Because Dirty Martini Cupcakes Seemed Too Weird...

It was a friend's birthday (sense a recurring theme, here?), so I asked her what her favorite mixed drink was. Her response was a dirty martini...now, as much as Cupcake Wars likes making people use odd ingredients in cupcakes, I wasn't sure I was up for creating olive cupcakes. Maybe next time. So I asked her what her second favorite mixed drink was. This answer was more promising: champagne and pineapple juice. After making a mental note to order that next time I go out to brunch, I started researching recipes. I present you with...Champagne Cupcakes with Pineapple Buttercream Frosting.


Bite-Sized Champagne Cupcakes (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbl. baking powder
  
• 2/3 c. butter, softened
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. to 1 c. champagne (I used an Asti Spumante, since the reviews said a sweet champagne is best)
  
• 6 egg whites

Sift together flours and baking powder (add 1 tsp. salt if your butter is unsalted) twice. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the sifted mix and 3/4 c. champagne, alternating wet and dry, starting with dry. Note: at this point, my "batter" was almost like a cookie dough, which I thought would be too thick for the next step, so I added a little more champagne to thin it out.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites (in a clean bowl!) until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then, add the batter to the remaining egg whites, and fold in just until combined, taking care not to deflate the egg whites too much.

Spoon into mini muffin tins that have been misted with cooking spray (I used my smallest cookie scoop, which holds ~2 tsp of batter, to get uniform cupcakes). You could line these with paper liners, but for some reason, the mini paper liners I own do not fit into my mini muffin tin. Go figure. Plus, I hate losing cupcake crumbs that stick to the side of the liner. So I hardly ever use liners. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool.

I got 48 mini cupcakes and 2 regular-sized cupcakes out of this batch (the regular cupcakes baked for about 15 minutes, or maybe a little more). Bonus: these cupcakes come out with the funniest, distinct, little domed tops!

Pineapple Buttercream (Adapted from About.com)

• 1 stick butter, softened
  
• 1/2 c. well-drained crushed pineapple
• 4 c. powdered sugar, divided (plus more, if needed)

Stir the butter until smooth. Stir in 2 c. powdered sugar. Then, add 1/2 c. well-drained crushed pineapple. And by well-drained, I mean WELL-DRAINED. Like, squeeze every last drop of moisture out of it, and then drain it some more, or else your frosting will never set up. Stir in the pineapple, then stir in remaining 2 c. powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar as needed to achieve a pipe-able consistency. If, by some miracle, your frosting is too stiff at this point, you can add extra pineapple or pineapple juice to thin it out a little.


Frost your cupcakes, and voila! Bite-Sized Champagne Cupcakes with Pineapple Buttercream. These were a huge hit. I have some leftover frosting that I froze (maybe I'll make pina colada cupcakes with it!). And as for the leftover champagne and pineapple juice, well, let's just say that I'll be taste-testing Kim's (second-) favorite drink for myself!