This Friendly Guide Teaches You To Make the Perfect Wine-Infused Cupcakes: Cheap Things to Do for Your Birthday

What’s better than sipping on a glass of wine while enjoying a cupcake? Infusing the wine into the cupcake, of course! That's right. Today we’re talking about wine-infused cupcakes, offering a detailed guide about how to make them and things to keep in mind when baking them. Just remember to pay special attention to the details. This best sweet recipe is only for adults.

Ingredients:

For the wine cupcakes:

• 200 g cake flour
• 1 and ½ tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 120 g granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 125 ml red wine
• 60 g full-fat sour cream
• 2 drops gel red food coloring, optional

For the red wine buttercream:

• 60 ml heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 480 g powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F or 177°C.
• Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners. Set aside.
• In a bowl, add the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
• In another bowl, add the butter and beat with an electric handheld mixture or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, until it is smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the sugar has fully dissolved. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating continuously as you do. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl and add it back to the middle. Continue to beat. Then add the red wine, sour cream and gel colouring if you're using that. Mix until just combined.
• Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, a little bit at a time. Make sure it's completely incorporated, and then add more. Continue this process until it is all fully combined. Make sure there are no lumps.
• Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, until ⅔ full. Bake for about 20 minutes. If you're baking mini cupcakes, bake for around 12 minutes. The exact time will depend on the specific machine you're using. You’ll know it's done when you insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Once it's done, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• In the meantime, make the wine buttercream frosting. For this, add the cold whipping cream to a bowl and whip it with an electric mixture until it starts to thicken. Then add the sugar and wine and whip until thick and fluffy. It will start to look like whipped cream in texture. In another bowl, add the butter and beat with a handheld mixture or a stand mixture with a paddle attachment. Beat until the butter is smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar, cocoa powder and salt and beat until combined. Then add the red wine whipped cream to this bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy. Place the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes so it can set and get a bit of structure.
• Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, you can start frosting. Do not frost on warm cupcakes or it will melt and drip everywhere.
• Frost by spreading it over the cupcakes with the back of a spoon or put the frosting in a piping bag with a shaped nozzle and create a design on the cupcakes.
• Serve cool.
• You can store leftover cupcakes in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for 3 months.

Notes, tips and tricks:

• For the batter, cake flour is your best option, but you can also use all-purpose flour if you don't have cake flour. Add some cornstarch to the mix though, so that there’s something to bind the batter together.
• Make sure the butter, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature before you start using them. If they are not, let them sit out at room temperature and reach a similar temperature before you start baking. If the ingredients are too cold then the cupcakes will not be as moist and soft. So be mindful of this step.