Happy second day of Cupcake Week!

(p.s.  who’s totally psyched for Top Chef tonight?!?  This girl!!)

I’ve already made champagne cupcakes in the past, and while I enjoyed them, I really felt the champagne didn’t lend enough flavor to the cupcake itself – what I tasted more than anything was the dryness of the champagne.

No longer.

This time when I found out I would be making these, I set myself on a quest for a good bubbly.  While I love champagne dearly, I have decided it’s just not quite appropriate for a cupcake.  This time, my goal was to find a prosecco or sparkling moscato to give these lil cupcakes the extra “oomph” they needed.  After spending some time at Trader Joe’s, I found exactly what I was looking for – a delicious tasting prosecco.  Has the bubbles, but just a bit more flavor than champagne.

And these cupcakes turned out mah-velously.

In addition to the prosecco, I also added two drops of strawberry extract and one drop of lemon extract (and when I say drop, I literally mean drop), again, just to help boost a little flavor in the cupcakes to compensate for the carbonation flavor that comes through.

This time I also added a bit more wine to the strawberry puree for the whipped cream (it was a slip of the hand… I swear!! ;)) and it gave it an even better flavor.

I absolutely love the way these turned out (not saying the last ones were bad, just that these were better!

If you are interested, here is the original post (and recipe) for my first attempt at these cupcakes, and below is the updated version.

“Champagne” Mini-Cupcakes adapted from Crazy About Cupcakes

• 2/3 cup butter, at room temp
• 300 g (1 1/2) cups sugar
• 308 g (2 3/4) cups cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 oz (1 cup) prosecco
• 2 drops strawberry extract (optional)
• 1 drop lemon extract (optional)
• 6 egg whites, at room temp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake pan with liners.

Cream the butter and sugar together (with paddle attachment) until light and fluffy (around 5 minutes).

In a separate bowl, sift the remaining dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, and salt).  In a measuring cup, pour the prosecco and add the drops of extract.

Alternately mix the dry ingredients and prosecco into the butter, mixture, starting and ending with the dry.  After batter is smooth, transfer to a separate bowl.

In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites (with whisk attachment) until stiff peaks are formed.  Fold egg whites into the batter in thirds.

Fill cupcake lines three-quarters of the way full, and bake for 14-16 minutes (or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and cakes are golden on top).

Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes; remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
• 4 oz (1/4 cup) prosecco
• 6 or 7 large frozen strawberries

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, start beating the heavy cream until frothy; add in sugar, and continue to mix on medium-high until soft peaks form.

In a food processor or blender, puree strawberries and prosecco until a paste is formed.

Pour strawberry mixture into a sieve over the bowl of whipped cream, and press through (this should remove the majority of the seeds).  Mix on medium speed until the strawberry is incorporated.