We used pink champagne for this recipe, and added pink coloring to the buttercream, which looked lovely, but the taste was not good. The champagne added a pungent flavor that wasn’t totally baked out, and when adding the buttercream, it was like sugary champagne yuckiness. Basically try at your own risk. If anyone has a champagne recipe that has worked for them, please share! I’d love to try baking with this again.

CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES

2/3 cup butter, room temp.

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup champagne (keep in mind, the champagne taste is going to be overpowering, so you don’t want to buy the cheapie version)

6 large egg whites, room temp (this is important, to get the fluffiness you want)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Insert liners and set aside.

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

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

4. Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with champagne.

5. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites into the batter until blended, then fold in the remaining egg whites until well blended.

6. Fill liners. Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan.

CHAMPAGNE BUTTERCREAM ICING

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

12 Tbsp. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

3 Tbsp. champagne

4-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. In a large bowl beat the shortening and butter until combined. Add champagne. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. If necessary, add additional champagne to achieve desired spreading consistency. *Note: I was under the misguided impression that a “there’s no such thing as too much champagne”! applied, being that it was New Year’s Eve. Let me just say, I was wrong. There certainly IS such a thing as too much champagne. I liberally added at least 2 additional Tbsp to the frosting, and while I finally achieved the desired consistency, the taste suffered tremendously.

Unfortunately, all the work involved in this recipe was for naught. We did not end up taking them to the party, and they ended up in the trash.

CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1/4 cup light brown sugar

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided, softened

1/3 cup heavy cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1-3/4 cups powdered sugar

1. Melt brown sugar and 4 Tbsp. butter in saucepan over med heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil over med heat, remove. Whisk in heavy cream; blend well. Transfer to heat-resistant bowl, stirring once. Cool to room temp.

2. Place remaining 6 Tbsp butter and cream cheese in large bowl, beat with mixer on med-high heat until smooth. Beat in vanilla & salt. With mixer running, slowly pour in cooled brown sugar mixture, beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating well. Chill for a firmer texture, stirring occasionally.

The basic recipe is the same, but I added a few changes. I highly recommend these cupcakes, I baked them for a holiday party and they were a huge hit. I would definitely make them again (and plan to soon!)

CARAMEL SPICED APPLE CUPCAKES * I’m going to post the recipe in its entirety, then add my notes on the changes I made.

1 jar (14.5 oz) red spiced apple rings, drained (instead of this I found a can of caramel apple pie filling at Wal-Mart that I used, and did not drain)

1 package plain yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Extra Moist)

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix (I used just regular Publix brand)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set aside. (I used mini cupcake pans because I find these easier to eat. I made 36 and still had tons of batter left.)

2. Prepare cupcake batter: Place the apple filling in a large bowl and chop pieces (can use a food processor if you have one). Place cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs in bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Then increase speed to medium for 2 minutes, while scraping pan with spatula. The batter should look well combined. Scoop (I highly recommend using a small ice cream scoop. I got one for xmas and it changed my life) batter into cups.

3. Bake cupcakes until they are golden and the top springs back when lightly pressed. 18 – 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire racks to cook for 5 min. Remove from pans and allow to cool completely on racks.

CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

I kinda made this recipe up on the fly. Feel free to adapt as needed.

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 pkg. caramel nips (found at Wal-Mart)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1-3/4 cups powdered sugar

1. Place butter and cream cheese in med mixing bowl to soften.

2. Melt caramel nips in microwave-safe bowl for 2 minutes. Stir to melt all pieces.

3. Cream butter and cream cheese. Then add caramel. Once that is mixed, add vanilla and dash of salt, then slowly add powdered sugar. Once all ingredients have been blended, cover and place in refrigerator for a firmer texture. THIS IS IMPORTANT. I only gave it about 45 minutes before trying to put in pastry bag and frost, and they started out okay but the frosting was too runny and didn’t set. I would keep in fridge for around 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

For a garnish, I added a swirl of melted caramel. These are definitely a must try. For a fancier presentation, you could also add nuts and a popsicle stick, to replicate a caramel apple.

I tried 2 new recipes over the Holiday season, one of which was fantasic, the other was not so good. I’ll post both, albeit without pictures. The craziness of the season meant that I was in a hurry while baking and wasn’t able to take as many pics as usual.

I hope the holidays were good to everyone. As for me, I received lots of baking stuff, so I can make all kinds of goodies soon, as well as a gorgeous new Pink HP NetBook, on which I’m typing this post!

Best wishes for the upcoming year and happy baking!

xoxo,

Destiny

http://partycupcakeideas.com/tiffany-giveaway-cupcake-charm-and-sterling-silver-necklace

Halloween is my favorite month, so I’m sure to be experimenting with all sorts of ghoulish goodness!

In the mean time, take a look at this! http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/sitelets/christmasbook/fantasy.jhtml?cid=CBF10_O4428&icid=NMCDpage48&r=cat24050744&rdesc=The%20Christmas%20Book&rparams=xpage%3D48

Christmas is coming up … I’m just sayin’!

Cupcake Cosmo Bouquet!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.famouscupcakes.com/html/famous_bouquets.html

http://www.famouscupcakes.com/html/famous_bouquets.html

Adorable!

I’m convinced that my cupcakes would taste MUCH better if I baked them wearing this super cute apron!!

http://www.cupcakeprovocateur.com/item_145/Greta-Apron–Pumpkin-Spice.htm