We always have leftover champagne this time of year, so to take advantage of the situation Fuzz and I made these champagne cupcakes. They’re white cupcakes with a tiny hint of champagne flavor and a vanilla flavored pink frosting.
They also have a really nice, soft, fluffy, texture; slightly domed tops and a not-too-sweet flavor.
I used White Lily flour which I have to special order and keep in my deep freeze. If you can’t find White Lily, use an alternative listed below. The most important thing is that whatever flour you use weighs in at around 6.2 ounces or 174 grams.
For the champagne, you’ll probably want to use whatever you’ve been drinking, but I think a slightly sweet champagne would work best, as these cupcakes aren’t very sweet. Not sure what the champagne labels mean? Unlike wine, where the term “dry” is often associated with “less sweet” or “less fruity”, a “dry” champagne is usually slightly sweeter. “extra dry” champagne is little sweeter than dry, whereas “brut” and “extra brut” have the least levels of sweetness.
Recipe
Champagne Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups White Lily or 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon of cake flour. Whichever flour you’re using it should weigh around 6.2 ounces or 175 grams**
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg whites
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (84 grams)
- 3/4 cup 147 grams granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry or extra dry champagne
Pink Frosting
- 1 stick/8 tablespoons 115 grams butter, at room temperature — salted or unsalted
- 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon cream at room temperature milk not recommended**
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon champagne at room temperature or more cream
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of red food paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks forms; set aside.
- With the same mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and milk. By hand, stir in the flour alternately with the champagne until smooth. With a silicone scraper, fold egg whites into the batter until smooth. Divide batter among cupcake cups and bake for 20-23 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Let cool completely, then ice with Pink Champange Frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue beating, scraping sides of the bowl. Add room temperature cream and continue beating, then add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add champagne if desired, or use more cream as needed.
Notes
If you don’t have a scale, make sure to stir and aerate the flour before measuring.
This frosting is excellent, but will curdle if the ingredients aren’t at room temperature or in some cases, if milk is used in place of cream. As for the salt, regular or salted butter is okay. If you use unsalted, add a very tiny pinch of salt to counter the sweetness a bit.
Anna
T, I really should be more picky about champagne, but the truth is I am not. I made these with some cheap German champagne I found at Trader Joe’s. We picked it based on price and the fact it was German therefore it had to be good ;). It was okay, but we drank one glass each, moved onto our “good” wine and I had a lot leftover. But to answer your question, yet! I could taste the champagne. What’s really fun is when you bake with it (or with wine), it gives off this yeasty aroma that makes the house smell like doughnuts or fresh homemade bread.
T. Martin
Did you really feel the champagne flavor came through? That has always been my curiosity about the champagne cake recipes that I see as I drink the good stuff and would be bummed to waste a drop ;-).
Anna
Mary and Carole,
I haven’t tested either item, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. The ginger ale and the grape would just add a different flavor. That being said, here’s a link to another very good white cupcake. You could just leave out the bubble entirely and go the confetti/Funfetti route!
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2010/04/funfetti-cupcake-clones-and-tie-dye-cupcakes/
Carole Resnick
How about extra dry ginger ale. Like Mary, I seldom (if ever) drink alcohol.
Mary
Hello Anna — My husband and I rarely drink alcohol, but sometimes have sparkling grape juice. How do you think it would work in these cupcakes? I’m thinking that none of the ingredients are exotic or pricey and it seems to be a rather easy recipe, so it might be worth a try.
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat
So pretty! Champagne doesn’t tend to last long in my house, but I’d buy extra to make these!