Champagne Friday- "Let Them Eat Cake!"

Champagne Cup Cakes

As you may have seen in my previous post, I am busily preparing for Bastille Day next week. All the plans are starting to come together and I am getting very excited! I was looking around for inspiration about what to eat when I stumbled across a gorgeous blog called 52cupcakes. (to check it out click here) This blog has the most wonderful collection of inspirational ideas for cupcakes. It was here that I found a recipe for Champagne Cupcakes! How divine. I think these cakes will be perfect for Bastille Day! I did give them a trial run last night and all I can say is YUM! Marie Antoinette would definitely approve! So for Champagne Friday this week, I am posting a cake recipe instead of my usual cocktail recipe. It is as equally indulgent!

Take inspiration from Marie Antoinette with a selection of items from Fanantique

Here is the official recipe for Champagne Cup Cakes taken from 52cupcakes. Please see further down for my quick and easy cheat's version!!

Champagne Cupcakes - Official version

Ingredients:

2 3/4 Cups Plain Flour

3 Tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

2/3 C butter

1 1/2 Sugar

3/4 C Champagne (the sweeter the better)

6 Egg Whites

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees C, prepare cupcake tin with cup-cake liners.

Cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift Flour, powder and salt together and blend into creamed mixture alternately with Champagne.

In another bold beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 egg whites into batter to lighten it, then gradually add the remaining egg whites.

Fill the cupcake liners to about 2/3 full.

Bake at 175 degrees C for 20 minutes.

Champagne Buttercream Icing

3/4 C vegetable Shortening

1-1/2 sticks of butter (room temperature)

3 Tablespoons Champagne

4 1/2 C icing Sugar

In a large bowl, beat the shortening and butter until combined, add the Champagne. Slowly add

the icing sugar and blend until smooth.

If this is all too hard, try my cheat's version.......
(tried and tested)


Cheat's Champagne Cup Cakes


Ingredients
Vanilla cake mix (I like Betty Crocker)
- refer to cake mix for other ingredients needed, usually eggs & butter.
A bottle of Champagne

Directions
Prepare mixture as directed on cake mix box BUT substitute Champagne for the water then take out a Champagne glass and get drinking the left over Champagne. Spoon mixture into lined cup cake tin and bake for approximately 15 mins in moderate oven.
Icing - If you are lucky enough, the cake mix that you purchased will include ready to spread frosting. Simply add a little champagne to this( this will make it a little runny but if you put the mixture in the fridge for a bit it will thicken up again..if it is really runny add a little icing sugar)
Important- Don't forget to finish off the bottle of Champagne, an opened bottle will not keep well!