Wedding Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting

Wedding Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting

Bake Wedding Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting for an elegant celebration, light cupcakes topped with champagne buttercream.

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time38 minutes
Yield12

Ingredients

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat and prepare the pans

Preheat the oven to the stated temperature and line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners, plus a second pan with a couple extra liners since this batter makes a few more cupcakes. Get everything organized on the painted pine surface so you can move quickly once the batter is ready.

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients

Whisk the cake flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until evenly aerated and homogenous; you want a light, fine powder with no lumps so it will fold smoothly into the batter.

Step 3: Cream butter and sugar, then build the batter

Beat the softened butter on high until perfectly smooth and creamy, then add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and aerated. Scrape the bowl clean as needed. Add the room-temperature egg whites and vanilla, beat until combined, then beat in the sour cream so the mixture becomes glossy and slightly thickened.

Step 4: Finish the cupcake batter and bake

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients just until incorporated, then slowly pour in the champagne while mixing on low—stop as soon as the batter is uniform and slightly thick with a few small air bubbles; do not overmix. Spoon the batter into liners, filling each about two-thirds full to prevent overflow, then bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove and allow the cupcakes to cool completely on the counter while you make the frosting.


Step 5: Reduce the champagne for the frosting

Bring the champagne to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce to a gentle simmer and reduce down until syrupy and concentrated — about a small fraction of the original volume — then cool it thoroughly to room temperature or colder before adding to butter.

Step 6: Make the champagne buttercream

Beat the butter until utterly smooth and creamy, then add the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, starting on low and finishing on high so the frosting becomes airy and silky. Beat in a few tablespoons of the cooled reduced champagne and vanilla, taste and add more reduced champagne or a pinch of salt if needed until the frosting is balanced, light, and pipeable.

Step 7: Frost and finish the cupcakes

Using a large star tip (Wilton 1M) or your preferred piping tip, pipe rose swirls of champagne frosting onto fully cooled cupcakes so each swirl reads as a delicate rosette with soft ridges and a satin sheen. Sprinkle with delicate gold sugar crystals for a faint sparkle while the frosting is still tacky.

Step 8: Plate and serve

Arrange the finished cupcakes close together on a rectangular rustic wooden serving board placed on the painted white pine surface, nestling small clusters of baby’s breath and soft pink roses between a few cupcakes for a romantic touch. Keep any leftover cupcakes refrigerated.

Notes