New Year's Eve Cupcakes

For the last few NYEs, I have kept a looow profile.  I was very bahhumbug over the idea of banding together to countdown to a new year.  This is so not me.  I am a happy, sunshiney person.  I never think for one second that the worst will happen to anyone I love.  But when you have a string of crummy things happen,  your personal optimism get a bit shaken.  And then, you're a little surly.  A little unwilling to throw on a party dress and be hopeful for better things to come.  And where has this atitude gotten me?
I've become, over time, an eroded, think-the-worst, hope-for-the-best (but actually, don't, because it might not happen) sort of person.  But I just decided, five or so days in to the new year, my resolution is to THINK POSITIVE! I'm a little late, yes, but I just needed some inspiration.  I've found mine in  a sequined dress, a great cupcake, and a playlist called "Hopeful".  Cheers to 2012!
                        Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Cream Cheese Frosting
                                               Makes 2 dozen mini cupcakes
1/2 cups strawberries, diced
1/2 cup sweet champagne ("I don't believe I've ever had French champagne....")
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick butter softened
2/3 cups sugar
1 egg (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 vanilla bean, scraped
3/4 cup milk (room temp)

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Soak strawberries in champagne. Let sit until later in the recipe.
 Also, if you are of age, you may care to pour a glass for yourself.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine milk, vanila, and vanilla bean seeds in bowl/large measuring cup.
4. With electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter.  Add egg, mix 30 seconds.
5. Add bowl of sifted dry ingredients, alternating with milk mixture.  The batter should be well combined, but rather liquidy.
6. Drain strawberries and fold into batter with a spatula.
7. Fill gold-foil mini liners 1 tablespoonful per cup.
8. Bake about 10 minutes, or until a stick inserted comes out clean.
9.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Champagne Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package cream cheese, at room temp

1/2 stick butter

about 3 tablespoons of champagne

5c ups powdered sugar

DISCLAIMER: Champagne frosting is very tricky.  I have made 2 btches of champagne buttecreram that were disgsuting.  this however, was fantastic. 

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter.

2.  Add a cup of sugar, and then 1 T of champagne.  Mix another cup of sugar in. 

3.  Continue alternating sugar and champagne, until the right consistency is achieved. 

Garnish:

Slivered strawberries

1/2  cup champagne

Gold Sugar

Edible Cake Stars

Soak slivered strawberries in champagne for about 30 minutes.

Pipe frosting on cupcakes.  Use tiny spoon to gently sprinkle on sugar and cake stars.

Drain strawberries and gently press on top of cupcakes. Voila!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I had the most fun decorating these cupcakes today!  The recipe is from the Cake Mix Doctor:Cupcakes! book.  I vowed to bake every cupcake in this book when I got it in '07; as of today, I have made 67.  This recipe calls for Bailey's Whipped Cream icing, but for obvious reasons, I omitted this and bought some regular whipped cream icing and it totally did the trick.  To garnish, we had green edible glitter (Wilton calls them Cake Sparkles), and green candy shamrocks made with Wilton's Candy Melts in a shamrock candy mold.  Luckily for me I have a friend who happens to own such a mold, but specialty stores like Fran's sell every type of mold you could imagine.
These cupcakes were fun, easy, and yummy, which are the trifecta of awesomeness when baking with kids.  Hope you had a great St. Patty's Day!