Well, we almost made it another year…barely! Let’s put 2017 behind us and the hope of a new year ahead of us! What better way to ring in the New Year than with some bubbles! Why not go crazy with bubbles? Eat em, drink em, blow em…and anything else you can do with bubbles! Starting with eating them! These sparkling rose’ cupcakes are the perfect combination of light, airy, sweet and festive for your celebration. You can also drink bubbles as you make these – bonus!
So back to ringing in the new year. Truth be told, I am not a fan of New Year’s Eve. Overrated, too much pressure, no cabs and a lot of drunk kids. No thanks! I typically don’t like to leave my house. Last year, I was asleep by 10:30pm, it was glorious! I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed! I cooked a lovely New Year’s Day dinner for my mom and sister and had a nice relaxing day. We have begun to really enjoy the low-key NYE and opt for a nice boozy brunch or dinner for NY Day. #oldladies
However, this year, against my better judgement, I am going to brave the cold (It’s like -16 in Chicago), pay the outrageous surge prices, dodge the staggering “children” and stay up until midnight! Don’t worry. I am not going to a “hotel all you can drink” party! Those days are long long gone! This year, I am calling it my adult sophisticated NYE night out. Yes, we fancyish, “sir we will have your finest bottle of… er La Marca.” So, myself, along with some of my other fancyish, sophisticated, mature friends, are going to go out to a later dinner that will take us to Midnight to cheers with friends, good food, bubbles you drink and some laughs. Then 12:01 comes, I hit the accept button on the 100x surge to get my sophisticated behind home and hopefully be in bed by 12:30! #stilloldladies
Black and white photo, because it’s sophisticated and mysterious…kind of like those weird perfume commercials that don’t make sense.
Back to these “celebration” sparkling Rose’ cupcakes. New Years is a perfect excuse for me to put bubbles in my dessert. Since we are heading to dinner later, I am going to have the girls over to my place first for some dessert and cocktails before dinner. If I didn’t do anything beforehand, I might not make it to the late dinner, and be tempted to curl up on the couch with my dog. So, going to get the celebrating started at my place and then on to dinner.
These cupcakes are a perfect amuse-bouche/aperitif combo. They are light and airy and won’t weigh us down before we go and indulge some more later in the evening.
Careful though, you might not be able to eat just one and you don’t want a sparkling rose’ cupcake blackout. So please, please eat responsibly!
Hoping you all have a wonderful night celebrating or opting for bed early, and maybe you’ll spend part of the evening with these beauties.
Happy New Year!
Diane
- For the Cupcakes:
- 1⅔ cups cake flower
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup sparkling rose or prosecco room temp
- 3 egg whites room temp
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter – room temp
- ¼ cup Mascarpone – room temp
- Sparkling Rose Buttercream:
- ½ cup sparkling rose (reduced to ¼ cup)
- 2 sticks butter
- 4 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped out
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. heavy cream
- For the cupcakes:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add the sugar in while mixer is running. Beat until butter and sugar is light and fluffy, around 5 minutes.
- Next add in the mascarpone and beat to combine.
- Beat the egg whites lightly until foamy, add in to bowl one at a time and beat until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract.
- With mixer running on low, slowly add half of the dry ingredients. Turn to medium and beat until just combined.
- Return mixer to low, add the sparkling rose' and beat until just combined.
- Add the rest of the of dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, do not over mix.
- Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ full. Gently smooth the tops off with off-set spatula.
- Place in oven and bake for 16-18 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on rack.
- For the buttercream:
- In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, reduce the rose' by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- With mixer running on slow, add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, then turn speed up to fully incorporate. About halfway through add the vanilla bean, extract, rose', cream and beat to combine.
- Continue adding in the sugar.
- Beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add more cream one tablespoon at a time if you desire a creamier texture.
- Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
- Store covered at room temp for up to 3 days or covered in the fridge for up to 5.
- Bottoms up!
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