Happy Hour Cupcakes – Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze for Two

Well hello there! It’s been awhile! I wanted to drop in to say, I hope you have all enjoyed the holiday season as much as I have! I can’t believe today is New Year’s eve! Where did the year go? I am on vacation from work, and although my actual vacation ends on January 2^nd (already dreading that!); Beyond Frosting will return on January 7^th with a new Monday Foodie Finds. However, I couldn’t leave you hanging without a tasty treat for New Year’s eve!

I contemplated this dessert decision for quite some time. I finally decided to try something different and I hope that you will enjoy! I think I will be calling my mother first thing in the morning and tell her to make these immediately. She loves a good excuse to drink some wine, and for that, I love her. Today’s recipe is champagne cupcakes with a champagne glaze.

Champagne Cupcakes For Two

This year, it’s just my (wonderful) boyfriend and I for New Year’s. We are keeping it mellow (and probably in pajamas) with a homemade dinner and of course: dessert. As we have been enjoying the holiday sweets, I did not want to have too many leftovers. This past month, I came across one of my new favorite blogs, Dessert for Two. This blog is run by a young lady named Christina, and all of her desserts are smaller portions; what an awesome concept!

I was really excited to see that she had a champagne cupcake recipe that made just 4 cupcakes. You will love this because it’s quick to whip up, and doesn’t require much clean up. Even if you are kicking it with yourself tonight, this recipe is perfect because you won’t be feeling guilty for eating a dozen cupcakes to on your own, plus you get to drink all the leftover champagne. These cupcakes are more of a moist pound cake consistency with a mellow buttery glaze and a hint of champagne.

That’s a mini bottle of champagne!

Champagne cupcakes
Recipe by Desserts for two, developed for Eat Live Run
Makes 4 cupcakes

¼ C Vegetable oil

1/3 C Granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

1 Large egg at room temperature

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

1/8 tsp Almond extract

2 tbsp Champagne

1/3 C plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of baking soda

(original recipe calls for ¼ tsp freshly grated orange zest, but I omitted this)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with 4 liners.
Using a hand held mixer, beat oil, sugar and salt in a medium bowl at high speed for at least one minute until mixture is fluffy.
Add egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and champagne and beat on medium speed until well combined.
Last, add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat on medium speed just until combined; careful not to over mix.

Mix flour only until combined

Mixture makes about 1 cup of batter. Divide evenly (1/4 C) between 4 cupcake liners.

Batter up!

Bake for 17-20 minutes; check at 17 minutes for doneness. The original recipe called for 19-21 minutes, mine were done a little quicker.

Golden cupcakes

Allow cupcakes to cool for just a minute before transferring to wire rack.
While the cupcakes are still warm, use a toothpick to poke holes in the top of the cupcake.
Prepare champagne glaze and dip while cupcakes are still warm. Let the glaze set for at least 30 minutes.

Champagne glaze

2 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Water

¼ C Granulated sugar

2 tbsp Champagne

Melt butter is a small saucepan over medium high heat
Immediately add water and sugar. Boil mixture on medium high for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly until bubbly and thick.
Remove from heat and add champagne. Mix well and allow to cool for several minutes. As the mixture cools, it will become thicker again.
Turn cupcakes upside down and dip into glaze. Allow the glaze to set for several minutes and re-dip. Repeat 2-3 times until desired glaze thickness is reached.
Allow glaze to set for at least 30 minutes. Top with powdered sugar before serving.

I decided to go with a champagne glaze instead of a buttercream, because the cupcakes were so moist and dense already. I wanted the flavor of the cupcake to the prevalent taste, not an overly sweet buttercream.

I purchased a 4-pack of mini champagne bottles at Target, as the recipe only requires a small amount of champagne. I sipped on the leftovers from the first bottle as my cupcakes baked and still had three small bottles to enjoy with dinner! Ok fine, my boyfriend can have one.

As 2012 comes to an end, I am left looking back on some awesome memories; starting this blog was a huge step for me. There are so many exciting things already in store for me in 2013, I am positive it will be a great year! Happy New Year’s everyone!