Every special occasion deserves a special frosting, that's what this pink champagne buttercream frosting is all about. Made with champagne reduction, light, and creamy. A perfect over cakes, cupcakes, macarons, or desserts
Table of Content
Can you guess what's the best part of making Pink Champagne Buttercream? You use only two cups of champagne for the reduction and the rest is yours to drink. I used these on my champagne cupcakes and they were a huge success with everyone asking for the recipe.
Why make this buttercream?
- This is the Champagne of all buttercreams.
- It's creamy and light and it's not too soft so you can pipe a pretty swirl on your cupcakes.
- All the ingredients used in this recipe are champagne, powdered sugar and simple pantry staples.
- In fact, you could pipe a few roses with this buttercream if you use the champagne reduction for maximum flavor and less liquid to keep the buttercream stiff.
- Also, it really takes less than 10 minutes to whip this buttercream and it can stay in the refrigerator for days. You can even freeze leftovers for up to a month in the freezer..
Ingredients and substitutes
- Champagne - Now as a rule of thump - always cook with wine that you will drink and chocolate that you will eat. Right?
Similarly, use a Champagne that you will drink. If you can't drink it - trust me you don't want to use it. Having said that, no; you don't have to dig a hole in your wallet. You can buy a good quality Champagne at a decent price from your local wine shop. - Cherry - This is my secret ingredient. I love using a few cherries when I'm reducing the champagne. It adds that subtle flavor but also a natural pale pink color.
- Butter - I always use all butter in my frosting. It's just me! It's really very rare that I use vegetable shorting in my frosting. This one is all butter. If you prefer and are worried about humidity - you can substitute half the butter with vegetable shortening like Crisco.
- Powdered sugar / Confectioners sugar - Use a good quality powder sugar made with cane sugar, not beet sugar and you will never have a gritty or grainy frosting.
- Red or pink food coloring gel - I love that little pink color I get from the cherries so I don't use any additional food color but often when I use them in cupcakes for customers I use that ever so little dab of pink gel food coloring.
- Champagne extract - (optional) Because we can use so little of the champagne in the frosting often our expectation of the flavor can be only met with the extract. It is an optional ingredient. However, If you are a cake decorator it's worth the investment.
Pink champagne buttercream
Champagne reduction
- Crush the cherries slightly to bruise them. Place champagne and cherries in a small saucepan on low heat. Reduce the liquid to almost ⅓ of its original quantity. Set aside covered to cool.
Pro tip - by reducing the liquid we intensify the flavor while still keep the quantity the same.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute until creamy.
- Next, add powdered sugar one cup at a time along with the champagne reduction. Once all the powdered sugar is in continue to whip until light and fluffy. Add the salt, champagne extract, and vanilla extract - whip a minute more
- Pink champagne buttercream - add a few drops of pink food gel colors to make a pretty color.
- Consistency - If necessary you can add more champagne or heavy cream for consistency.
Pro tip - If you want to pipe firm swirls I recommend not adding too much liquid. - Pipe cupcakes - Fill a piping bag with buttercream and a large star piping tip. Pipe a generous swirl on each cupcake.
- Enjoy!
More buttercream recipes
- Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting
- Caramel Buttercream
- Ermine Frosting (boiled milk frosting or Flour Frosting
- Eggnog Buttercream
- Maple Buttercream
- See all buttercream frosting recipes
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Printable Recipe
Champagne Buttercream
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save Grow Difficulty: Easy
Diet : GF, Eggless, NF
Calories: 284kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 4 cups
Description
Every special occasion deserves a special frosting, that's what this pink champagne buttercream frosting is all about. Made with champagne reduction, light, and creamy. A perfect over cakes, cupcakes, macarons, or desserts
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Enough to frost 12 to 15 cupcakes or one 8-inch cake
Champagne reduction
- 2 cups (470 ml) Champagne
- 4 Cherries ((fresh or frozen) )
Buttercream
- 8 oz (8 oz) Unsalted butter ( room temperature)
- 4 cups (480 g) Powdered sugar
- ½ cup Champagne reduction
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Champagne extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Clear vanilla extract
Pink Champagne frosting
- 3 drops Pink gel food coloring
Instructions
Champagne Reduction
- Crush the cherries slightly to bruise them. Place champagne and cherries in a saucepan on low heat. Reduce the liquid to almost ⅓ of its original quantity. Set aside covered to cool.Pro tip - by reducing the liquid we intensify the flavor while still keeping the quantity the same.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute until creamy.
- Next, add powdered sugar one cup at a time along with the champagne reduction. Once all the powdered sugar is in continue to whip until light and fluffy. Add the salt, champagne extract, and vanilla extract - whip a minute more
- Pink champagne buttercream - add a few drops of pink food gel colors to make a pretty color.
- Consistency - If necessary you can add more champagne or heavy cream for consistency.Pro tip - If you want to pipe firm swirls I recommend not adding too much liquid.
- Pipe cupcakes - Fill a piping bag with buttercream and a large star piping tip/nozzle. Pipe a generous swirl on each cupcake.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes & Tips
Premade vanilla buttercream to make champagne buttercream
If you have buttercream in the refrigerator and want to use it. This will work with any of these buttercream recipes - Swiss, Italian, French, German, or American buttercream frosting. The best way to do this -- Make and cool the champagne reduction as detailed below.
- Fold ½ cup champagne reduction to 4 cups of buttercream
- Add the champagne extract (optional)
- Add pink food color if you wish (optional)
- Whip until light and fluffy.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 100- gCalories: 284- kcalCarbohydrates: 40.8- gProtein: 0.7- gFat: 10.8- gSaturated Fat: 6.7- gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4.1- gMonounsaturated Fat: 0- gTrans Fat: 0- gCholesterol: 22- mgSodium: 102- mgPotassium: 0- mgFiber: 0.1- gSugar: 39.4- gVitamin A: 0- IUVitamin C: 0- mgCalcium: 0- mgIron: 0- mg
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Suzy
When I mixed the butter and champagne reduction together it didn’t incorporate at all. When I added the powder sugar it was almost like it was too late and now it keeps separating! What did I do wrong?
Veena Azmanov
It does not make sense. The reduction is like syrup and it can be incorporated at any time - at the beginning, or at the end of the process.
Sherrie
Can superfine sugar be used instead of powdered sugar? Looking forward to giving this a try!
Veena Azmanov
Sherrie, If you use superfine sugar the frosting will be grainy. I suggest if you want to use sugar instead of powdered sugar - make a Swiss meringue buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream instead.
Carmen
Hi, it seems lovely and delicious, just want to make sure, the cherries are incorporated into the buttercream? How do you deal with their skins.
I guess you remove them while cooling, but then do they give enough color for it to even shade the butter?
Sorry but I just started baking the American way (I'm French).
In any case I would like to make this for a friend's gathering on new year's eve.
Thanks.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Carmen. You can add the cherries to the buttercream but I don't. As you can see in the recipe I have bruised the cherries only so I can get the color. I leave the cherries behind when making the buttercream. Hope this helps.
christina
I've tried several pink champagne buttercream frostings and yours is by far the best, Veena. I used just two cherries, as I wanted a very pale pink frosting. The champagne reduction is brilliant -- this frosting maintains a champagne taste, even without champagne extract. Thank you!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Christina. I do love my champagne frosting for exactly the reasons you mentioned.
So really glad you loved it too.
Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Love feedback especially such kind words
Cynthia
What does bod mean beside the cherries mean?i love your blog.
Veena Azmanov
Cynthia is there a typo error somewhere that I am missing? I can't see bod anywhere near cherries... In the ingredients there is Cherries - 4 nos.. nos. usually stands for number.. Is that what you referring to?