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champagne cupcakes

Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes

Soft. Delicate. Sparkling. My favourite Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes pack three layers of sweet and fruity champagne flavour into one perfectly delightful and sophisticated cupcake. Starting with a light champagne cupcake base, these cupcakes are filled with velvety champagne pastry cream and topped with a fluffy champagne buttercream. They are fit for any special occasion, including New Years celebrations, bridal showers, and weddings!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American, French
Servings 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
  

Champagne Cupcake Base

  • 1 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup Cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter softened, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil Any lightly flavoured oil such as Canola
  • 1 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 4 Egg Whites large, room temperature
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/2 cup Sparkling Wine such as Champagne, Prosecco

Champagne Cream

  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 cup Sparkling Wine such as Champagne, Prosecco
  • 2 tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 4 Egg yolks large, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Champagne Buttercream

  • 1 1/4 cup Sparkling Wine such as Champagne, Prosecco
  • 1 cup Unsalted Butter softened, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp Heavy Cream

Instructions
 

Champagne Cupcake Base

  • Preheat oven to 350F (convection bake 325F). Line 2x cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.
  • In a small bowl, whisk flour and corn starch to aerate.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed to combine and gradually increase speed to medium, mixing until butter mixture looks light in colour and creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Add egg whites, one at a time, to mixture. Incorporating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract.  
  • In small bowl or mixing cup, combine sour cream with champagne. Mix until homogenous.
  • Reduce speed of stand/electric mixture to low and slowly add 1/3 of flour mixture. Then add 1/2 of sour cream/champagne mixture. Repeat flour and liquid steps, finishing with addition of the flour mixture. Scrape down bowl and mix one final time. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner.
  • Bake cupcakes for 22-25 mins or until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool on wire rack.

Filling (champagne pastry cream)

  • In a saucepan, heat heavy cream and champagne. Bring to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk sugar, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk until mixture is creamy, pale, and smooth. 
  • Slowly pour all of the boiled liquid into the mixing bowl with the eggs, while vigorously mixing. Transfer mixing bowl contents back to the saucepan. Continue to heat mixture on medium-low heat until thickened, whisking often to prevent lumps from forming.
  • Remove cream from the heat. Add butter and whisk until melted. Add a pinch of salt and vanilla. Cover surface with plastic wrap (to prevent skin from forming) and let cool completely.
  • Cut a hole out of the centre of each cupcake. Remove cupcake lid and fill with 1 teaspoon of custard. Add the top of each cupcake lid back to the cupcake. Continue to make buttercream.

Champagne Buttercream

  • In a small saucepan/pot, bring champagne to a boil. Swirl mixture occasionally while allowing the champagne to reduce. The mixture is ready when it has reduced to approximately 2-3 tablespoons. (note: DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE POT! This mixture can burn quickly if left unattended)
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter on medium speed.
  • Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar to the butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
  • Once all powdered sugar has been incorporated, add the reduced champagne. Continue to mix the icing on medium speed until fluffy. If the mixture is stiffer than your liking, add 1-2 tbsp of heavy cream and continue to mix.
  • Put frosting in a piping bag with your favourite star piping tip and decorate each filled cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!
  • Note: For an extra special "sparkling" decoration, melt white chocolate. Stir in popping candy and spread flat into a bark. The white chocolate will prevent the popping candy from popping in advance. Allow bark to cool. Once hard, crack into pieces and place a piece of chocolate onto each candy (note: once you eat these cupcakes, they will pop, just like Champagne!)

Video

Notes

Sofia’s Tips:
  • Do these cupcakes contain alcohol?! No. While champagne has been added to each step of these cupcakes, the alcohol content is baked out of the cupcake base during the cooking process, and evaporated out of the custard and reduced champagne mixture leaving only the delicious flavour of the sparkling wine.
  • Champagne Filling: Combining the milk with the egg mixture too quickly will cause the eggs to scramble! Go slow! In the event that you have some curdled egg pieces in your custard, don’t panic! To get a smoother custard just use a strainer to remove the coarse particles.
  • Cupcakes can be frozen, individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in ziplock back for up to 2 months!
Keyword champagne buttercream, champagne cupcakes, custard, elegant, moist, sugar, vanilla pastry cream
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