Vanilla Cupcakes topped with Champagne Buttercream Frosting and Dipped Chocolate Strawberries

I know I have been talking up these boozy cupcakes, so now I'm here to back it up with some photographic evidence.

My very first PAID order!!

I feel like I'm too legit.

Too legit to quit.

Hey Hey.

You know, I can do the Hammer Dance pretty gosh darn well. Thought you'd like to know.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand...

These cupcakes were both a tremendous fail and a wonderfully awesome surprise.
This is how it started out...pretty regular baking adventure...except for the empty bottle of wine and the Chimichurri I have fermenting in the background :)

And that's when things started to go sooooo wrong!


I put too much booze in the frosting. The frosting got watery.
I tried to wrap a bow around the cupcakes.  The bow fell off.
I tried to put them in an extra cupcake wrapper to make them look prettier.  They didn't fit in the box.
I tried to pipe a rose with the buttercream.  The rose fell over due to the excess booze.
My boyfriend tried to console me because they just weren't what I had envisioned in my mind. I used my favorite cuss word as a verb.


I had all but given up....but why give up when you can kick butt?


So I added more sugar, refrigerated my frosting, shut the heck up and stopped complaining, piped some awesome swirls, & topped it all off with some exceptionally beautiful strawberries in Ghiradelli milk & white vanilla bean chocolate.

Poof.

The final product.

So after apologizing for my verbage, I thanked my right hand man and handed over the goods to the happy customer.


If anything, this has taught me to:
1) Not wait until the last moment.
2) Improvise. Not complain.
3) Not be a jerk to the ones who support me.

Ah, life lessons.

I hate you.

You are usually right.

Wanna make your own boozy cupcakes?? Who doesn't?!



Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup extra fine baker's sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Line muffin tin with liners (foil, paper, parchment).
3. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt.
4. Using a standing mixer w/ paddle attachment beat butter, sour cream, whole egg and yolks, & vanilla at medium speed until smooth. Do not beat too long or cake will be tough
5. Fill cups to 1/2 full, 2/3 if you would like larger rounded cupcakes.
6. Bake approximately 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
7. Remove cupcakes and cool on a wire rack.  Cupcakes should be completely cool (room temperature) before frosting.

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons champagne or sparkling sweet wine

1. With an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter on low until blended then increasing to medium speed for another 2 minutes.
2. Add vanilla and champagne or sparkling wine until well blended, about 1 minute.

** I found that it was hard to work with the frosting in my warm apartment because it was very delicate. Putting the frosting in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before piping really helped out!

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