Pink Champagne Cupcakes

As the rest of the working world sat in traffic this morning and eventually made it to their prospective places of employment, I baked!  I do love when we get a random Monday off for a holiday, especially when everyone else heads to work.* 

I have a birthday lunch to attend on Wednesday (as mentioned in previous post, I am the resident cupcake baker for my coworkers) and needed to try a new recipe.

I typically give the birthday girl or boy their choice of flavors for their birthday cupcakes, but on certain occasions (depending how well I know the intended cupcake receiver) I choose for them.  I happen to know that this certain birthday girl has an affinity for champagne!  Who doesn't you ask?!?!  Well, that is how my choice of flavors came to be, the birthday girl loves champagne and so do I.  Win, win for me! 

My mother was absolutely fabulous enough to send me a cake cookbook for Christmas called, BOOZE CAKES!  Yes, really it is called Booze Cakes!  The book comes complete with a Booze Meeter to measure if your recipe will leave you feeling like; a Lightweight, Feeling It or Totally Tipsey.  Today's recipe will leave you Feeling It as about 35 - 40% of the alcohol is retained in the recipe after baking.

Was it necessary to give the champagne a pre-tasting before I began the recipe?  Definitely!  I find that there is truly nothing better than a perfectly colored mimosa to really get the day moving in the right direction!

Pink Champagne Cake

3 cups all purpose - flour (why not cake flour, I guess we will live to learn this on another day)
3 teaspoons backing powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (for my special friends, I use Madagascar vanilla)
6 egg whites
3 drops red food coloring
2 cups (yes that is cups) Champagne ;-)
 

  The sugar was apparently a little camera shy today.

Combine dry ingredients, set aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy - about 4 minutes.
Add vanilla to butter mixture.
Beat in egg whites, one egg at a time.
Add drops of food coloring (batter will be dark)
Beat in the flour mixture and champagne in three alternating turns starting with the flour mixture.

The cake batter is the perfect shade of pale pink!  I love it!
Scoop batter into lined cupcake pans and bake for 18 - 22 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. 

I have found that a standard ice cream scoop (1/4 cup) is PERFECT for filling cupcake tins.  The scoop fills the liners about 3/4 of the way.  Your cupcakes will come out the perfect size every time!

Look at that color!!!  The cupcakes came out light and fluffy and tasted a little boozie!  I plan to refrigerate these little gems overnight and frost tomorrow night when I return from the grind.  No need to waste the batch!  I was not sure if I would like the booze added to cupcakes, ugh, what was I thinking?!?!?  Booze and cake, a match made in heaven!

Champagne butter cream recipe also found in the Booze Cake cookbook...can't wait to try it!

*I apologize to my husband and dear friends that worked today, I thought of you while I was not working today.