I have an insane sweet tooth. Pastries. Pies. Cookies. You name it; I love it. And because desserts are my jam, I bake a lot. Or… I used to. Before I moved to Japan, I was always in the kitchen. My Japanese house didn’t have an oven, though, so I stopped making sweet treats and started buying them instead. Now that I have a fully equipped kitchen again, I plan to start baking more often. And since I can’t really go anywhere because of this whole quarantine/self-isolation thing, that plan started this weekend

I was in the mood for something sweet and boozy. I had a couple of bottles of bubbly in the fridge (I usually have a few bottles, because… mimosas), so I decided on champagne cupcakes. I didn’t want to do too much experimenting because I didn’t want to have to go to the store, so I kept it super simple. And they turned out AMAZING!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 1/4 cups champagne

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 4 eggs, room temperature 

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

• 3-5 drops red food coloring (optional)

* you can a box of white cake mix (and the ingredients to make it) as well

Glaze:

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons champagne 

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 4 cups powdered sugar 

• 1/2 cup champagne 

• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract

• 2-3 drops red food coloring (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine all the dry cake ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder) in a stand mixer or with hand mixer.

Add in butter, then the vanilla extract, and lastly the champagne.

Finally, mix in the eggs and add the food coloring if/as desired.

Pour batter into the cake/muffin pans. I made six mini cakes and 36 mini cupcakes. All for me.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, mix all the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl and whisk until mixture has a thick liquid consistency.

Then, in a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the frosting with a mixer.

After the cakes are done baking, allow them to cool on a rack. Once the cakes have cooled to room temp, pour one to two teaspoons of champagne on top of each of the cakes. I used two-ish teaspoons for the mini cupcakes and about six-ish or so teaspoons for the mini bundt cake pans. I made sure the entire surface got a few drops. In my opinion the more the better.

Then, heat the glaze mixture in the microwave about 30 seconds so it’s runny. Dip the top of each cake into the glaze and set aside.

Next put the frosting into a piping bag or decorating tool. I applied only a small dollop of frosting on each cake. I don’t like my deserts too sweet. Add as much, or as little, as you like. Then, put the cakes in a container, cover them, and refrigerate. These are best served cold.

Enjoy with a cold glass of champagne and a side of strawberries!