Love and Olive Oil

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Happy 2011, everyone! We’re celebrating the New Year with a fresh new layout for one thing (if you’re reading this through a feed reader you may want to click through and check it out). What started as a desire for bigger photos turned in to a pretty significant redesign (funny how that happens), but I think you’ll like it. Please excuse the currently dull and image-less archives. I have to go back and edit old posts, something that takes up quite a bit of my precious time. It’ll get done, eventually. As always, if you encounter any issues with the new design please let me know.

And now, on to these cupcakes!

These adorable little mini cupcakes were made for an evening of celebration: celebrating New Year’s (duh!) but also celebrating a surprise engagement. A double surprise in that Erin didn’t know about the proposal, nor the giant party she was having at her house afterwords. Luckily she had plenty of friends to bring plenty of food, and a fiance who took care of every little detail. Congrats to the happy couple!

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Whether it be for a New Year’s Eve bash, or an engagement party, these festive cupcakes work perfectly for any celebration. I do wish the strawberry cake had come out a bit more pastel pink, but the slightly red hue was pretty nonetheless, especially once topped with a dollop of champagne buttercream and a shimmery dot of fondant.

I think they were a smashing success!

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes (or 48 mini cupcakes)

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Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup champagne/sparkling white wine
1/3 cup strawberry puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For Frosting:
1 cup champagne
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk or cream, as needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk, champagne, strawberry puree, sugar, vanilla, and oil. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (cups should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 18-22 minutes or until set, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Bring champagne to a simmer in a small saucepan. Continue to boil gently until only 2-3 tablespoons of liquid remain. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

For frosting, cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add 1 cup sugar and beat until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons reduced champagne and mix. Continue to add confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until light and fluffy. Add cream or more sugar as necessary to achieve proper consistency. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

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54 Comments

  1. Making these cupcakes for my daughter’s tea party. I used Sparkling water instead of sparking wine. Not sure what I did wrong but the batter and cupcakes are grey in colour instead of lovely pink :( 
    Can anyone help me in telling me what I did wrong. Want to make another batch with rectification… Please help…

    • Baked fresh strawberries will not be bright pink. If you want a noticeable pink color you will need to add food coloring.

  2. I made these cupcakes last night for my sister’s bachelorette party and am very disappointed. They tasted nothing like strawberries and were very, very bland. They also turned blue/purple? I didn’t even make the frosting because I don’t think there would be anything to make the cake part taste better.

  3. I made these yesterday. Very disappointed. They did not rise as much as I expected, Also cake tasted like a banana muffin, which was so odd since there are no bananas. (did anybody else get this?) Also, my cake was not pink. it was purple-ish red.

    I refuse to boil alcohol out of anything, so I didn’t do that part, and the frosting tasted really good. I also used coconut milk instead of the milk or cream.

    I loved the overall idea of the cupcake but I wont be making the cake again, The frosting was good, and I ate the left over on strawberries, my husband with a spoon.

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Sorry the cupcakes didn’t work for you; that’s bizarre about the banana flavor and not something I noticed with mine. Strawberries never stay pink when baked, you’d need to add food coloring if you wanted pink cupcakes.

  4. These cupcakes were wonderful! Moist and delicious. I went a little heavy on the strawberry purée (mainly bc I puréed too many strawberries) and they came out perfectly. You definitely need to do 3 – 3 1/2 cups of sugar on the icing if you use a dryer champagne like I did or else it can be a tad bitter like one poster complained. Extra sugar does the trick though. I also used a little milk to balance as recommended. Excellent recipe! Made these for valentines day as a test run before an upcoming bridal shower. I know they will be a hit. Thank you!

  5. These look really good and I would like to make them for new years this year but I had a few questions. When you say coconut milk do you mean canned or drinkable and how did you make your strawberry purree? Was it made fresh did you use a certain brand? Thanks, just found your site and i am very excited to keep up with it!

    • Coconut milk is usually available with the asian foods in major grocery stores. Full fat is best if you can find it, although light will work. Don’t confuse it with coconut water, which is a completely different thing.
      As for the puree, I just threw my strawberries in the blender and set it to high until it was completely smooth. I’ve actually never seen store-bought strawberry puree, so this is probably your only option. Easy!

  6. Hi there! Love your cupcakes…

    your strawberry puree was made with sugar or just strawberries?

    they are pretty sweet right now, but I just want to check =) Thanks!

  7. Tried making these today. They taste good, but they stick to the wrappers like nothing else. Half the cake stays stuck!

  8. look great! When you say coconut milk do you mean canned or drinkable, from a carton??

