One of my closest friends had her wedding shower this past weekend. I was super excited when I was asked to make the desserts for their shower. I was asked to make cupcakes. My friend and her fiance are both school teachers, hence the rustic classroom theme. I didn't want to make simple chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. My friends are anything but simple. :) My friend loves Champagne, therefore I knew I wanted to include it somehow in the dessert. I looked through many cookbooks and finally decided on making two different flavor cupcakes but decorating them the same.
Vanilla Champagne Cupcakes with Raspberry Curd and Champagne Frosting
makes 17 cupcakes
Cake:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagne
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the bowl of the electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. In another bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream ( mixture will fizz a little). Add the flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. The batter will be thick!
Fill cupcakes using a 1/4 measuring cup and bake for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Curd:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 pint raspberries
5 large eggs yolks, beaten with a fork
3/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of sea salt
3 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add in the raspberries, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Cook, mashing the berries and stirring frequently at first and then constantly at the end, until thickened, around 10 minutes.
Pour the mixture through a coarse strainer set over a bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Cool to room temperature; the curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in lemon juice, to taste. Refrigerate, cover with plastic wrap, place the plastic wrap directly on the curd. Cool for 1-2 hours.
adopted from food.com
Champagne Frosting
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. champagne
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half. Transfer to bowl and cool.
In a the bowl of the mixer, with whisk attachment, cream butter and powdered sugar together. Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced champagne, plus 1 Tbsp. champagne from the bottle and mix well.
With a small knife carve a cone shaped wedge out of the top of each cupcake. Slice off the very top part to put back over the filling. Spoon a tablespoon of curd into each cupcake.
Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
adopted from Sprinkle Bakes.com
Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
makes 12 cupcakes
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
In a bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
Pour batter into liner, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Caramel:
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean
Mix the water and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. In the mean time heat the cream and vanilla to a simmer. Stand back to avoid splattering and add the cream to the sugar when it reached medium brown in color. Stir and simmer on low heat until well combined, smooth and thick. Pour into a bowl and let cool with plastic wrap.
Crave out center of cupcakes, same as the vanilla cupcakes. Using the same frosting recipe, but replacing the champagne for 1/2 cup of caramel.
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