I love champagne. It’s one of my favorite favorite things. I’m not sure exactly why, but something about the bubbles. I saw a great sale the other day when I was picking up milk at the store (and you know I love a sale!), so I snagged a bottle. Rob doesn’t like it and I don’t drink THAT much, so I needed to find something else to do with it. This weekend at Blog Elevated, Imperial Sugar was a sponsor and I had to walk by their table every time I went anywhere in the conference. Do you follow Imperial on Instagram? You should. At least, if you want some drool-worthy foods to gaze upon. So I very much had sugar on the brain.
Here’s how cooking or baking works in my head:
I can’t drink more than a glass or two of champagne. What else can I do with champagne? CUPCAKES. CUPCAKESCUPCAKESCUPCAKES. Champagne cupcakes. But what kind of frosting? Chocolate is always good. No. No chocolate. I don’t know why, but I don’t want chocolate. ORANGE. We have juicy, fresh oranges in the fridge…mimosa. MIMOSA CUPCAKES! But ginger. I don’t know why but I want ginger. AND orange. Ginger and orange and champagne. And OH!!! Candied ginger and oranges! I want to candy things! CANDYCANDYCUPCAKESCUPCAKESCUPCAKES.
This is my brain, y’all. If you ever wondered how I come up with recipes, this is how it goes. Something sparks the idea, then my brain is like the dogs in the movie Up: Squirrel? I’m all over the place. And once I get a bee in my bonnet (a phrase I apparently overuse in real life, bringing 1800s back), I have to make it. (It’s a wonder I get anything done ever.) This is how Champagne Cupcakes with Creamy Ginger Orange Frosting with Candied Ginger & Orange Peels was born.
That’s a long name. So we will just call these Champagne Cupcakes, though Mimosa Cupcakes (with added ginger) might be a better title. I found this recipe from Sprinkle Bakes and used it as a springboard. Her filling and frosting sound AMAZING.
I think if I had a cupcake shop, this would be one of my staples. I loved the moistness of this recipe, made with Greek yogurt as well as champagne, and how light the cupcakes turn out. It reminded me of a vanilla cupcake, but with a little more zing and flavor. Rob and I both tried them without frosting and he (my no-carb hubby) asked for seconds. They are moist and delicious with a little hint of something unexpected. Paired with the frosting made with cream cheese, butter, fresh ginger, and juice straight from an orange and you have something spectacular.
They are surprising, light, and fresh. And SWEET. With the crunch of the candied ginger and orange on top? Well. Let’s just see you try to stick to one. And try not to eat all the candied ginger & orange peels before using them. My boys loved the candied peels! And clearly the dog thought these smelled good…
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) at room temp
- 1 cup Imperial sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup champagne
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) at room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2-3 T juice from a fresh orange
- 1 lb (16 oz) Imperial confectioners sugar
- Heat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan with baking papers.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, between after each, then vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and set aside. In another separate bowl, whisk the champagne and Greek yogurt together until well-blended. (I used full-fat Greek yogurt.) Add the champagne mixture and the flour mixture to the mixing bowl with the butter, sugar and eggs, a little at a time, ending with the flour mixture.
- Scoop into the baking cups (I used between 1/4 and 1/3 cups per baking cup) and bake 17-20 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese together, adding the vanilla, orange zest, and ginger. Add the sugar and combine, using the freshly squeezed orange juice until you have the consistency you want. I used about 2 tablespoons of the juice.
- -Ginger has a real zing, and if you want more zing, use more than 1 tsp grated ginger.
- -Top with candied ginger and orange peel.
I think next time I’ll try with champagne reduced down for the frosting as well. Did I mention I like champagne?
Don’t be disappointed, but I’m not giving you a recipe for the candied orange peels and ginger. Reason: I didn’t follow the recipes I found, which means I probably go lucky that they turned out at all. You don’t mess with candy-making, so go follow a tried-and-true recipe and don’t fudge things like I did. My tendency in the kitchen is NOT to measure and to improvise like crazy. Baking, being a science, doesn’t like this. Baking wants me to be exact. While I can make up recipes and substitute certain things, there are some things that you need to follow. Go see Alton Brown’s candied ginger recipe and this recipe for candied orange peels from my friend MaryBeth.Do NOT just boil ginger and orange peels in sugar and water (like I did). You might burn down the kitchen.
If you were making champagne cupcakes, what would be your perfect pairing?
I’m linking up with A Southern Fairytale’s Mouthwatering Mondays. Go check out some great food!
YES!!!
These look amazing! Will definitely try this Holiday Season!
I love these so much <3 You and I cook a lot alike
We should, like, be friends or something. 🙂
I am so lucky I got to try these. They were AMAZING, and I am shocked I controlled myself and only had ONE. The orange peels were also the best. I am heartbroken there isn’t a recipe. 🙁
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My site has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself
or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my authorization.
Do you know any ways to help prevent content from being stolen?
I’d certainly appreciate it.