Need a fun and easy dessert for New Year's Eve? Make these Champagne Cupcakes! This recipe uses champagne in the cupcake batter and the champagne buttercream frosting. But don't worry, these cupcakes are easy to make even for beginner bakers—I use boxed cake mix as a shortcut and jazz it up!
This is a great New Year's Eve party dessert and a great recipe to use up leftover champagne after NYE.
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New Year's Eve Cupcakes
What better way to ring in the new year than by enjoying some new year's eve-themed cupcakes??
These cupcakes have champagne in the cupcake batter and in the frosting, making them the perfect New Year's Eve dessert, or the perfect dessert anytime you need something a little sweet, a little classy, a little grown up.
Easy champagne cupcakes
If this is your first time here, you'll quickly learn that most of the desserts on this blog are quick and easy—either using minimal ingredients or using shortcuts such as boxed cake mix to transform boring boxed cake into something completely unexpected.
This easy champagne cupcake recipe is no exception! Simply grab a box of your favorite vanilla cake mix and mix together with some oil, eggs, and pink champagne (or whatever kind of champagne you have, more on that later!)
Mix it together, bake, and allow to cool.
While the cake is baking, make the champagne buttercream frosting, then decorate the cupcakes. Don't worry if it doesn't come out perfect, a few golden glittery sprinkles on top will cover any imperfections!
Related recipe: Cranberry Mimosas
What kind of champagne to use for cupcakes
I used a pink champagne, just because that's what I had on hand. The pink really doesn't show in the cupcakes or in the champagne frosting, so you can use any yellow champagne or sparkling wine, such as prosecco. I recommend using a sweet or semi-sweet champagne instead of something really dry, however the dry one can be a nice option for a slightly different flavor that tastes more "grown up."
Speaking of which...
What can I use instead of champagne?
If you want to make non-alcoholic champagne cupcakes, you can use a 50/50 mix of non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider or sprite and seltzer to mimic a semi-sweet champagne. Or you can use sparkling apple cider for a sweeter dessert. The important part is to use a bubble liquid in the cupcake batter, it makes for a great fluffy cupcake texture.
The amount of champagne in the finished cupcakes is not that much—you end up with about ⅔ tablespoon champagne per cupcake (some of the alcohol evaporates as they bake) plus about ½ teaspoon of champagne in the frosting of each cupcake (that one does not evaporate). But of course, if you're avoiding alcohol completely or baking for a kids' party, you'll want to use the non-alcoholic option for these cupcakes.
If you're short on leftover champagne, I would recommend substituting the champagne in the cake part (since you can't taste it in there as much), and only using the champagne for the frosting, since that has a nice subtle champagne flavor.
Champagne buttercream frosting
This champagne frosting is made with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, champagne, and a splash of milk. The recipe calls for 4-5 cups of powdered sugar. I used almost 5 cups. The more powdered sugar, the thicker the frosting will be, and the amount you need will depend on the humidity of your kitchen and how accurately you measure the liquid ingredients for the frosting.
It is so so good I can eat it with a spoon!
I used a 2M piping tip to decorate these cupcakes, which is the open star shape.
And of course, I couldn't skip the golden sparkly sugar or golden sprinkles, since I was going for an elegant New Year's Eve dessert theme here!
Ingredients
For the champagne cupcakes:
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup pink champagne (or any champagne or sparkling wine. See tips above for a non-alcoholic substitute)
- ½ cup oil
- 3 large eggs
For the champagne frosting:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 full stick or 2 half-sticks)
- ¼ cup pink champagne
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- Gold sprinkles or gold pearlized sugar for decoration
Equipment
Aside from measuring cups and spoons and bowls, here's what you'll need for make these New Year's Eve cupcakes:
- Two 12-cup cupcake or muffin tins (or just 1 cupcake tin but you'll need to bake in 2 batches)
- Cupcake liners (I like these simple gold ones—they're festive but practical)
- Mixer (hand-held electric mixer or stand mixer)
- Piping bag
- 2M piping tip (or your favorite shape)
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, champagne, oil, and eggs and mix with an electric mixer until well incorporated.
Step 3: Spoon the batter into the liners of the prepared cupcake pans. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with baked crumbs. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before frosting.
Step 4: Prepare the frosting: use an electric mixture whip the butter until creamy—go a minute or two longer than you think is necessary.
Step 5: Carefully add in the champagne, milk, and powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.
Step 6: Whip until well incorporated, adding 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached. I ended up using almost 5 cups of powdered sugar. The more sugar you use, the thicker the cupcakes will be.
Step 7: Load your piping bag with a 2M piping tip and the champagne frosting. Frost cupcakes and decorate with gold sprinkles.
More NYE party finger foods
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup pink champagne - see notes below for substitutions and non-alcoholic options
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter - softened (1 full stick or 2 half-sticks)
- ¼ cup pink champagne
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- gold sprinkles - or gold sugar for decoration
Special equipment
- 24 Cupcake liners (I like these simple gold ones—they're festive but practical)
- Mixer (hand-held electric mixer or stand mixer)
- 2M piping tip (or your favorite kind)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, champagne, oil, and eggs and mix with an electric mixer until well incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the liners of the prepared cupcake pans, leaving a little room on top. Bake for 1-18 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with baked crumbs. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before frosting.
- Prepare the frosting: use an electric mixture whip the butter until creamy—go a minute or two longer than you think is necessary.
- Carefully add in the champagne, milk, and powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat slowly at first to avoid a sugar cloud
- Whip until well incorporated, adding 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached. (I ended up using almost 5 cups of powdered sugar. The more sugar you use, the thicker the cupcakes will be.)
- Load your piping bag with a 2M piping tip and the champagne frosting. Once your cupcakes are completely cooled, frost cupcakes and decorate with gold sprinkles.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.