Strawberry + Champagne Cupcakes

Something PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Being an Oncology Nurse by night (cook by day) Breast Cancer Awareness Month is important to me. It’s important to supportawareness for cancer and cancer research and it’s important to show support to anyone you do or don’t know that has gone through any cancer diagnosis.

And it really doesn’t hurt that the symbolic color is PINK!!! Some of my fellow night shift RNs got our butts up early (or stayed up late) and did Denver’s Susan Komen’s Race for the Cure.

So I felt inspired to create something pink colored for the blog this month and this is what you get: Pink Strawberry and Champagne Cupcakes!!!!

Oh, and I got a pink pumpkin while at the race – pretty much made my day!

I’ve said it time again, I’m not a good baker. But I may have to take those words back! And I only believe I can say this because of a couple simple tips I got from my coworker Leisha. I mean cupcakes and cakes are usually the hardest for me! They come out dry and flat and just blah, not worth baking or eating

So I will share with you these tips to make amazingly moist and delicious cupcakes! I found the batter recipe on Food Network’s website but added a couple things and made a butter cream frosting from scratch. They went over really well at work! I think the best tip to let you know about now is making the cupcakes a day ahead and freezing them, it not only locks in moisture, but makes decorating easier and seem less daunting the next day giving you a break in between!

So, to be honest you can’t taste the champagne too much, except in the simple syrup. But I think if I made this recipe again I would use it because I don’t know whether or not it would affect their deliciousness

Plus I was able to enjoy a mimosa after all my baking and my 5k walk earlier that morning since you don’t use the whole bottle, I’d say that’s reason enough to keep the champagne in!

La Cupcake Innards:

• 2 1/4 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 1 small package of dry instant Vanilla Pudding mix
• 1 TBSP Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 cup fresh Strawberries, pureed (only 1/2 cup goes in the cupcake mix)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 cup Champagne
• 1/2 cup Butter, melted and cooled.
• 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

How to make La Cupcakes:

1. To start make sure all ingredients are room temperature, yes the eggs, the champagne, strawberries, and try to get the melted butter cooled. (This is a baking tip I got for muffins that hasn’t failed me yet)

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

3. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place your muffin tin on it with liners. I actually went with the foil baking liners as well and it didn’t hurt.

4. Mix together your dry ingredients, sugar, flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

*The pudding tip is one of Leisha’s she says she got from a friend who owns a bakery, you don’t add more liquid, you just add the powder to your dry ingredients.

5. Puree 1 cup of fresh strawberries in a food processor or blender, set aside 1/2  of them for the frosting.

6. In a large bowl mix the strawberry puree, eggs, champagne, butter, and vegetable oil.

*I swear I mixed it by hand, my beater is too intense even on low and I didn’t want to over mix the ingredients. But if you are blessed to have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, by all means, go for that!

7. Incorporate the dry ingredients a little bit of a time until just combined.

*If not doing it by hand be sure to scrape the sides and turn you mixer to a lower speed.

8. Fill your cupcake tins at least 3/4 of the way full. I got dangerously close to the top because I wanted them to puff up!

 *To show you how much I don’t bake, I only have one regular size tin and then two mini tins… so I baked my regular size and minis separately.

9. Bake regular size cupcakes for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick check in the center comes out clean.  For mini cupcakes bake for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick is clean.

10. Place them in the freezer or fridge overnight (if your freezer gets too cold) I didn’t cover them. Enjoy the time away from the cupcakes so you come bakc the next day rejuvenated with love to decorate!

The Next Day…

La Champagne Simple Syrup Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Champagne
• 1/2 cup White Sugar

How to make la Syrup:

1. In a medium non stick saucepan over medium high heat add your champagne and sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted and dissolved.

2. Turn the heat down to medium or low and let it cook until itreduces to about half of what it started and sticks to the back of your wooden spoon, this takes at least 5 minutes but varies.

* Careful not to let it burn so adjust your heat lower as needed

3. Let it cool just slightly and brush it over the tops of the cupcakes.

This is certainly an optional step in the process, but I personally think it added a little more champagne flavor and added a sweetness that cut through the tangy strawberry buttercream frosting.

La Buttercream Innards:

• 1 cup or 2 sticks of room temperature Butter
• 1/2 cup fresh Strawberries, pureed
• 3-5 cups Powdered/Confectioners Sugar (just add sugar until you get the consistency you desire)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

How to make La Frosting:

1. Beat the butter and vanilla together until fluffy.

2. Add the strawberry puree until incorporated.

3. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

*If it seems dry or you add too much sugar add 1-2 TBSP milk.

Then I used a piping bag (I bought it for 5$ at the grocery store) and attempted to frost my cupcakes!

Bon Appétit!