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
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line two cupcake pans with cases and set aside
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and champagne – the mixture will fizz and bubble a little while you do this.
- Alternate between adding flour and champagne mixtures to butter and sugar mix, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until well combined.
- 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
- In a medium bowl, whisk together corn flour and ¼ cup of cream. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pour patisserie cream into a small bowl and allow to cool slightly.
- 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
- 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.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until light and creamy. Add icing sugar and 2 Tbsp reduced champagne, mixing until well combined.
- Add remaining 2 Tbsp of champagne and beat until pale and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- Transfer buttercream into a piping bag and decorate cupcakes.