  9. There are no eggs in this recipe…is that correct???

  10. I made these today… mine also did not come out pink at all! Did you use any food coloring? Did you make your own strawberry puree from fresh strawberries? My batter had a pink/mauve color, but once they baked, they looked like a purple-brown.

  11. hi, i just tried to do these, i used strawberry preserve jam…oh boy not good, any recomendations on how much to increase the amount to?? came very bland…was goin to send to my friend n his friends, cant right now…=( so bummed

  12. I just made these and they are OK. Mine turned kind of blue when baking, but the frosting was excellent- I used a very dry champagne, but didn’t reduce it down all the way. It tasted so sweet and the perfect hint of champagne (and I don’t even like champagne)

  13. I made these a few days ago and they were beyond delicious! Very moist and the champagne frosting was absolutely perfect. I brought these to work and they were gone in seconds. Thanks so much!

  14. We did these cupcakes tonight, they came out very moist. Ours were not that pink. Did you add food color. The cupcake was ok, the icing was disgusting. Cooking down the champagne made it taste very bitter. Wont make again.

    • I’d would guess it has a lot to do with the champagne you use. We used a very sweet sparkling wine, the frosting wasn’t bitter at all. The point of reducing it is to get the champagne essence without having to add a lot of liquid to the frosting, but I do not think it affects the flavor of it.

  15. Wow. I have never heard of such intricate, chic cupcakes before. I’m in awe.
    This blog is amazing.

  16. Has anyone tried to make these as mini-cupcakes? Any tips on how much to shorten baking time?

    • Baking time for mini cupcakes is approximately half of full-sized cupcakes. The ones pictured above actually ARE mini cupcakes, apologies for not including the time for those in the first place!

  17. Those are so cute!

  18. They’re a perfectly gorgeous pink! I’m going to have to bookmark this for an event in the future!

  19. These look delicious! Here I thought I was starting the year off right with Asparagus and Toasted Almond Bruschetta, but cupcakes are the clear win. Thanks for sharing!

  20. Thanks for sharing all these great recipes! I’ve started a new cooking blog myself and would any feedback or comments you can give, so please be sure to check out The Savvy Kitchen at http://www.savvykitchen.blogspot.com. I look forward to continuing reading your blog in 2011!

  21. Mmm I wonder what effect the champagne has on the frosting. Sounds delicious!

  22. These look scrumptious! I love the classic pairing of strawberries and champagne – I’m sure these are delicious!

  23. I love the new layout! It looks great! Can’t wait to try this recipe, your cupcakes are always amazing!

  24. omg! I can’t wait to make these vegan. I just love your site!

  25. omg! I can’t wait to make these vegan. I just love your site!

  26. I love the sound of these…and the pictures are completely gorgeous too!

  27. Lovely recipe!

  28. This is so funny – I was looking for a recipe for Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes for New Year’s Eve! I wasn’t happy with what I found, so I didn’t attempt to make them (didn;t have much room for error), so thank you! I will tucking this recipe away for next year!!!

    Love the new site design!

  29. I too think large photos are the way to go! These are great!

  30. Happy 2011 to you and yours. May your year be filled with love and laughter.
    I love your cupcakes and your new look!
    What a great recipe to start of the New Year.
    :-) Mandy

  31. How fun!I have to try these.

  32. these look like they would be delicious and yes perfect for a party!! the new layout is great :)

  33. what a great way to use up left over champagne!

    http://www.ThePantryDrawer.com

  34. yummm champagne buttercream?? that sounds aaaammaaazing

  35. Happy New Year! Love the new look!
    I’ve long been a fan of champagne or sparkling water for cake recipes–perfection.

  36. These look amazing and great for a special occasion! Happy New Year!

  37. these look delicious!!! i need to make these ASAP!! happy 2011! :)

    http://www.creativeindexblog.blogspot.com

  38. Those cupcakes look awesome! You are quickly becoming the master of sticking in booze to baked goods, I think. I also love the new look!

  39. I adore the new look of the site!!!! And the cupcakes look great. REALLY great. Happy New Year :)

  40. Your new site design is divine! Looks great. So do those cupcakes. What a cleaver way to frost the tops. Happy New Year!!!

  41. The cupcakes are very festive for a special evening (as your party must have been!). Happy New Year and your new site looks great! :)

  42. These sound and look amazing!

  43. Happy New Year! I love the cupcakes and the new look:)

  44. YUM YUM YUM! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I just ate another today after lunch! I LOVED everything about these!

  45. Diggin’ the new layout- and these cupcakes are going straight to my “to make” list!

  46. So pretty! I bet they taste pretty amazing too.

  47. love the redesign! and the cupcakes, too!

  48. These cupcakes are simply adorable! And the redesign is gorgeous, too!

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