Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Pink Champagne Buttercream

Name: Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Ingredients: 3 cups Champagne; 4 Cherries; 5 oz Unsalted butter ((10 tbsp) room temperature); 3/4 cup Sugar; 1 1/4 cup All-purpose flour; 2 Eggs (large); 1 tsp Baking powder; 1/4 tsp Salt; 1/2 cup Champagne reduction (above); 1/2 tsp Clear vanilla; 1/2 tsp Champagne extract (optional); 2 drops Pink food color (optional); 1/3 cup Champagne reduction (above); 8 oz Butter ((1/2 cup, 1 stick) unsalted, room temperature); 4 cup Powdered sugar (confectioners sugar); 1/4 tsp Champagne extract (optional); 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract; 4 drops Pink food gel color; 2 tbsp Whipping cream (or milk (if necessary) )

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Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Pink Champagne Buttercream

Pink champagne cupcakes are moist and delicious. They are baked from scratch using Champagne-reduction from cupcake to frosting. Decorated with pretty pink swirls of pink champagne buttercream they will make an impressing addition to any special occasion be it mother's day, valentine's day or wedding.

A display of pretty decorated pink cupcakes flavored with champagne reduction — Pretty Pink Cupcakes, in Champagne Flavor with Champagne Buttercream Frosting

There is something about pink champagne cupcakes or buttercream that says - luxury! Doesn't it? I think they are perfect for any special occasion such as Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, even a wedding and of course birthdays!!

Mother's Day Collaboration by #GlobalFoodies Bloggers

First of all, this is my Mother's Day collaboration post with four other food blogger friends at #GlobalFoodies. And, this month we bring four delicious Mother's Day recipes to celebrate with. I think you are. going to love it. I will like the recipes below with images

Champagne!!

Do you know that not all sparkling wine is champagne? BUT all champagne is sparkling wine. So, while we often refer to all sparkling wine as champagne, the truth is that only the sparkling wine that comes from the city of Champagne in France can be called Champagne. I learned that years ago while working for Singapore Airlines.

And I did visit Champagne - a zillion years ago before I got married. I love to travel and one of my trips was to this beautiful country France.

We traveled from Paris, down to Lourdes, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Niece, Bordeaux, Champagne. Then on to Brussels in Belgium and back to Paris. While in Champagne I visited the winery Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne. And it was such a wonderful experience. I still remember it so fondly. The trip took us 27 days and it was so beautiful!. Also, it was so hectic. Hence, the first thing I said when I reached home was - I need another vacation to rest.

Making homemade simple syrup is easier than you think. Learn to flavor it, enrich it, change the ratio and use it for cakes. — 3 simple easy simple syrup recipes, rich simple syrup, flavor simple syrup, simple syrup for cake decorating

Pink Champagne Buttercream

In my previous post, I gave you the recipe for my Pink Champagne Buttercream. So, you can use it with this or any other cakes or cupcakes. It's a very delicious recipe made with champagne reduction and I highly recommend it.

Let's talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

Champagne - Yes, we do use Champagne! I'll just say - please use good champagne as it will contribute to the taste as much as to flavor.
Cherries - A secret ingredient just like my Perfect Pink Champagne Buttercream. It adds a slight flavor but also gives that ever so pretty pink tinge. If you don't have cherries - just add a drop of pink food color gel.
Food color - I don't always use food color. I like the little ting of color I get from the cherries. And yet, in this post, I have used a dash of Magic Color Bazooka Pink just so the camera would pick on the pink. (It would be weird calling them Pink Champagne cupcakes if they didn't look pink right?)

Alcohol-Free Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Well, Champagne does have alcohol but if you break it down it's a sparkling grape juice! Right? So go ahead and use any non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice you like. Nowadays you get a big selection of these on the market. We often buy these for the kids when we want to celebrate with champagne so the kids don't feel left out. You can do the same reduction as we did with champagne.

Pink Champagne Cupcakes are moist and delicious baked from scratch using Champagne reduction from cupcake to frosting. Decorated with pretty pink swirls of Pink Champagne buttercream these will make an impressing addition to any special occasion be it mothers day , valentine's day or wedding. — Pretty Pink Cupcakes, in Champagne Flavor with Champagne Buttercream Frosting

Useful Tips and Tools

A good quality muffin or cupcake tray is a great investment as it will prevent sticking.
I like using my stand mixer or hand mixer to make mixing easy. But, you can also use just a simple bowl, whisk, and spatula.
I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking. And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons.
Also, it is important to buy cupcake liners from a trustworthy source to prevent cupcake liners from peeling.
And, I love using my cupcake scooper when making cupcakes.
Lastly, a good baking tray is always important. Try using a light-colored baking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with parchment paper for easy clean up just in case of spillage.

