Pink Champagne Cupcakes and Sipper

I saw a cake recipe on Hungry Mum’s blog and was anxious to try it.  She made a big, beautiful two-layer cake, but my daughters and I try to have smaller portions of dessert and I adapted the recipe somewhat to make 12 small cupcakes.  I just used a grocery store variety of champagne and I’m sure the flavor would be even better with a good quality bottle.  We all enjoyed the little pink cupcakes with just a swirl of frosting.  I changed the frosting a bit because I didn’t have time to let it chill for an hour as the original recipe suggested.

MY PINK CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES AND SIPPER

• Servings: 12 cupcakes, 28 oz. sipper
• Print

CUPCAKES
1-½ cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
Dash salt
4 Tblsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 egg whites*
1 cup pink champagne
2 drops red food coloring

FROSTING
3 Tblsp. butter, softened
1-½ cups confectioners’ or powdered sugar
Dash salt
1 Tblsp. pink champagne
1 drop red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 12-cup muffin tin or insert paper/silicone liners

To make the cupcakes:
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add vanilla and then egg whites gradually until combined.

Mix in flour mixture alternately with champagne, ½ cup of each at a time, beginning and ending with flour.

Divide batter among 12 muffin cups (about ½ cup of batter per unit).

Bake for approximately 22-25 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.  Leave in cupcake tin for about 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool.

To make the frosting:
Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer for one minute. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, salt, champagne and food coloring, beating until smooth.  Add a bit more sugar or champagne if necessary to get the consistency you want.

When cakes are completely cool, swirl a bit of frosting on the top of each cake.  This amount of frosting is just right for 12 cupcakes.

*If you want to freeze the yolks, whisk together with 1/8 tsp. of salt, cover, label and freeze.  Remove from freezer to refrigerator overnight when you’re reading to use.  Good for recipes that need only yolks or beaten together with one or two eggs to make an omelet or scrambled eggs.

P.S.  This recipe used about half of a bottle of champagne.  This tasty drink would be a good way to use up leftover champagne.  If starting with a full bottle, there are 2-¼ cups left which can be used to make this easy and delicious Pink Champagne Sipper.

PINK CHAMPAGNE SIPPER
½ cup simple syrup (recipe below – allow to cool)
3 Tblp. orange juice concentrate
3 Tblsp. water
2 Tblsp. lemon juice
2 to 2-¼ cups pink champagne

To make the simple syrup:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil and cook one minute longer.  Remove from heat, pour into container and refrigerate until cool.

When syrup is cool, add orange juice concentrate, water, lemon juice and champagne.  Chill until ready to serve.  Makes 28 oz.

Although it makes a pretty picture to have the sipper and cupcakes together, the sipper has a much stronger flavor and could be enjoyed by itself while serving the cupcakes with some lovely tea.