Because I love pink and cupcakes and sparkly things (including champagne), I thought Pink Champagne Cupcakes would be the perfect dessert for a New Years Eve party. Although champagne and pink would be great for any occasion. Obviously.

I’ve made a pink champagne cake before, but I couldn’t find the recipe I used. So after an extensive Google search I went with a recipe from a pastry chef at a NYC restaurant. Plus the cake was made from scratch, whereas a lot of recipes I found started with a boxed mix. Not my style. (Unless it’s Funfetti.) I tried the frosting recipe that was part of the cake recipe, but after two batches ending up in the garbage, and having to run out for more eggs, butter and champagne, I was thoroughly annoyed and decided the recipe was faulty. I guess it could have been user error, but the third batch I tried which was based on a recipe from Baking Illustrated, turned out perfectly! Just sayin’.

A few notes on ingredients. I used Wilton Icing Colors (in Pink) to color the cupcakes and the frosting. It’s super pigmented so a little goes a long way. Plus its impossible to achieve hot pink with red food coloring. Believe me, I’ve tried. And if you’re like me and curious as to what it tastes like, don’t bother, it’s super bitter and gross. Also, it will stain everything it touches, like fingers, counters, utensils, etc. I mean it comes off after a while, but I had to go out to get more supplies with pink hands. For the champagne, I went with Korbel Sweet Rosé. It wasn’t the cheapest option at about $12 a bottle, but it was pink and fruity and sweet, perfect for baking. The best thing about baking with champagne is you can alternate between a little for the recipe and a little for yourself!

INGREDIENTS

For cupcakes
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
6oz butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups champagne

For buttercream frosting
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, softened but still cool
1/2 c champagne

DIRECTIONS

For the cake
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. Separate the eggs and discard the yolks. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar with a paddle attachment for 5-7 minutes, until light and airy. Slowly add vanilla extract and whites, scraping the bowl as needed.

Add the sifted dry ingredients 1⁄2 cup at a time to the creamed butter, alternating with 1⁄2 cup portions of the champagne. Scrape in between additions. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Divide the batter into cupcake liners, about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake at 350˚F for 20-25 mins, or until the cake is springy to the touch. (The cupcakes will not get brown around the edges. I made the mistake of waiting for that to happen and baked them about 2 minutes too long. They tasted fine but were a tad overdone.)

For the frosting
Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and 1/4 cup of the champagne in the bowl of a standing mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, being careful not to let the bowl touch the water. Whisk gently and heat the mixture until it is thin and foamy and registers 160˚ on an instant-read thermometer.

Beat the egg mixture at medium-high speed until light, airy, and cooled to room temperature. (Bowl should only be slightly warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.) Reduce speed to medium and add the butter 1/4 stick at a time. Mixture might start to look curdled but it will smooth out with additional butter. After all the butter is added, add the remaining champagne, increase speed to high and beat for 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Makes approximately 24 cupcakes.

To make as a cake
Prepare two 9″ cake pans by coating the insides with oil or butter and coating lightly with flour. Tap the pans upside down to remove excess flour. Set aside. Bake for to 40-45 minutes. Double the frosting recipe, add a layer of frosting between the two cakes, frost the outside, and done!