Happy New Year! A few days late.
Let me start this post by telling you a secret. I do not believe in resolutions. If I can’t stick to it at any given moment during the year, I probably won’t stick to it just because it’s a new year. I don’t like to set myself up for failure. If you believe in resolutions, more power to you! Make it happen. As for me, I will be enjoying myself. Like I did yesterday when I ordered fettuccine with prosciutto, peas and chicken in a cream sauce. It was worth every damn calorie. Life is short. I will make the most of it. There, maybe that’s my resolution!
I had several days off last week and I had a great time. My sisters and I got together for some pizza and drinks. I made cupcake waffles and sandwiched our favorite ice cream flavors between them. Heaven. And it was so easy. I used my favorite vanilla and chocolate cupcake batters and threw it in a waffle iron. Voila! I am a sucker for the hot and cold combo as well, so I put the waffles in the toaster for a little bit to warm them up and then put the ice cream in between. Delicious.
When I got back from my sister’s place, I got busy in the kitchen again. For New Year’s Eve we were going to our neighbors house so I needed to whip up some cupcakes. I made my Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Buttercream and I tried a new recipe I found for Champagne Cupcakes with a Raspberry Buttercream. I mean, what’s New Year’s Eve without a little champagne?
Champagne Cupcakes with Raspberry Champagne Buttercream
recipe adapted from The Cake Blog
Cupcake
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup champagne, room temp
5 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Combine cake flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg whites one at a time, beating very well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients, alternating with the champagne. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then move to cool completely on a wire rack. Frost with buttercream once cupcakes are completely cooled.
Raspberry Champagne Buttercream
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3-4 Tbsp raspberry jam, seedless
3-5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup champagne
1 tsp vanilla
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until pale and creamy. In a small bowl stir the raspberry jam until it has the consistency of a puree. Add the raspberry jam and vanilla to the butter and combine. Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add champagne until the desired consistency is reached. Frost cooled cupcakes.
If you’re not a champagne fan I would definitely still try these. The alcohol bakes out of the cupcakes and there isn’t enough in the frosting to give you the dreaded champagne hangover. It just gives the cupcakes a little lift!
And not to be forgotten, here’s the crowd favorite, Oreo Cupcakes!
Here’s to the New Year!
Ann