Orange Champagne Cupcakes

Hey there so last Thursday we had a "Breakfast for Lunch" Potluck at work and it was great all the fixings eggs, turkey bacon, french toast casserole and even shrimp and grits!  But being the resident dessert baker I had to whip up something extra special :)  and boy oh boy did I!  I remembered my friend Keisha over at Cupcake Wishes and Birthday Dreams posting a recipe for a Mimosa cupcake and well I knew that would be perfect!  However there were a few stumbles when developing the recipe and my batter turned out like soup *insert sad face*  So I restarted and came up with a perfect batter and then dumped half a bottle of Verdi Spumante into 2 pounds of confectioners sugar and butter and made what my one of my co-workers deemed as the "Best Cupcake she had ever tasted" !!!  So after all of my trials and tribulations and staying up until 1:30 am to get it right here are pics and THE RECIPE *insert applause*  LOL!

ORANGE CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKE (AKA MIMOSA CUPCAKES)

Cupcake Batter:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup champagne (I used Verdi Spumante, it's sweet and inexpensive)
• 1 tsp Orange Extract (adjust to your liking, I may have used more)
• Orange Zest (I just added what I thought was sufficient)
• 6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, cream together Butter and Sugar until creamy. In another bowl combine Flour, Baking powder, and Salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternating with Champagne. Once fully combined add Orange Zest and Orange Extract and mix at low speed until incorporated (this is where I taste the batter to make sure it has the right amount of flavoring).

In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whites into the batter a little at a time.  Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full (if you have a Pampered Chef Large Scoop it allows for the perfect measurement.

Bake cupcakes in lined cupcake pan at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 Champagne Buttercream:

• 2 pound bag of powdered sugar
• 1 stick of  butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Slowly add Champagne to reach desired consistency

Beat together Sugar and Butter on low until well blended.  Add Vanilla and Champagne and continue beating on medium until well combined.

Champagne Simple Syrup:

•  3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Champagne

Add both ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring until sugar is fully dissolved, let cool.  I was in a hurry so I let it cool in the refridgerator while frosting the cupcakes.

Frost Cupcake and drizzle with Champagne Syrup!  Another cool idea that I plan to try next time is poking holes in the warm cupcakes and then drizzle the warm syrup over top so that it will seep into the cupcakes for a Over the Rainbow taste effect!!!