Recipe

Champagne Cupcakes

Makes 20 – 22 cupcakes

With the ease of using cake mix as the base and adding low-fat ingredients to the batter, these cupcakes still provide an elegant and tasty treat for any special occasion without overdoing the calories.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 1-1/4 cup champagne or prosecco
  • 6 ounces 2% plain Greek yogurt (or substitute sour cream for richer cupcakes)
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 – 5 tablespoons champagne or prosecco
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Garnish suggestions:

  • Colorful sprinkles to match holiday or event
  • Edible gold or silver stars
  • Edible sugar pearls
  • Fresh strawberries

To make pink champagne cupcakes:

  • Substitute pink champagne for regular champagne
  • 6 – 8 drops pink gel food coloring

Instructions

Cupcakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
  2. Add the cake mix, champagne, Greek yogurt, egg whites, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium speed and beat for 1-1/2 minutes.
  3. Fill the prepared cupcake liners 2/3 full.
  4. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
  5. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes in the cupcake tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting:

  1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
  2. Mix in 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar then add in 4 tablespoons champagne and vanilla. Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar and beat until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. If the frosting is too stiff, add additional champagne, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
  3. With a large star tip, pipe swirls of buttercream over the completely cooled cupcakes. Garnish with sprinkles, edible stars or sugar pearls, or fresh strawberries.

To make pink champagne cupcakes:

  1. Substitute pink champagne in place of the regular champagne where called for.
  2. Start with 6 drops of pink gel food coloring and add to the cupcake batter at the same time as the champagne. Mix for 1 minute. Add additional food coloring until desired shade is obtained, and mix for 1 additional minute. Do not overbeat the batter.