Strawberries & Champagne Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
Light and fluffy pink cupcakes with a strawberries and champagne jam filling, topped with easy Nutella buttercream frosting
Servings: 36 mini cupcakes
Calories: 170kcal
Equipment
- mini cupcake pan
- 2 small bowls
- 2 mixing bowls
- silicone spatula
- small saucepan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal
- ½ cup champagne
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup pureed strawberries (about 5-6 berries)
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup sugar divided in half
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- A few drops pink food coloring optional
Filling
- 1 cup strawberries finely diced (about 8 berries)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon champagne
Frosting
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup Nutella
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a mini cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In one bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt (dry ingredients). In another bowl, combine champagne, vanilla, and strawberry puree (wet ingredients).
- In your mixing bowl, beat butter and ½ cup sugar until light and fluffy.
- On low speed add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, and once almost combined, add half the wet ingredients, continuing to alternate dry and wet until all are combined.
- In a separate clean bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and slowly and gradually add in ½ cup sugar beating until glossy and stiff.
- Fold the egg white mixture into the batter.
- OPTIONAL: add a few drops of pink food coloring to the batter.
- Bake at 350° F for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center the cupcakes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, the move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling
- Place diced strawberries in a saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring constantly, until juices are released (about 4 minutes).
- Add the sugar, cornstarch, and champagne, and continue stirring for 2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Once cooled, create a small hole in the center of cooled cupcakes and pour a small amount of filling into the hole.
Frosting
- Beat butter until fluffy.
- Add remaining ingredients and beat until combined.
- If the icing is too thick, add a little bit more cream. If the icing is too thin, add a little bit more powdered sugar. Continue adjusting until frosting is desired consistency.
- Swirl frosting onto cooled, filled cupcakes, and decorate with sprinkles!
Notes
To fold, I generally run the spatula around the outside of the batter, against the edge of the bowl, and then fold the outside batter onto the batter in the center of the bowl, and continue stirring in that method until the egg whites are fully incorporated into the batter.
To remove the center of the cupcake, you can simply cut the middle out with a knife. Just be careful to not cut in too deep as you need the bottom of the cupcake intact and thick enough to support the filling! You can also use a cupcake corer or a small round cookie cutter and twist it into and out of the middle of the cupcake. Another option is to use your (clean) fingers or a rounded utensil to press a hole down into the cupcake.
To avoid food waste, if you remove the core of the cupcake, you can press the removed piece back in on top of the filling before frosting.
Nutrition
Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 96mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 170IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg