The night they invented champagne
It’s plain as it could be
They thought of you and me
The night they invented champagne
They absolutely knew
That all we’d want to do is
Fly to the sky on champagne
And shout to everyone in sight
That since the world began
No woman or a man
Has ever been as happy as we are tonight!
from the motion picture Gigi
I adore champagne. And all its incarnations – prosecco, cava, sparkling wine, asti. If I was given the choice of only enjoy one special beverage for the rest of my life, I would choose champagne. Not only because good champagne is absolutely delicious. It’s also because of all that champagne represents. Say the word “champagne” and wonderful associations immediately spring to mind: bubbles, festive, indulgent, celebrations, flirty, headiness, golden, amusing, intoxicating, seductive, delightful,holidays, sparkle! No wonder we raise glasses of champagne to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and the hopes for the new year.
And so, to celebrate this New Year’s Eve, I give you Champagne Cupcakes. The recipe is adapted from one by Sprinkle Bakes. I did not include the pastry cream filling in mine, but urge you to give it a try, they look fantastic.
I raise my glass to all, wishing you a peaceful, joyful, cupcake filled 2013!
Champagne Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagne or other sparkling wine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Fill cupcake tin with paper liners.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add in the vanilla.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Combine the sour cream and champagne in another bowl.
Add the dry ingredients and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Fill the cupcake liners with 1/4 cup of batter.
Bake for 17 – 22 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Champagne Buttercream Frosting
1 cup plus one Tablespoon champagne
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
Pour 1 cup of champagne into a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool.
Using the whisk attachment for a stand mixer, combine the butter and confectioners sugar.Whisk together for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the cooled reduced champagne with the tablespoon of remaining champagne and mix to combine.
Frost and decorate as desired. For these cupcakes, I used gold sanding sugar, gold pearlized sugar and gold dragees.
