Champagne cupcakes with lemon champagne buttercream

I don't know about you, but we had a pretty uneventful New Year's. My dear husband was sick with the flu, despite getting his flu shot late last year. I had hopes that he would be better by the time New Year's rolled around, but this particular flu virus was bad. Needless to say, we went to bed early and didn't get to partake in any New Year's festivities.

The bottle of champagne that I had bought went unopened until my husband made a full recovery. He and I don't normally drink a lot of bubbly, so I decided to use up the rest of the champagne for some cupcakes instead.  I didn't want too much extra champagne floating around the house, so I wanted to add some to the buttercream as well. Since I couldn't find a champagne frosting recipe that appealed to me, I went out on a whim and created my own.

I was a bit skeptical about the cupcake base since my batter looked lumpy. I don't think I did a good job folding in the egg whites, but the cupcakes were successful. They weren't too dense and still had an airiness to them, and the champagne flavor in the cake batter was very subtle. The buttercream was actually my favorite part of the cupcake. The lemon zest and juice nicely complemented the fruitiness in the champagne and made me want to lick the rest of the buttercream that remained in the bowl. OK, so maybe I did, but who's telling?

My husband formally declared these as his favorite cupcakes--ever. This is a big deal because he's normally a fan of chocolate or peanut butter. I've still got a few cups of champagne left and may just enjoy it with a cupcake and some extra buttercream.

Champagne cupcakes

• 6 egg whites
• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup champagne

Lemon champagne frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 TBSP champagne

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes). Transfer the egg whites to a large bowl and set aside.

Wash the stand mixer bowl and clean thoroughly. Then add the butter and sugar into the stand mixer bowl and cream thoroughly until very light and fluffy.  If you used a hand mixer to beat the egg whites, simply find another large bowl to cream the butter and sugar.

In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Alternately add the dry mixture with the champagne.  Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into batter. Once it is incorporated, fold in remaining egg whites.

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy.

Slowly add the powdered sugar until it is fully incorporated and the frosting appears smooth.

Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well. Finally, add in the champagne and beat until well mixed and to the consistency you desire to frost the cupcakes. If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar, about a 1/4 cup at a time.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost the tops with the lemon champagne buttercream. Cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for about 2-3 days.

Yield: About 20-22 cupcakes

Source: Cupcakes from The Curvy Carrot; Frosting is an Eva Bakes original