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
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. In fact, you could pipe a few roses with this buttercream if you follow my little trick below.
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.
Table of Content
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.
- Fresh whipping cream - You can use milk or more champagne, I think the cream is thicker and more yummy.
- 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 - Often 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.
- Champagne extract - 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.
Step by step 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.
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.
- Add the champagne reduction, salt, champagne extract, and vanilla extract - whip a minute more
- Next, add powdered sugar one cup at a time until light and fluffy. If necessary you can add more champagne or whipped cream for consistency.
Tip - If you want to pipe firm swirls I recommend not adding too much liquid. - Do a taste test and check if too stiff or still grainy. If necessary add one to two tbsp fresh cream or champagne. Whip some more.
Tip - Powdered sugar made with beet sugar tends to stay grainy and may need more liquid to dissolve. Personally, I prefer to use powdered sugar made with cane sugar. - For cupcakes shown above - Fill a piping bag with buttercream and a large star piping tip/nozzle. Pipe a generous swirl on each cupcake.
- Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe
Pink 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
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
- ½ tsp Salt
- 4 cups (480 g) Powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp Champagne extract
- ½ tsp Clear vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Whipping cream or more champagne
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.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.
- Add the champagne reduction, salt, champagne extract, and vanilla extract - whip a minute more
- Next, add powdered sugar one cup at a time until light and fluffy. If necessary you can add more champagne or whipped cream for consistency.Tip - If you want to pipe firm swirls I recommend not adding too much liquid.
- Do a taste test and check if too stiff or still grainy. If necessary add one to two tbsp fresh cream or champagne. Whip some more.Tip - Powdered sugar made with beet sugar tends to stay grainy and may need more liquid to dissolve. Personally, I prefer to use powdered sugar made with cane sugar.
- For cupcakes shown above - Fill a piping bag with buttercream and a large star piping tip/nozzle. Pipe a generous swirl on each cupcake.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Have vanilla buttercream on hand?
This is mostly applicable to cake decorators like me who already have buttercream in the fridge!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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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?