Grown Up Cupcakes!

Strawberries + Champagne + Cake = Yummy Goodness

That’s right people, strawberry champagne cupcakes. I ate not one, not two, but three of these little morsels. Although, one was warm and without the buttercream.

I figured that I needed to add something classy to my menu and I think I’ve found a winner with these. Generally, I wouldn’t toot my own horn, but even my mom, who doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, said that they were great. However, now that I think about it, she is my mom and I’m not sure she’d tell me if they were gross.

Recipe wise, this is my vanilla cupcake recipe with two changes, the addition of champagne and instead of liquid vanilla, I used vanilla bean paste. Not all vanilla tastes the same. I think I mention this every single time I post a recipe, but it’s one of those, “you get what you pay for,” kind of things. I used Barefoot Bubbly Moscato Spumante and it has a slightly orange flavor that comes through. I think . . . I’m not exactly a drinker. I bought it specifically to make these. It was a trial run. My second choice was Korbel Brut.

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

• 8 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/2  teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup champagne
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with 18 – 20 liners. Diced about 1 cup of fresh strawberries and set aside.

In the bowl of stand mixer (or a large bowl for those with hand mixers), cream butter. Add the sugar and cream until fluffy, about 5 – 7 minutes.

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder while the butter and sugar are creaming. I sifted my dry ingredients three times. This isn’t necessary, but I think it produced a lighter cake.

After the butter and sugar are creamed, add the eggs one at a time making sure to let the first incorporate before adding the second. To the butter mixture, add the vanilla bean paste. Scrape the sides of the bowl well and then mix on low for a about 4 seconds.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the champagne. Don’t worry about the flour not fully incorporating because you’ll be able to fold it all in when you add the strawberries.

Fold in the strawberries.

Put about 1/4 cup of batter into each lined cavity. I personally use a professional disher. Normally, yellow handle dishers measure 1/4 of a cup.

Bake for about 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. These are not dark cupcakes. They should look fairly white, but when touched, the tops will spring back. Cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Champagne Buttercream

• 8 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4  cup shortening (I use hi-ratio bakery shortening, but for most people this is not readily available, so use Crisco instead.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup champagne
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups confectioners sugar (Pure cane sugar)

With the paddle attachment, beat the first 6 ingredients until they are relatively combined. It it looks rather curdled, it’s okay, it will all come together once the sugar is added.

Add the sugar about a cup at a time making sure to beat well after each addition. Personally, I just cut the tip off of the bag and slowly pour in the sugar, but I can pretty much make buttercream in my sleep. I also added a splash more of the champagne, but it’s not necessary. Beat on a medium low speed until smooth.

Using a piping bag fitted with a large tip, frost cupcakes. In this instance, I used tip 1M made by Wilton. Garnish with a slice of strawberry, if desired.

You can get vanilla bean paste here:

Nielsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste

LorAnn Vanilla Bean Paste

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!