These gorgeous Pink Champagne Cupcakes are a delight to the senses! Made with real sparkling wine and homemade champagne buttercream frosting, they are a fun and festive dessert for any special occasion!
Easy Champagne Cupcakes Recipe
There’s something about bubbly that makes any occasion extra special!
While I’m definitely a fan of the champagne toast, I’ve really taken a liking to desserts made with champagne! If you love the way champagne tastes on its own, then just imagine it in cupcake and frosting form…and that’s how these champagne cupcakes came to be!
Earlier this year we whipped up these Strawberry Champagne Cookies (which are perfect for Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day) and these super fun Pink Rosé Gummy Bears.
Yep, we made gummy bears with rosé!! And they are every bit as awesome as you’d imagine!
These gorgeous pink champagne cupcakes are SO easy to make! My husband got most of the cooking talent in our family — not that I’m complaining about a husband who cooks! — so if I say a recipe is easy, then seriously anyone can make it!
If you’re looking for a unique treat for an upcoming celebration, then these cupcakes are a must-try! I mean, how perfect would these champagne cupcakes be for wedding festivities or a New Year’s Eve party?!
Related: Check out these Champagne Jello Shots for your NYE party too!
I’ve included shop-able ad links for your convenience in re-creating this recipe; disclosure policy available here.
What You Need to Make Champagne Cupcakes
- White or yellow cake mix — Plus ingredients listed on the back of the box
- Champagne — Or your favorite sparkling wine
For the Champagne Buttercream Frosting
- Butter — Be sure to use unsalted butter!
- Powdered sugar
- Champagne
- Champagne extract — Optional, but adds even more fabulous champagne flavor!
- Milk — You can use any type of milk that you prefer, even dairy free!
- Pink gel food coloring — We love gel food coloring because it creates beautiful vibrant colors with just a few drops!
Kitchen Tools Used
- Stand mixer — You can also use an electric hand mixer if that’s what you have at home. But if you’ve been eyeing a gorgeous KitchenAid mixer, check out the refurbished options! We bought ours refurbished and saved a ton of money!
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake liners
- Batter scoop
- Frosting decorating bag — We love these reusable silicone piping bags because you can wash and use them over and over again. A star tip makes those gorgeous icing swirls that you see at fancy bakeries.
What Kind of Champagne Should I Use?
To be called Champagne, a sparkling wine must be made in the Champagne region of France through a highly regulated process. While this creates a high quality and incredible tasting product, true Champagne is often pretty pricey.
Even though I know the distinction (I studied wine after college), I’ll admit that I’m guilty of calling sparkling wine “champagne” in the generic sense. Kind of like we often say “Kleenex” when we simply mean tissues.
That’s why you’ll see me say “champagne” throughout the recipe, as well as use it in the name. It’s a habit y’all!
For this recipe, you’re welcome to use any type of sparkling wine — whether or not it is actually real Champagne. I usually choose something that’s tasty enough to drink on its own, but nothing that’s going to break the bank.
I personally love Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) or a fun rose sparkling wine, which is already a light pinkish color.
How to Make Champagne Cupcakes
I’ll readily admit that I love to use a box cake shortcut because it saves time and it’s practically foolproof! When I’m baking treats for a party, I don’t want to take a chance that I’ll mess up because I tried a new recipe for the first time.
There’s no shame in using a box cake mix — no one ever has to know!
Now when I say this recipe is foolproof, I mean it! All you do is swap out sparkling wine for the water that you would normally use to make box cake mix.
Using a cookie scoop makes portioning out the batter a breeze! Be sure to fill the cupcake liners up no more than halfway, as the batter will rise while baking.
How Many Cupcakes Does One Box of Cake Mix Make?
On average, one box of cake mix makes 24 regular sized cupcakes. The size of your cupcake pans may mean that you get more or less, but two dozen is a good estimate.
Does Alcohol Bake Out of Cake?
Alcoholic beverages are a popular addition to baked goods and not only for the flavor of the drink itself. Using alcohol in baked goods also:
- Enhances ALL of the flavors of the recipe
- Creates a delightful crumbly texture to cakes and cupcakes
However, you may be wondering if it is safe to let children eat cakes and cupcakes made with alcohol. Does the alcohol cook out of baked goods?
