Weekly Winner #20

Last week of the year.  Well…of 2013…not of My Year of Cupcakes.  Anyway.

Oatmeal Cookie Cupcakes

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Mocha Cupcakes with Bailey’s Frosting

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Sparkling Cupcakes

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Cupcakes

Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes

And, with 19.5 points, the winner is….

The Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Cupcakes from Half Baked Harvest.  Check out that day here.  And check back tomorrow to see which cupcake will be December’s Monthly Champ!

Day 152 – Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes

Well, today is the last day of the “competition” cupcakes for 2013.  And, what better way to go out than with a toast.  To the past 151 cupcakes.  And to the next 214 cupcakes.  So, raise a Sparkling Champagne Cupcake (recipe below from Sprinkle Bakes) with me to celebrate!

But first, enjoy today’s Musical Monday selection:

Cheers!

    

The cake is nice and moist. Very fluffy.  It has a nice, sweet vanilla flavor with a hint of champagne.

    

The curd filling is very easy to make (considering that sometimes it isn’t the easiest). It’s thick and smooth.  It has a vanilla flavor with a bit of champagne as well. Very similar to the cupcake.

The frosting is fluffy. It looks like it’s going to be to thin, but it pipes very easily.  It is very, very sweet. This is where they type of sparkling wine you buy makes all the difference. Don’t get anything too insanely sweet, cause it will push it over the edge.

    

When you put it all together the frosting really steals the show. You lose a lot of that wonderful pastry cream and cupcake flavor. So, frost lightly. It’s nice all together, I just want more of the other flavors to stand out.

    

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 4

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4

• Ease of Making: 2.5

• TOTAL: 18

    

RECIPE

Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes (recipe from Sprinkle Bakes)

Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup champagne, prosecco or your choice of sparkling wine

Pastry Cream Filling:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 cup champagne or prosecco
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

• 1 cup plus 1 tbsp. champagne or prosecco
• 2 sticks of butter softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

For directions visit Sprinkle Bakes.

*Tomorrow: Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes*