Raspberries & Pink Champagne….. in a cupcake

I do believe the title of this post says it all… but if that doesn’t do it for you maybe these pictures will…

Recently, it was a friend’s birthday and I just couldn’t help myself but get inspired by her favorite drink of choice: champagne, Proseco, and all things bubbly and delightful. For my birthday, she was kind enough to shower me with Magnolia cupcakes, so I just had to return the favor with an attempt to create her signature cocktail into a lovely little treat to enjoy during her festivities. I went with the mini cupcakes yet again, as they really do seem to make the best little party favor a girl can ask for. This recipe calls for raspberries (as I already had a bag on hand in my freezer that defrosted quite nicely), but you can use frozen strawberries, or even fresh if that’s what you have. *Note: if you use fresh berries, macerate them first in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of sugar to get the juices flowing, as that is the key to making these pop in the pan as they bake. This recipe is so simple, yet the flavors are so bangin’ pretty soon all your friends will want them RSVP’ing ‘YES’ to their birthday bashes. Cheers!!

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 tsp milk, soy vanilla (regular milk is OK too)

1 tsp raspberry extract

½ cup frozen raspberries, defrosted

Buttercream:

3 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

¼ cup rose champagne

1 stick unsalted butter

Start by preheating your oven to 375F and lining your cupcake tins. To begin the batter, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in your mixer. Roughly 1-2 minutes. Next, add the eggs one at a time just to combine. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly combine to your wet ingredients and beat on low until dough forms. Finally, add the raspberry extract, defrosted raspberries, and milk, and beat 1-2 minutes until thoroughly combined. You will have a gorgeous purple-pink batter when all is said & done! Bake for roughly 10-12 minutes (for the mini-sizes, regular sized cupcakes will need about 20 minutes or until cooked through). Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly before frosting…

To make the buttercream, start with your unsalted butter at room temp, and whip it up roughly 30 seconds. Next, add the confectioner’s sugar ½ cup at a time, while alternating with the pink champagne (1/4 cup, a bit at a time). This will ensure a smooth, yet thick batter, that tastes like the most deliciously sweet pink champagne you have ever had in your life! Frost, and sprinkle with some sugar crystals for an added pop!