Champagne cupcakes

There are two things that instantly spring to mind when I think of parties – champagne and cakes. The two things just go hand in hand, right?

So when I was deciding what treat to make to celebrate the re-launch of High Tea with Dragons my mind simply kept coming back to the two things, dreaming up ways they could be combined to create a truly magical dessert.

That’s where these decadent champagne cupcakes come in. Imagine a deliciously fluffy cupcakes flavoured lightly with champagne, packed with a homemade champagne patisserie cream filling and topped with a swirl of champagne infused buttercream icing. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

Luckily these champagne cupcakes don’t disappoint – they really are as good as they sound. Each cupcake is infused with just the right amount of champagne making each bite a true celebration, bursting with all the best parts of champagne and cake.

While they may sound a little complicated, these cupcakes really are worth the extra effort involved in pulling all the parts together. Yip, it takes a little bit of time to get everything prepared, baked and assembled, but the finished cupcakes are absolutely divine.

Most of a bottle of champagne is used to make these decadent cupcakes, so simply use whichever sparkling wine you can afford – and can bear to pour into cake batter rather than drink! I used a bottle of Riccadonna Prosecco which worked absolutely beautifully without breaking the bank – I’d definitely recommend it.

Of course, these cupcakes are best washed down with a glass of your favourite champagne. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Sprinklebakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

Champagne cupcakes

• 112g butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups plain flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup champagne, prosecco or your favourite sparkling wine

Champagne patisserie cream filling

• ½ cup cream, divided into two ¼ cup measures
• ½ cup champagne, prosecco or your favourite sparkling wine
• 2 Tbsp cornflour
• 5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 whole egg + 2 egg yolks
• 30g butter, softened and cubed

Champagne buttercream

• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp champagne, prosecco or your favourite sparkling wine
• 225g butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups icing sugar

Method

Champagne cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line two cupcake pans with cases and set aside
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and champagne – the mixture will fizz and bubble a little while you do this.
5. Alternate between adding flour and champagne mixtures to butter and sugar mix, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until well combined.
6. Fill cupcake cases ¾ full of mixture and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Champagne patisserie cream filling

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together corn flour and ¼ cup of cream. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining ¼ cup cream, sugar and champagne. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. Remove from heat when boiling.
3. Add the whole egg and egg yolks to the corn flour mixture, beating until well combined. Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook.
4. Return remaining champagne mixture to the boil. Pour the egg mixture into the champagne mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until well combined.
5. Pour patisserie cream into a small bowl and allow to cool slightly.
6. Cut the centre from each cupcake and fill with patisserie cream. Trim the remaining cake pieces to form a lid and place on top of filled holes.

Champagne buttercream

1. Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to approx. 2 Tbsp. Transfer to a small bowl or cup and allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter until light and creamy. Add icing sugar and 2 Tbsp reduced champagne, mixing until well combined.
3. Add remaining 2 Tbsp of champagne and beat until pale and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
4. Transfer buttercream into a piping bag and decorate cupcakes.

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