Yield: 6 strawberry champagne cupcakes // Total Time: 40 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //
Fluffy vanilla cupcakes soaked in pink champagne, topped with a strawberry champagne buttercream. The perfect cupcakes to celebrate New Year’s!
Small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes
When it comes to celebrating the new year (or anything, really) my first thought for desserts is champagne. So here we have what I believe to be the perfect new year’s dessert: small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes! The cupcakes are seriously so light and fluffy (thanks to the reverse creaming method), and are made and soaked with pink champagne. Then, they get topped off with a strawberry champagne-infused buttercream. The perfect balance of sweet & boozy!
Why do you post small batch recipes?
I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. Small batch helps cut down on waste and eliminates the feeling that all that excess dessert MUST be eaten. Here on my blog I post a lot of small batch bakes with a mix of some 8-10″ single layer cakes from time to time. All my recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit your need, so long as you use grams to measure!
Recipe tips
Weigh your ingredients
- Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!
Mix the batter carefully
- It is super important to not overmix the cupcake batter or you will end up with tough and chewy cupcakes. Using the reverse creaming method makes it more difficult to overmix the batter, but it’s still good to be aware of how much you are mixing it. Only mix just until all of the ingredients are cohesive.
Room temperature ingredients
- It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. Take out the egg and butter at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe. To bring an egg to room temperature quickly, you can place it under hot water for 1 minute. To bring butter to room temperature quickly, slice it, place it on a plate, and microwave it in 5 second intervals. For buttermilk, you can also microwave it in 5 second intervals until it’s no longer cold (but not hot!)
Keep an eye on those cupcakes!
- Cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. Start checking at 15 minutes with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out wet, check them again in 2 minutes and so on until only a few moist crumbs stick to the toothpick.
Make the strawberries “stand up” in the cupcakes
- The strawberries tend to want to fall over after a minute in the cupcakes. My solution is to stick a toothpick into the cupcake and lean the strawberries on to the toothpick. Works like a charm (just be sure to warn any unsuspecting cupcake eaters!)
Ingredients and substitutions
For the pink champagne cupcakes:
All purpose flour: gives the cupcakes their structure.
Baking powder: for helping the cupcakes rise.
Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the batter.
Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cupcakes and adding that nice buttery flavor to them. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt in the batter.
Vegetable oil: for tenderizing the cupcakes. If you don’t have vegetable oil on hand, you can use another neutral oil such as canola.
Granulated sugar: for adding sweetness and for locking in moisture.
Egg: for binding the batter together and adding moisture.
Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
Buttermilk: for tenderizing the cupcakes and adding moisture. I recommend using full fat buttermilk for the best texture. I highly recommend using buttermilk but I know it can be hard or annoying to purchase, especially if you don’t plan on using it for anything else. It won’t be completely the same, but you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. For this recipe, simply combine 5 mL lemon juice with 55 mL whole milk at the beginning of the recipe. You can also achieve a similar result from using a mixture of 40g sour cream + 20g whole milk.
Pink champagne: for flavor! You can use regular champagne or another bubbly drink here as well. We’ll use a bit in the cupcakes themselves, and then brush some on top of the cupcakes after they are done baking.
For the strawberry buttercream:
Unsalted butter: the base of the buttercream, you can use salted here as well – just be sure to omit the extra salt.
Salt: brings out the flavor and sweetness of the buttercream.
Freeze-dried strawberries: for flavor! You can grab these on amazon, or I’ve also found them at Target and Walmart.
Powdered sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the buttercream.
Pink champagne: for flavor and to loosen up the frosting so that it’s pipeable.
How to: small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes
Here are the steps to follow to make these cupcakes. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.
1. Beat the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and butter into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat the mixture together until no clumps of butter remain.
2. Add in the wet ingredients. Add in the egg white, vanilla, buttermilk, champagne, and oil. Whisk the mixture together just until a cohesive batter forms.
3. Bake. Portion out the cupcakes into six parchment liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean.
4. Soak the cupcakes. Use a toothpick to poke a ton of holes into the tops of each of the cupcakes, then brush pink champagne over each of them.
5. Make the strawberry buttercream. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, salt and freeze-dried strawberries until the mixture is smooth and the strawberries are all broken up. Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then add in the rest of the powdered sugar. Add in the pink champagne and beat until combined.
6. Frost the cupcakes. I recommend using a cookie scoop or a large round piping tip to frost these cupcakes! Otherwise, you may have issues with getting the freeze-dried strawberries through the piping tip.
7. Serve and enjoy! Garnish with a strawberry, serve and enjoy!
Small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes Q & A
What is the reverse creaming method?
- The reverse creaming method is super easy so don’t worry about it! It just involves creaming the butter into the dry ingredients (flour, leavening, salt & sugar). It’s similar to how you would make scone or pie dough, but you fully beat the butter into the dry ingredients until no clumps remain. Doing so has the fat in the butter coat the flour particles, leading to less gluten development, leading to fluffier cupcakes!
Can I double this recipe?
- Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
How should I store these cupcakes?
- These cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
Tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
Did you make these small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes?
If you made these small batch strawberry champagne cupcakes I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Small Batch Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Ingredients
Pink Champagne Cupcakes
- 90 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 41 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp.) room temperature
- 32 g vegetable oil (2 ½ tbsp.)
- 1 egg white room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 60 g buttermilk (2 oz.) room temperature
- 25 g pink champagne (1 oz.) + extra for brushing
Strawberry Champagne Buttercream
- 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.) room temperature
- 10 g freeze dried strawberries
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 180 g powdered sugar (1 ½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. pink champagne
Instructions
Pink Champagne Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with 6 parchment liners.
- To a medium sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cubed butter. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the mixture together until the butter has completely combined with the dry ingredients and no lumps remain.
- Add in the oil, egg white, vanilla, buttermilk, and champagne. Whisk the ingredients together just until a cohesive batter has formed.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the six liners. Bake for 15-18 min., or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Once the cupcakes come out, use a toothpick to poke a ton of holes into the tops of each of the cupcakes, then brush champagne over each of them.
Strawberry Champagne Buttercream
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, salt, and strawberries until the mixture is combined and the strawberries have been broken up into tiny pieces.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then add in the rest of the powdered sugar. Add in the pink champagne and beat until combined.
- Frost the cupcakes: I recommend using a cookie scoop or a large round piping tip to frost these cupcakes! Otherwise, you may have issues with getting the freeze-dried strawberries through the piping tip.
- Garnish with a strawberry, serve and enjoy!
