When you place cookware (ferrous material) on the ceramic glass top it changes the intensity of the magnetic field in the coil and thereby changes the amount of magnetostriction going on. This would be the reason why the hum may disappear when you place cookware on the hob, or it may actually create a hum. Depending on the quality of the ferrous material (cookware), the interaction will be different.

Thank you fori! Well, I tried the paper towel and it made absolutely no difference. Hum city! Get this, I tried my parents 40+ year old cookware and there was absolutely no hum. Then, when the water got close to boiling, there was this loud, different kind of noise. But, it was similar to water boiling on a normal cooktop. I can handle that, of course. The Cook's Essentials cookware is nonstick and my parents' cookware is not. Don't know if that makes any difference. Maybe there is some hope. Sadly, I have a ton of this CE cookware from QVC. It's been okay cookware for my old coil cooktop, but guess it may not work with my induction. I cringe to think of how much All Clad or Demeyere will cost. I was hoping to avoid that. Anyone out there have this same 36" GE induction cooktop? If so, what pans do you use? TIA.

I actually wanted to do this as well when we renovated our kitchen and purchased all profile line appliances. We had wanted the slate color which was only on the profile line and ultimately the price tag fit our needs too, but I love the retro shape of the cafe line, it matches my cabinet wear and style so much more etc. It is certainly interesting that the spacing is different because they print up one set of installation directions for all GE replacement handles - so you'd think it would have worked! Darn!! Maybe someday.....