If you need the perfect New Year's Eve dessert, look no further than these champagne cupcakes! With a simple champagne reduction in both the cupcakes and the buttercream frosting, these are sure to be the star of any party!
These champagne cupcakes are also perfect for weddings, bridal showers, or just any party that needs a boozy cupcake!!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these champagne cupcakes!
- Cake flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
- Champagne - You can use any champagne, prosecco, or sparkling wine to make these cupcakes! If you prefer rosé, you can make these rosé cupcakes!
- Gold luster powder - This is optional, but I love this gold luster powder because it adds the most beautiful color and sparkle to the champagne buttercream!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make a Champagne Reduction
I like to make a champagne reduction for these cupcakes because the flavor is much more concentrated than regular champagne and it incorporates much better into the buttercream.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup champagne to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to a little less than ½ cup, about 15 minutes.
Set aside to cool completely. You want it room temperature or cold before adding it to the buttercream. You can let it cool in the fridge or make it up to 3 days in advance.
How to Make Champagne Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk, champagne reduction, and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let the champagne cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
Top with champagne buttercream and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
- Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
- For these big beautiful frosting swirls I use the 9FT tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
- I also sprinkled some gold sprinkles and edible gold dust on top for extra shimmer!
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
When making the champagne reduction, most of the alcohol cooks off but there is still a small amount present.
No! You can also use prosecco or any other sparkling wine in these cupcakes!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Champagne Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Champagne Reduction
- 1 cup champagne, or sparkling wine
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons champagne reduction
- ⅓ cup whole milk
Champagne Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon gold luster powder, optional
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons champagne reduction
Instructions
Champagne Reduction
- In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of champagne to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to a little less that ½ cup, about 15 minutes.
- Set aside to cool completely. You want it to be room temperature or cold before adding it to the buttercream. You can let it cool in the fridge or make it up to 3 days in advance.
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and champagne reduction together until combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Champagne Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter, powdered sugar, gold luster powder, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the champagne reduction 1 tablespoon at a time until fully combined. Beat the buttercream for 3-4 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Stephanie says
Hi, for the w butter do you melt it completely or is it just softened. Thank you
Kyleigh Sage says
For cupcakes, I prefer to melt it completely but just softened works too!
Eleanor says
Does this frosting come out off white or ivory? It seems to look that way in photo.
Kyleigh Sage says
It’s very subtle but yes, it’s definitely more of an ivory than a pure white
Maggie O says
These are really good! depending on the person some would say add a bit more champagne. I made these into mini cupcakes for a bridal shower and overcooked them slightly the first time but if anyone wants to make them into the mini size I got 27 from a half batch, and 61 from the full size. They took 10 minutes at high altitude to cook properly. I love how soft they are and how gentle the flavorings are! I'm glad its a bit stronger of the flavor in the frosting. if you are looking for good cupcakes this is the way to go!
Kat says
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes absolutely!
gaby says
Hi!!! This recipe seems delicious. If I want to make this into pink champagne cupcakes, how much food gel would you suggest adding? Would i mix it with the milk to dilute it? TIA
Kyleigh Sage says
I always start with just 2-3 drops and see how it looks and then just slowly add more until it’s your desired color! (Because you can always add more but can’t take it away).
When I add food coloring, I do like to add it when I add the milk so it mixes more easily!
gaby says
Thank you so much!!!!
Ashley says
I made these last year for New Years. They were a hit! Now I’ve been asked to make a wedding cake just like them. Could I just use the same recipe?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes absolutely!! Just a few small changes based on what size pans you want to use. The recipe as is, will make 2 6-inch cake layers, but if you double the recipe it should make 3 or 4 6-inch layers and 3 8-inch layers. You'll also need to increase the baking time to 25-35 minutes!
You can check out some of my layer cake recipes for even more tips!
Ashley says
Perfect! Thank you!
Kayla DiMaggio says
Ooh I love this recipe! It is the perfect recipe for an event or a party. I am so excited to share these with friends.
Jeri says
These were such a hit at my friend's bridal shower! They were moist and tender, and so delicious! I served them with the edible gold dust on top, so pretty!
Erin says
The champagne flavor adds just the right amount of flavor to make these cupcakes really special. I am already thinking about the next occasion when I can make them again!
Amanda says
These were such fun little treats! I just love anything with champagne, and they turned out so soft and fluffy.
Alexandra says
These really are so perfect for a celebration!
Love the addition of champagne - and that buttercream is incredible!