Champagne Cupcakes are the perfect elegant treat for any occasion! Enjoy this sweet and boozy dessert with a light champagne flavor.
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About this Champagne Cupcakes recipe
I’ve got a serious sweet tooth! Whether its a sweet slice of lemon pound cake or some gooey hot chocolate cookies, I always want to have some fresh baked goods in the house.
But when it comes to parties an events, I like to have some more elegant options to choose from. Enter champagne cupcakes! These light and fluffy little cakes are made with a box of cake mix and a super easy champagne buttercream frosting.
These are perfect for a New Year’s Eve party, especially when served with a luxurious elderflower French 75 or a big bowl of lemon champagne punch. Talk about the life of the party! Everyone LOVES these cupcakes.
If you ever need a tasty dessert with just the right amount of class, then whip up a batch of these yummy cupcakes. They’re just as good as something you’d grab at a local bakery, but also easy to make. So easy to love!
More dessert recipes: Vanilla Bean Cupcakes • Madeleines • Blueberry Muffins
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Before you know it, you’ll be adding this to the top of the list of your favorite new recipes:
- You only need 15 minutes of prep time to get these cupcakes in the oven. Then let them bake, cool, and frost to perfection!
- Since you use boxed cake mix to make these cupcakes, the ingredient list isn’t as long and the prep time is actually much shorter.
- Champagne cupcakes are a great dessert for bridal showers, weddings, and New Year’s Eve parties. They’re elegant, flavorful, and look so pretty!
Tools & equipment
You’ll need a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer to make the batter and the frosting. Make sure you’ve got some measuring cups and spoons on hand, as well as mixing bowls.
Bake the cupcakes in a cupcake tin with paper liners, and then use a frosting knife or piping bag to top with frosting. You’ll also need a cooling rack to allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
Ingredients
You’ll need to gather each of these ingredients before you bake champagne cupcakes. The key to this recipe being so easy? Boxed white cake mix!
Champagne cupcake ingredients: Here’s what you’ll need:
- vanilla cake mix
- champagne
- large eggs
- vegetable oil
Champagne buttercream ingredients: Then, make a sweet champagne buttercream frosting. It’s so luscious!
- champagne
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- half and half
- salt
Substitutions & variations
Use your favorite cake mix: If you have a homemade vanilla cake mix that you prefer to use, then feel free to sub it for box mix here! You can also use a gluten free cake mix if you’d prefer to make this without gluten. You can also use another neutral flavored oil in place of vegetable oil if you prefer.
Use whatever flavor cake mix you want, just use the champagne instead of whatever liquid it has you add. You can also use any frosting, or use this homemade frosting on other cupcakes. A little vanilla extract would add yummy flavor to this frosting too!
Best sparkling wine: Prosecco, champagne, asti, cava and sparkling wine will all work as the liquid in this cupcake recipe.
Want pink champagne cupcakes? Use sparkling rosé if you want — it will make a slightly pink frosting. However, you prob won’t pick up on the color in the cupcakes so use strawberry cake mix or add some red food color to the vanilla batter if you want a stronger pink color.
Instructions
Follow these step-by-step instructions to make these moist and fluffy cupcakes and homemade icing:
Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and then add cupcake liners to a cupcake tin and set aside.
Grab a large bowl and combine the cake mix, champagne, eggs and oil with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
Using a scoop or measuring cup, add about 3 tablespoons of cake mixture to each paper liner.
Then bake the champagne cupcakes for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature.
Champagne buttercream
While the cupcakes cool, you can make the frosting! Cream butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
Then add the powdered sugar and champagne a little at a time. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined.
Pause to taste the frosting and scrape the sides of the bowl, ensuring all ingredients are incorporated. Add half-and-half or extra champagne and mix on low speed until combined. Salt to taste.
Once cupcakes have fully cooled, piping or spread the frosting on top of each one and decorate with gold sprinkles
Tips & tricks
This champagne cupcake recipe is pretty easy, but here’s a few tips and tricks to ensure the most success:
- For a creamier frosting, add half-and-half. For a stronger champagne flavor, omit the half-and-half and add in additional champagne. You can mix it up until it reaches the desired consistency!
- Don’t overfill the cups on the cupcake tin or they could spillover and bake unevenly. It is also important to fill every cup with the same amount of batter! Use a cookie scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup.
- Make pretty designs with different piping bag tips. You can also sprinkle any type of sprinkles or sanding sugar as a nice finishing touch.
Food & drink pairings
Serve these cupcakes with champagne drinks like a classic champagne cocktail or a mimosa. It’s great with other party favorites like baked brie or charcuterie boards.
It’s a lovely dessert after a special dinner of penne rosa or paccheri pasta and some fluffy breadsticks.
Pair it with bubbly champagne drinks like a gingery champagne moscow mule, a sweet-and-sour champagne margarita or this pretty pink champagne cocktail.
FAQ
Yes! When alcohol is mixed into a batter and then baked, it is cooked off but the flavor is left behind.
While the alcohol bakes out of the cupcakes, there is about ½ teaspoon of alcohol present in the buttercream frosting. You’d have to eat a lot to feel the effects of booze. However, kids may not like the champagne flavor.
More boozy desserts
- Frozen Margarita Bars
- Lemon Drop Cookies with Vodka Glaze
- Bourbon Ginger Ale Cake
- Salted Brown Butter Bourbon Rice Krispie Treats
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Champagne Cupcakes
ingredients
Champagne Cupcakes
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup champagne
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
Champagne Buttercream
- ⅓ cup champagne
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon half-and-half
- pinch salt to taste
instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Add cupcake liners to cupcake pans and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, champagne, eggs and oil. Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
- Add 3 tablespoons of cake mixture to each liner.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature.
- While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting by adding butter to a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
- Add in powdered sugar and champagne a little at a time. Continue to mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Pause to taste frosting and scrape the sides of the bowl. For a creamier frosting, add half-and-half. For a stronger champagne flavor, omit the half-and-half and add in additional champagne. Salt to taste.
- Once cupcakes have cooled, decorate cupcakes with frosting and gold sprinkles.
notes
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