Foodie Friday is BACK!

I hate how quiet I’ve let my blog become, so I’m determined to wake it up in 2014, and what better way to start if off with a Foodie Friday!

We were invited to a New Year’s eve party, and I didn’t know what to take.  Hubby suggested cupcakes, so I went to my Big Book of Cupcakes by Betty Crocker to see if I could find a fun and festive cupcake to take.

Behold – the Pink Champagne Cupcake!
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening or butter (I used unsalted butter)
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 egg whites
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cup pink champagne
4-5 drops red food color

Directions
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F. For my oven, I heated to 325 degrees.  Place paper baking cups in each of the muffin tins.

2.  In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, beat shortening/butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.
Gradually add the sugar 1/3 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl occasionally.  Beat 2 minutes longer.  Add egg whites, one at a time (I separate the whites one at a time into a small ramekin and save the yolks to cook for Guinness)
Beat in vanilla.  On low speed, alternately add flour mixture (about 1/3 cup at a time) and champagne, and 1/2 at a time, beating just until blended.  Add 4-5 drops of red food coloring to make the cupcakes pink.
Since you’re using this champagne to cook with, buy a relatively inexpensive one.  I bought this yellow tail pink champagne for $8.99 at Publix…and I must say, I’m loving the new “corks”!  You simply twist it and it pops, and it’s resealable so you don’t have to worry about drinking it all in one sitting.
4.  Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

5.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans 5 minutes.

I made mini cupcakes this time, so if that’s the way you decide to go, you will need to alter your cooking time.  The recipes says 12-16 minutes, but I found that 11 minutes were perfect for mine.  Not all ovens are created equal, so find what works best for you!  And make sure you fill up the liners with enough batter or else your cupcake liners will peel away from the cake.

To make the frosting -

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I used unsalted butter)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup champagne
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 to 6 drops of red food color

Directions
Beat butter with electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Slowly add champagne and red food color.

You can use your preferred method to frost them.  I’m all about presentation so I love piping the frosting onto the cupcakes.  For these, I added some edible pearls and silver sugar sprinkles.

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year, and I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings!

Until next time,