These cupcakes are absolutely delicious-and great for parties too! I made them for a birthday party on the weekend and they were a huge hit! The Champagne comes out so nicely in both the cupcake and the icing. I used a Spanish “Champagne”, Freixenet which I think did the trick.
Making the cupcakes the day before the party was a great idea. However, I made the spun sugar the day before and boy, was that a mistake! I woke up the morning of the party and the icing had disintegrated, and all that was left was a few lumps of sugar atop each cupcake. I managed to salvage them and scrape off the nasty looking sugar that was left from the day before. I simply remade the spun sugar, and voila, they were a success once again.
You will need:
For the cupcakes
2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup champagne**I used a light pink rosé.
6 egg whites
For the buttercream frosting
3 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons champagne, at room temperature
**add a hint of Wilton colouring to make the icing pop
For the spun sugar
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup (I used white corn syrup, and it made my spun sugar come out clear, despite boiling it for ages. Try a darker one to get a more caramel coloured spun sugar)
1/4 cup water
Instructions
1. For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
5. In another large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
6. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites.
7. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
9. For the frosting: With an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter.
10. Mix on low until well blended, and then on medium for another two minutes.
11. Add vanilla and champagne, beating on medium for another minute.
12. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. (Wilton 1 is a great tip. I made roses from the icing)
13. For the spun sugar: Secure a long-handled wooden spoon under a heavy cutting board on the edge of the counter, with the handle facing out and extending over the edge.
14. Place newspapers on the floor, directly under the cutting board. (This part is so important. You will be on your hands and knees cleaning the floor later if you don’t!)
15. Prepare an ice-water bath.
16. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
17. Stop stirring.
18. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
19. Cook until the mixture turns pale amber and registers 300 degrees (hard-crack stage) on the candy thermometer.
20. Plunge pan into ice bath to stop the cooking; let cool, stirring occasionally, until caramel registers 250 degrees. ***Caution: The pan is hot and will produce a lot of steam when you cool it so rapidly.
21. Dip the tines of a fork into the caramel.
22. Holding the fork about 2 feet above the spoon handle, swing caramel back and forth like a pendulum in long arcs, allowing strands to fall in threads over the handles. ** You will lose a lot of the sugar to the floor, so absolutely remember to lay down the newpaper
23. Let stand until ready to use, then gently gather some of the strands and shaped as desired.
24. Garnish the cupcakes with the spun sugar.
This recipe yields about 20-22 cupcakes. Enjoy!
** Cupcake and Icing recipe is from allrecipies.com and Spun Sugar recipe is from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
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