How to Make Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream (Save/Pin)

Prepare champagne reduction for both cupcakes and buttercream at once

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.
Use the amount requested in each recipe for the cupcakes as well as buttercream.

Prepare Cupcake Batter

Preheat oven to 160 C / 320 F.
Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
Swift all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder - set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment or hand whisk until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time.
Next, add the extracts vanilla and champagne.
Now add flour and champagne.
If the batter is too stiff add one or two tablespoons of milk.
Add pink food color -mix to incorporate.
Scoop batter into cupcake liners.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely before decorating.

Prepare Frosting

Cream the butter using a paddle attachment for a minute.
Add the champagne reduction – cream for a minute more
Then add salt, champagne extract, vanilla extract
Lastly, add powdered sugar one cup at a time until light and fluffy
If necessary add whipped cream for consistency.

Decorate

Place the buttercream in a piping bag with a large star nozzle.
Pipe a swirl over cooled cupcakes.
Garnish if desired.

12 Tips for baking perfect cupcakes every single time

Follow the recipe properly with minimum substitutions.
Always use good quality ingredients.
Make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature.
Never over mix the batter.
Use a scoop for baking similar size cupcakes.
Always preheat the oven before baking - a hot oven works best for cupcakes.
Bake cupcakes at the right temperature.
Always bake cupcakes on the center rack one tray at a time.
Never open the oven during baking - no peeking.
Remove cupcakes from their pan no later than 7 to 10 minutes after baking.
Store cupcakes properly after baking. Place them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cupcakes dry in the fridge unless wrapped properly with plastic wrap.
Simple syrup the cupcakes if you don't plan to eat them on the same day.

Frequently asked questions

How do you keep these Champagne cupcakes moist?

Bake them until just done - over-baking can dry them out.
Use ingredients like sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, apple sauce that help keep the cupcakes moist.
Add simple syrup to cupcakes before frosting.

How to bake perfect cupcakes?

Baking perfect cupcakes is not hard to achieve if you follow the above 12 tips for perfect cupcakes.

How to bake fluffy Champagne cupcakes?

Moist fluffy cupcakes are all about adding volume to your batter when mixing. This means that knowing how to mix your batter is important.
Over mixing the batter can collapse cupcakes, thus taking away all that fluffiness. As a rule of thumb, cream butter and sugar until the sugar has almost melted - 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time - and make sure each one is well incorporated.
Then, add the flour and liquid - but mix until just incorporated. It is easy to over mix at this stage.

How to prevent cupcakes liners from peeling after baking?

There are a few things you can do - we discussed it in this post -- how to avoid cupcake liners peeling after baking.

My cupcakes don't bake evenly. Why?

There are few things you can do to bake similar size cupcakes - we discussed that in detail here - How to bake same size cupcakes.

How do you cool cupcakes quickly?

You can place cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to cool them quickly. I like to place them for just 5 to 7 minutes in the freezer.
Never leave cupcakes in the fridge open for long as they will dry out.

What temperature is best for baking cupcakes?

I like to bake at 160 - 170 C, or 310 to 325 F, or Gas mark 2 - 3.
Depending on how hot your oven temperature is, cupcakes usually take between 18 to 22 minutes. If your cupcakes bake quicker than 18 minutes or longer than 22 minutes, it's probably best to check if your oven needs calibration.

What other buttercream or frosting can I use for these Champagne cupcakes?

Oh, these cupcakes are delicious with just about any frosting. I have shared with you more than 30 different buttercream flavors here on the blog but these are just a few suggestions.

Over 30 homemade buttercream frosting recipes by Veena Azmanov all in one place.

30 Plus Homemade Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Need a buttercream recipe in 5 minutes? Have a buttercream related question? Wondering what buttercream to use for your cake? It's all here in one place. 30 plus homemade buttercream frosting recipes for you to explore. With recipes, tips, trick, and troubleshooting, as well as popular questions, answered.

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