Champagne Cupcakes

6:00 AM

For my champagne and cupcake themed 25th birthday party, I baked champagne cupcakes. The cake batter, filling and frosting all contained champagne. (They were pretty boozy.) Yummy! The photo and recipe are below. This month I sampled Sensational Bites' (3751 N. Southport Ave.) Strawberry Champagne Cupcake to test the competition. They were lighter--the frosting tasted of champagne but the cake had a very faint flavor. If you don't have the time or energy to bake your own batch, these moist cakes are the next best thing. I'll toast to that!



Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes
Yield:  about 17 cupcakes                   
                                                            
Cake: 

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagneprosecco or your choice of sparkling wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.  in a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little).  Add flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Batter will be thick.

Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter.  Bake for 17-22 minutes.  Set aside.

Champagne Pastry Creme Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup champagne or prosecco
2 tbsp cornstarch 
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Combine the remaining heavy cream, sugar and 1/2 cup champagne in a saucepan; bring to a boil then remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg and egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture.  Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook.  Return the remaining champagne/heavy cream mixture to a boil.  Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.  

Cut a divot into the top of each cupcake and fill with pastry cream.  Trim the cut-out cake pieces flat to make a "lid" and place on top of the filled divot.

Champagne Frosting:
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. champagne or prosecco
2 sticks of butter softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons.  Transfer to a small bowl or condiment cup and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together.  Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 2 tbsp. champagne plus 1 tbsp. champagne from the bottle and mix well.

Frost the cream-filled cupcakes and decorate with pastel dragees.

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About Me

I am a communications profesh with PR, social media and event experience, promoting consumer lifestyle brands. As a freelance journalist, I've splashed the pages of publications like Refinery29, Racked and Time Out. Additional creative outlets include snapping photos–finding the beauty in everyday life. I created Street To Runway to celebrate the changing fashion industry—where everyday folk inspire designers to create innovative collections. The blog has expanded to a resource where culture and creativity of all sorts collide. For more, visit RobinClement.com.

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