New Years Cupcakes

New Year's Eve Champagne Cupcakes

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella

Makes 18 regular sized cupcakes

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

225g/8ozs. softened butter
1 cup caster or superfine sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup champagne or prosecco (cook with the prosecco, drink the champagne!)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Champagne buttercream

240g/8.48ozs. softened butter
75ml/1.7 fl ozs. prosecco or champagne (replace with milk if serving to children)
1 kilo/2.2lbs icing or powdered sugar, sifted

Decorations

100g/3.5 ozs. white fondant
Medium sized and small star cutter
A little vodka mixed with gold lustre dust
A clean paintbrush
50g/1.7ozs. cocoa butter coated pop rocks*
Edible gold glitter
2015 candles

*Cocoa butter pop rocks are coated in cocoa butter so that they are ideal to use with a high moisture item. The buttercream icing I used is a high fat mixture but I was overly cautious and wanted these to stay "unpopped" until the last minute as I was making them ahead of time.

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Step 1 - Make the fondant stars first as they will need to set and dry. I used a large star cutter as well as a star tip cutter upended to make lots of teeny little stars. Shake a little cornstarch onto a non stick surface and roll out the fondant using a non stick rolling pin. Cut out small and large stars s- about one large and 3-4 small ones per cupcake. Allow to harden a little for an hour. Paint with liquid gold and allow to completely harden (overnight if you have the time but a couple of hours should do).

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Step 2 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F and line one and a half cupcake trays with liners (18 cupcakes). Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined. On slow speed add the flour and champagne or prosecco and vanilla until just combined.

Step 3 - Use an ice cream scoop to divide into 18 cupcakes (no need to smooth these over). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

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Step 4 - To make the buttercream, beat the butter and then add in the prosecco or champagne and icing or powdered sugar on low speed until combined. Beat until fluffy. Place in a piping bag with a large plain tip (I just snipped off the end of the bag). Pipe a circle of buttercream around the outside of the cupcake and then fill it in with the cocoa butter covered pop rocks. Pipe more buttercream on top.

Step 5 - Decorate with the edible gold glitter, 3-4 tiny stars and 1 large star. Place the 2015 candles on four of the cupcakes.