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Champagne Meringue Cupcakes

a close up shot of pink champagne meringue cupcakes
Champagne Meringue Cupcakes

January birthdays really get the shaft. I have a spring birthday which is lovely but I imagine living in the shadow of the holiday season must be the pits. People are in the height of sticking to their new resolutions so they are pinching pennies while suffering from extreme hanger induced by their new vegan, gluten free, sugar free, alcohol free, fun free, trendy juice cleanse diet. January birthday babes, I feel your pain. You should be celebrated, you are after all, the embodiment of fresh starts. We owe you one. Specifically, one of these Champagne Meringue Cupcakes.

I came up with a sparkly new recipe that properly celebrates the under-celebrated. This recipe for Champagne Meringue Cupcakes incorporates all of the new years resolution vices; gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, fun and spending money on unnecessary things (this recipes uses edible gold dust because...it's your birthday, YAY!).  When you bite into one of these beautiful babes you can actually taste the celebration and that is so much more satisfying than drinking some soulless, thick, muddy green sludge. Not that there is anything wrong with juicing, I just think it's important to point out the joy that is a cupcake. 

So, go shorty...it's your birthday. And if it's not, Valentines Day is sneaking up quick. Celebrate and send that special someone a Champagne Meringue Cupcake that's been kissed with gold and baked with love. You'll win their heart forever. <3 Or just bake them for your damn self because you absolutely deserve to be treated.

a bottle of pink champagne placed among pink cupcake wrappers
You don't actually need this big of a bottle of champagne (you can use a mini bottle) but I was feeling celebratory and decided to toast the January birthday babies while I baked. 😉
liquefy coconut oil by submerging the jar in a bowl of hot water
Pro tip: to quickly and easily liquify coconut oil from a solid to a liquid, simply give it a quick bath in a bowl of hot water. It will melt from solid to liquid within a few minutes while your prep the other ingredients.
pouring coconut oil into the cupcake batter
They should blend together into a smooth and velvety texture.
Champagne Meringue Cupcakes dough in a mixing bowl, not over mixed
Once you've added the dry ingredients to the wet, don't over-mix. This helps keep the cupcakes light and airy.
a cookie scoop sits beside a bowl of cupcake batter and 12, filled cupcakes liners in a tray ready for the oven
Use a cookie scoop to fill the cupcakes liners about ¾ of the way full. You should get about 2 dozen cupcakes per batch.
a close up of a shot of baked cupcakes just out of the oven
The cupcakes should rise up just above the liner line without doing too much or sinking in the center.
Becky Sue separates an egg yolk from its whites by shifting it back and forth between shell halves
Pure, clean egg whites are key to a light and fluffy meringue. Keep those yolks far, far away.
egg whites and sugar whisked together forms an airy mix that stands up at the tip of the whisk in a soft peak when placed upside down
Whisk those egg whites and sugar together until you've got sweet, soft little peaks like this.
slowly adding hot liquid sugar to meringue in the mixing bowl by pouring down the sides
Slowly and carefully add that boiling hot liquid sugar mixture, allowing it to run down the sides of the bowl without letting it touch the whisk.
Becky Sue marvels at the meringue on the whisk
The meringue is ready when it holds nice big stiff peaks. Dayum, look at the swoop.
using the tip of a knife to add just a drop of red food coloring to the meringue
Just a kiss of blush will give you a soft pink meringue.
Becky Sue fills a pastry piping bag with meringue from a mixing bowl.
When filling my piping bag, I like use a vase to hold it in place while I fill it with meringue.
thick swirls of pink meringue are piped onto the top of the baked cupcakes
I like to use a fat tip to pipe it on thick!
Becky Sue blows edible gold dust from her palm onto the meringue of a cupcake

Just blow a kiss of gold dust onto these blush beauties to make them extra special.

a super close up shot of a finished pink champagne meringue cupcake
How sweet is that little swirl?
Party on Champagne Meringue Cupcakes, party on. <3
Party on Champagne Meringue Cupcakes, party on. <3
Champagne Meringue Cupcakes next to a bottle of champagne
Champagne Meringue Cupcakes, let's raise a glass and celebrate all of those January babes. Enjoy with a bottle of Fizz! <3
an extreme close up of edible gold dust adorning the meringue swirl atop a pink champagne cupcake
All glitzed up and ready to party.

