Mimosa Cupcakes

Mimosas! To me, mimosas are the ultimate in self-pampering, and a surefire sign that a lovely day is ahead of me. You can keep your manicures and facials and massages. I just want breakfast and a mimosa (or two). And some quiet, although I doubt that’s possible. My love of sweets naturally leads me to want to morph one of my favorite beverages into a baked good. These Mimosa Cupcakes are orange and champagne cake topped with a champagne Italian meringue buttercream. In honor of Mother’s Day coming up, I tried my hand at making some citrus-colored fondant roses and peonies to dress them up.

My first mimosa ever was on a vacation that my husband and I took to Mexico pre-kids. White sand beaches, clear water, and grass-thatched umbrellas to lie beneath. (I hate the sun and love the beach–a difficult combo, but our resort had me covered. Pun intended.) I had a mimosa with breakfast Every. Single. Day. It was paradise.

Now with a mimosa in-hand I can close my eyes and transport myself there, if only momentarily, because it’s likely that I’m about to hear a not-so-small voice yell “MUMMAAAA!!!” or get hit in the face with a stuffed animal. Or both. Times have changed, but mimosas are forever.

These cupcakes are flavorful and not too sweet. Italian meringue buttercream is my new favorite, and I’m putting it on everything because it’s so delicious. This champagne version is no exception. It’s creamy, smooth, and decadent without being too sweet. These cupcakes would be a perfect end to your Mother’s Day brunch. Or just have them for breakfast. No judgement here.

A few notes to help you on your way:

– You can choose to use all-purpose flour for this recipe if that’s all you’ve got on-hand, but cake flour will result in a lighter, fluffier cake. If you can’t find cake flour at your local grocery store, you can find it [here].

– The step to reduce the champagne for the buttercream is absolutely necessary, allowing you to add the concentrated champagne flavor to the buttercream without adding a lot of liquid. Check the recipe notes for other helpful hints on making sure your buttercream is a success!

– You can spread the buttercream with a knife or dollop it on top with a spoon if you’d like. I piped the buttercream with a 1M tip.

So go ahead and pamper yourself or someone special with these Mimosa Cupcakes. And Happy Mother’s Day to Moms, those who are like Moms, and to those who wish they were Moms. To all those celebrating, those dreaming, and those grieving. Much love to all of you. <3

Other posts you may like:

Mimosa Tart

Sangria Cake

Champagne and Chocolate Strawberries Cake

Chocolate Champagne Cake

Mimosa Cupcakes

Amee

Orange and champagne cakes topped with champagne Italian meringue buttercream. Pamper yourself or someone you love!

Cupcake recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction (link here)

Champagne Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe by Me 🙂

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 15 cupcakes

Ingredients

  

Cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (see note)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1/2 cup champagne

Champagne Reduction

• 1/2 cup champagne (see note)

Buttercream

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar (for syrup; see directions)
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp sugar (for egg whites; see directions)
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)
• 2 Tbsp champagne reduction

Instructions

 

For Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray or line with paper liners. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add egg whites and vanilla, beating to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add orange zest and sour cream. Beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (seeing a trend here?).
• Add dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the orange juice and champagne, mixing until just combined.
• Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

For Champagne Reduction:

• Pour champagne into a small saucepan. Over medium-high heat, reduce champagne to about 2 tablespoons in volume. Reduction will be syrupy (see note).

For Buttercream:

• Put egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer, taking care to ensure no yolk is in the bowl (see note).
• In a small saucepan, combine water and /2 cup sugar. Stir to moisten sugar, and do not stir after that (see note). Warm over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Once sugar is dissolved, increase heat to medium-high. Cook until syrup reaches 246F-250F.
• When syrup reaches 240F, begin beating the egg whites using the whisk attachment. Once frothy, add cream of tartar and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.

  The goal is for the egg whites to reach stiff peaks at the same time the syrup reaches temperature. If the egg whites are done early, let the mixer run on low speed until the syrup comes to temperature.
• Once syrup is to temperature, remove from the heat. With the mixer running on low speed, carefully pour the syrup into the egg whites in a slow, steady stream (see note). 
• Beat mixture on medium-high until the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm to the touch. Then add butter, 2-3 tablespoons at a time, allowing the butter to incorporate completely after each addition.
• With mixer on low, drizzle in champagne reduction. Beat to combine.
  
• Top cupcakes with buttercream.

  Enjoy!

Notes

Note on cake flour: You can choose to use all-purpose flour for this recipe if that's all you've got on-hand, but cake flour will result in a lighter, fluffier cake. If you can't find cake flour at your local grocery store, you can find it [here].

Note on champagne reduction: You want to reduce the champagne so that you can flavor the buttercream without adding too much liquid. The more liquid you add, the less likely it will combine with the buttercream. In order for the flavor to come through, the reduction is necessary to add the concentrated flavor of the champagne without having to add a lot of liquid.

Note on egg whites: Egg whites need to be *completely* free of yolk! Make sure your bowl is squeaky clean, too. Even a drop of fat will keep your egg whites from whipping up properly. If you get yolk in your whites, dump it out, wash the bowl, and start over.

Note on stirring sugar syrup: Stirring the sugar syrup promotes crystallization of the sugar, when that's the opposite of what you want. Don't stir, even though (like me) you really want to.

Note on handling hot sugar syrup: Don't worry about scraping out the saucepan to get every last bit of syrup. Keep your focus on not burning yourself. Be VERY careful not to touch the syrup, as it will stick to your skin and could cause serious burns!

Piping Buttercream: You can spread the buttercream with a knife or dollop it on top with a spoon if you'd like. I piped the buttercream with a 1M tip, like this one [here].

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