Champagne Cupcakes With Italian Buttercream Food

CHAMPAGNE CAKE WITH CHAMPAGNE ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Grease and flour three or four 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a round of parchment paper that is also slathered with a bit of butter or shortening.
• Separate the 4 whole eggs, placing the yolks in a small bowl and the whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, along with the 4 additional egg whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form when you lift the whisk from the beaten egg whites. Scrape the egg whites into another bowl. Rinse and dry the standing mixer bowl.
• Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl a time or two.
• Add two of the egg yolks and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining two egg yolks, beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds, and scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
• Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a bowl and mix with a wire whisk just to combine.
• In a large measuring cup, stir together the champagne, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• Beating on low speed, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the liquid, in 4 additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat on low to medium speed, just long enough to incorporate each new addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• With a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten egg whites into the batter just until incorporated.
• Pour the batter into your prepared pans. If baking 3 layers, bake for 30-40 min. If baking four layers, bake for 25-30 minutes. The cakes will be golden brown, be pulling away from the sides of the pan, and will not jiggle in the center when you shake the pan slightly. To check for doneness, stick a toothpick into the center of one of the layers. Remove the toothpick and look for signs of raw batter. If only cake crumbs stick to the toothpick, the cake is done. You can also scoop a tiny amount of cake from the center of one of the layers to check for doneness. (You'll be covering the cake with frosting anyway.)
• Let the cakes cool on wire racks for 5 minutes in the pan, then gently turn them out of the pans onto the wire racks to cool completely. If you don't plan on frosting the layers immediately, wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. The layers can be stored at room temperature for 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months.
• Pour 1 cup (240ml) champagne into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the champagne is reduced to ½ cup (120ml). Allow to cool completely and then slowly beat into a prepared batch of Italian Meringue Buttercream.
• Remove about 2/3 of the buttercream from the mixing bowl. Add the pureed strawberries to the remaining buttercream and beat until completely incorporated.

CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 cups of two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• In the bowl of stand mixer, cream the granulated sugar and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
• Reduce the mixer speed to medium low. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture and finally the champagne. Mix until just combined. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter.
• Bake until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.
• For the buttercream frosting: Combine the confectioners' sugar, butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Add the vanilla, increase the speed to medium high and mix until smooth. Adjust the consistency with milk as desired.
• Put 1/2 cup of the frosting in a one small bowl and another 1/2 cup in a second small bowl. Tint the first bowl a light shade of green and the second bowl a darker shade of green. Add 1/4 cup of plain frosting to a third small bowl and tint it pink. Add 1/4 cup of plain frosting to a fourth small bowl and leave it plain. Add enough of the green food coloring to the remaining plain frosting in the mixer bowl to tint it dark green (darker than the other 2 bowls of green frosting).
• For decorating: Frost the top of 12 of the cupcakes with an even layer of the darkest green frosting. Place the graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl and dip the edges of the cupcake in the crumbs, rotating to coat the edges.
• Make aloe plants by forming 12 teardrop-shaped pieces of green gum paste. Using scissors, snip the pointed end of each teardrop halfway to the bottom in one direction, then across in the opposite direction. Spread the tips gently and place one aloe plant onto each of the frosted cupcakes.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip (no. 199) with one of the lighter shades of green frosting. Fit a second pastry bag fitted with a large closed star tip (no. 846) with the other lighter green frosting. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip (no. 15) with the pink frosting. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (no. 2) with the white frosting.
• Pipe cacti onto the cupcakes using the 2 shades of green frosting. Pipe cactus flowers with the pink frosting and finish by piping small white dots on the cacti for the needles.

ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place the egg whites and 1/3 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the egg whites reach the soft peak stage.
• Meanwhile, pour the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and bring to the soft-ball stage, without stirring, 240 degrees F.
• The egg whites and syrup should be ready at about the same time. If one is ready before the other then you can remove the pan from the heat or stop whipping for a few minutes.
• Continue to whip the egg whites on medium-high speed and slowly drizzle in the hot syrup, aiming the syrup between the side of the bowl and the beaters. Continue to whip until both the bottom of the bowl and the mixture are cool, 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be thick and will form firm peaks at this point. Beat in the salt. At this point you have an Italian meringue.
• While still beating on medium-high, add the butter, a few pieces at a time. As the butter is added, the buttercream may appear to thin out some, but it will thicken into firm peaks once all of the butter is added. Beat in the vanilla extract. If the buttercream is still too loose, beat on high speed until thickened.
• Use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container overnight. The buttercream may need to be beaten slightly to smooth out before using.

WINNING RECIPE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES WITH CHAMPAGNE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a regular-size cupcake pan with 18 cupcake liners.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Slowly add the oil to the mixture until fine crumbs are formed. Add the eggs, milk, raspberry extract, and pureed raspberries and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape the bowl and paddle, and then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter and bake until baked through, about 20 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time. Cool cupcakes completely after baking.
• Put the Champagne Buttercream Frosting into a pastry bag and cut 1/2-inch off the tip. Frost each cupcake in a circular motion until the top of the cupcake is completely covered and serve.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the butter until creamed. Add the powdered sugar and champagne and mix until the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy.;