Champagne cupcakes
As I mentioned in the Strawberry cupcake post, I made 6 dozen cupcakes for a cousin’s graduation party. I wanted to try the champagne cupcakes since they seemed fitting for the celebratory occasion.
The cake was deliciously moist and had a great texture. The frosting did as well. I couldn’t really taste a strong champagne flavor but hubby said he really could. They were definitely a hit.
Champagne Cupcakes – from Crazy about Cupcakes
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup champagne
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
In a separate medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the batter until blended, then fold in the remaining egg whites until well blended.
Fill the cupcakes liners 3/4 full. Baker for ~20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan.
Once completely cooled, brush 1 Tbsp of champagne onto the tops of the cupcakes.
Champagne Frosting – from Crazy about Cupcakes
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tbsp champagne
4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
In a large bowl beat the shortening and butter until combined. Add the champagne. Slowly add the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
If Carlos claims this is the best thing you have ever made … I might have to make them tonight!
beantownbaker — February 10th, 2014 @ 9:57 am
Let me know if you do. I was seriously SHOCKED when he said that.
OH. MY. LORD.
Yeah, I can see why these are the best ever!!!! Love Samoas!
I grew up calling them Samoas and didn’t like them when I was selling them, but have since grown to love them. Great twist on a traditional rice krispie treat!
beantownbaker — February 11th, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
I can’t tell if the naming thing is regional or not. I know people who grew up in Indiana like me who call them Samoas. They’ll always be Caramel Delites to me.
they look sooooo good!
Sharing these in my friday link roundup!
Everyone needs to see these!
beantownbaker — February 13th, 2014 @ 8:49 pm
Thanks for sharing them!!
oh jeez. caramel de lites here, too 🙂 these sound killer!
beantownbaker — February 23rd, 2014 @ 12:47 pm
You’re the first person I’ve met who calls them Caramel de Lites too!
I’ve been wondering why they aren’t always called Samoas!
Are the pecans there for the Samoa flavor or just an extra addition?
beantownbaker — March 18th, 2014 @ 8:03 am
They add some texture but you could leave them out if you wanted.
Awesome recipe! Let me provide a little insight to the naming of the cookies (Caramel deLights vs Samoas my wife is a girl scout troop leader). The girl scouts rely on a few bakeries to produce their cookies. Caramel deLights are made by one bakery, while Samoas are made by another.
Just made these – very tasty, but I had a lot of trouble with the caramel layer. It hardened so much, I couldn’t cut the squares. I had to heat them up a bit to cut through the caramel, and then they got rather sticky and did not cut cleanly. Followed directions exactly, not sure what went wrong…
On Sunday nights, my hubby leads a college-age Bible study group and I use the kids/young adults as my guinea pigs for trying new recipes. I made these yesterday and they LOVED them. Thank you for the recipe!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
So glad these were a hit for you! This has become my most frequently made and requested recipe that I’ve made.
Explained well.