This recipe for Champagne Meringue Cupcakes is adapted from Julie Richardson's Champagne Cake recipe from Vintage Cakes. The Meringue frosting is adapted from an old Food and Wine magazine recipe. 

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Champagne Meringue Cupcakes

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Description

Who wouldn't feel special when toasted with a batch of Champagne Meringue Cupcakes. These sparkly, blush beauties are packed with fizzy champagne and topped with a marshmallowy soft meringue and a kiss of gold dust. Swoon. <3

Ingredients

Units

Champagne Cupcakes

  • cake flour - sifted - 3 cups
  • baking powder - 2 ½ teaspoons
  • fine salt - ½ teaspoon
  • large eggs at room temperature - 4
  • granulated sugar - 1 ¾ cup
  • pure vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons
  • coconut oil - 1 cup (melted)
  • dry sparkling champagne (pink or white - 1 cup)

Meringue Frosting

  • granulated sugar - ⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons
  • water - ¼ cup
  • large egg whites - 3
  • cream of tartar - ⅛ teaspoon
  • pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
  • dry sparkling champagne (pink or white - 2-3 tablespoons)
  • red or pink food coloring - 1-3 drops (as desired)
  • edible gold dust (optional - ½ - 1 small vial)

Instructions

Champagne Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 (12 count) muffin tins with cute and festive cupcakes liners. I like to double up, with a plain white on the inside and the decorative liner on the outside.
  2. Set your jar of coconut oil in a mixing bowl filled with hot water. After a few minutes the coconut oil should liquefy and pour out like water.
  3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture by hand to ensure the ingredients are completely mixed and airy.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together on medium speed for one minute. With your mixer on low speed, drizzle the liquified coconut oil into the mixture until well combined, it should look smooth and velvety.
  5. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the champagne in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. After each addition, mix until just barely blended and stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thin and runny.
  6. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and finish the blending by hand with a silicone spatula to ensure you do not over-beat the batter. Mix until the flour is just combined.
  7. Divide the batter evenly among 24 lined muffin tins, filling them about ¾ of the way full with batter.
  8. Place the filled muffin tins on baking sheets and bake in the center racks of the oven for 16-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meringue Frosting

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the ⅔ cup of sugar with the water. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Using a brush dipped in cold water, wash down any sugar crystals from the side of the pan. Boil the syrup without stirring over moderately high heat until the syrup reaches 240° on a candy thermometer, about 7-9 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar at medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until the whites are firm.
  3. With the mixer on a slow-medium speed, quickly and carefully drizzle the boiling syrup down the side of the mixing bowl, avoiding the whisk. Beat at low speed for about 3 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form when the whisk is lifted. Beat in vanilla and 2-3 tablespoons of champagne. Then blend in a couple of dots of red or pink food coloring until a lovely blush color is achieved. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  4. Fill a piping bag with the prepared meringue frosting and pipe onto the cupcakes as desired. Gently blow a kiss of edible gold dust over the cupcakes.
  5. Serve immediately with a 2nd bottle of something fizzy!

Notes

This recipe for Champagne Meringue Cupcakes is adapted from Julie Richardson’s Champagne Cake recipe from Vintage Cakes. The Meringue frosting is adapted from an old Food and Wine magazine recipe.

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  1. Sabrina says

    I absolutely love these cupcakes! Lovely photos too!

    Reply

    • beckysue says

      Thanks Sabrina! They were a ton of fun to make, style and eat! <3

      Reply