While much of the alcohol does cook out, there is a fair amount that remains. According to The Cake Blog, after 30 minutes of baking, about 35% of alcoholic content will still be in the cake.
If you want to make a completely family friendly version of this recipe, use the following tips:
How to Make Non-Alcoholic Champagne Cupcakes
First, you’ll want to grab a bottle of champagne extract. This is available at many specialty cooking stores, or you can order on Amazon.
- Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box. Do not substitute sparkling wine for water. Instead, use the water that is listed in directions AND add 1 teaspoon of champagne extract.
- When preparing the buttercream frosting, use only milk (no sparkling wine). Add 1 teaspoon of champagne extract for flavor.
Now you have a gorgeous and delicious treat that the whole family can enjoy!
Champagne Buttercream
While I love an easy box cake shortcut, it’s hard to beat homemade buttercream frosting. Plus, buttercream is pretty easy to make and only requires a few simple ingredients.
If you want to make those beautiful cupcakes with luscious swirls of icing piled on top, homemade buttercream is the way to go! Store-bought frosting just doesn’t hold its shape as well.
Cubing the butter and allowing it to soften to room temperature makes it much easier to mix.
To achieve that beautiful pink color, you can use 3-4 drops of pink food coloring or 2 drops of red food coloring. Always start conservatively with food coloring — you can add more if needed.
The same goes for adding milk — start with 2 Tablespoons and continue adding a Tablespoon at a time, as needed, until your frosting is smooth and fluffy consistency, but will still form stiff peaks.
More of our most popular cupcake recipes:
- Easy Mermaid Cupcakes
- Peeps Easter Bunny Cupcakes
- New Years Eve Cupcake Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
- Red White and Blue Swirl Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes
- Easy Piñata Cupcakes
Champagne Cupcake Recipe (Printable Copy)
Pink Champagne Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Champagne Cupcakes Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix plus ingredients on box
- champagne swap champagne for water in box cake ingredient list
Champagne Buttercream Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar or more, as needed
- 2 Tablespoons champagne
- 1 teaspoon champagne extract optional
- 3 drops pink food coloring
- 2-4 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes
- Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box, using champagne or sparkling wine in place of water.
- Scoop batter into lined muffin pan, filling each cup no more than halfway.
- Bake cupcakes and allow to cool before frosting.
To Make the Frosting
- Cream softened butter using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. Add powdered sugar gradually, mixing as you go.
- Add food coloring and 2 Tablespoons milk and continue adding a Tablespoon at a time, as needed, until your frosting is smooth and fluffy consistency, but will still form stiff peaks. (About 2-3 minutes)
- Use a frosting decorating bag fitted with a star tip to pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Pin this recipe on Pinterest:
Perfect Pairings:
Strawberry Frosé (aka Frozen Rosé Slush)
- Bunny Bait - March 22, 2023
- 20 Thrifty Kitchen Hacks - March 21, 2023
- Easter Fudge - March 20, 2023
Peggy Bell says
Cupcakes were light and fluffy. It would have gotten 5 stars if the buttercream frosting recipe was tweaked: My frosting tasted like 90% butter, so I cross-referenced another recipe to find that the amount of butter should be 1/2 cup, not 2 cups (or increase the ratio of other ingredients). Otherwise I love the simplicity of the recipe and great taste of the cake.
Kristin says
This frosting recipe is terrible. 4 cubes of butter is way too much. I’ve already added 2 additional cups of powdered sugar and it still tastes just like unsalted butter. I would only use 1-2 cubes.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
I think that is a typo in the recipe card — should say 2 sticks instead of 2 cups. Thank you for pointing that out, I’ve fixed it!
Donna says
Can you freeze the cupcakes a week before frosting them? And if so, does it hurt the quality of the cupcake?
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
Yes, you could freeze them and thaw when you’re ready to frost. They won’t be quite the same as freshly baked, but I bet no one will know if you don’t tell them 😉