Make This Weekend: Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Here's a little secret: I'm known by my co-workers as Bubbly Muse. What can I say-I have a penchant for champagne!
Of course, my favorite way to consume champagne is straight up in a frosted flute, but I've been known to throw a little in pasta sauce or use a bit to deglaze a pan. It just gives any dish an extra boost of yum.
I've never baked with champagne, though. I wasn't even sure if it would work. But I wanted to make something extra special for all the moms (or in my case, mum) out there, so I figured I'd give it a go.
I decided to make a batch of deliciously fluffy, ever so airy cupcakes. But not just any cupcakes-these cupcakes are made with champagne, filled with a fresh strawberry buttercream, and then topped with even more buttercream on top. Yum! The champagne added an extra airiness to the batter, and the surprise pink filling took the cupcakes to the next level.
The best part? I made this recipe with a boxed cake mix, so you can whip up a batch in no time at all! Happy Mother's Day to all our Muse Moms out there!
Ingredients
Cake
1 box white cake mix
Egg whites (see back of box for quantity)
Canola oil (see back of box for quantity)
Champagne (substitute bubbly for water, see back of box for quantity)
Frosting
4 sticks butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup champagne
1 pint fresh strawberries, finely chopped
Directions
First of all, gather your ingredients. It will make the whole process so much easier if you have everything you need on hand.
Measure out the secret ingredient (bubbles)-you'll use however much water the box calls for. In my case, it was 1 1/4 cups. Mix, mix, mix-make sure everything is incorporated, but don't overbeat. You want your cupcakes to be nice and airy!
Fill your cupcake tins. I wanted mine to be nice and big, so I filled them almost all the way full. Pop them in the oven and bake according to the box instructions.
While your cupcakes are baking, make the buttercream frosting. Take the butter, champagne, and powdered sugar, and mix until smooth and creamy. Take half of the buttercream and set aside for now
Quickly chop up your strawberries, then add them to the remaining buttercream and blend until combined. I actually messed up here; I overbeat the buttercream so it started to separate. Don't worry if this happens-just throw the whole mixture in a blender and blitz. Instead of a chunkier filling, you'll have a smooth, creamy inside, which will still taste delicious!
By now, your cupcakes should be done. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Then, take two piping bags and fit one with a frosting tip that has a wide open tip (I used Wilton #230) and the other with a star shaped tip (I used Wilton 1M). Fill the first bag with the strawberry buttercream and the second with the basic buttercream. Stick the strawberry bag's tip into the center of each cupcake and squeeze a little bit of buttercream into each one. You'll know you've squeezed enough when the strawberry buttercream starts to spill out the top.
Then take the basic buttercream and pipe a simple spiral on top of each cupcake, moving in a circular manner from the outside in. If you're feeling fancy, you can top with sugar or sprinkles.
That's it! The most complicated part of the recipe is piping the buttercream, but I promise it's not hard. And, you can always add more add a few more sprinkles to cover up any mistakes.
Just be sure to serve with a glass of bubbles! Happy Mother's Day!
This article was originally published on The Daily Muse. For delicious recipes, check out:
Niki Lowry comes to The Daily Muse from the financial world, but she's an online girl at heart. After graduating from Cal, she spent a couple of years traveling and working (Ireland - NY- OC) before finally making it back to San Francisco to pursue a career in business and marketing. When she's not Musing, you can find her on her blog, wandering around the Ferry Building in San Francisco, or with her nose in a ridiculously addicting YA book. Say hi on Twitter @nikilowry.
