Happy Oscars weekend everybody! If you weren’t aware, the Academy Awards is this Sunday, so I thought I would bake some cupcakes for the occasion. As it is Hollywood’s most glamorous night, what better flavor to work with than champagne? These are great to take to an Oscar viewing party (or just to eat yourself, why not?), and I’ve gone with a sort of neapolitan theme with strawberry, chocolate and almond (not vanilla, tricked you!) cakes with different fillings but all topped with a champagne buttercream. All of these recipes yield a dozen cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcake with a Strawberry Cream Filling

(Cupcake adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs (at room temp!)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
• 8 oz strawberry pie filling
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan.
2. Sift the first five ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the wet ingredients (besides the buttermilk) together until smooth.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine.
5. Add half the buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, just add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a half cup of regular milk and let sit for five minutes.
6. Repeat with the dry ingredients and buttermilk until just combined.
7. Fill liners half full and bake 18-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. For the filling, heat the pie filling, cream, and cornstarch over medium heat on the stove until thickened, about 6 minutes. Allow to cool, and then pipe into your chocolate cupcakes.

Almond Cupcakes with a Salted Chocolate Filling

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg (at room temp!)
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz unsalted butter
• sea salt (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line your cupcake pan.
2. Combine the baking powder, salt, and flour together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix until combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
5. Add the almond and vanilla extracts.
6. Alternate adding the dry mixture and the milk until well combined.
7. Fill the liners about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. For the ganache, heat the chocolate, cream, and butter in a double boiler, stirring constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add as much or as little sea salt as you like. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before piping into your almond cupcakes.

Strawberry Cupcakes with a White Chocolate Filling

(Cupcakes adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup halved strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg (at room temp)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 oz white chocolate
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Using a blender or food processor, puree the strawberries. Afterwards you should have about 1/3 cup. Set that aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar a little at a time until well combined.
5. Add the egg, egg whites, and vanilla.
6. Mix the strawberry puree with the milk and alternate adding to the batter with the dry ingredients.
7. Fill the liners about 2/3 full and 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. For the ganache, heat the white chocolate and cream in a double boiler, stirring constantly until melted and combined. allow to cool slightly before filling the strawberry cupcakes.

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

(makes enough for 36 cupcakes. You may have to split this in two halves to fit in your mixer!)

Ingredients

• One cup plus two tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 12 cups powdered sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup of champagne

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy.
2. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix until combined.
3. Add the vanilla and champagne and mix.
4. Add the remaining powdered sugar a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

To decorate my cupcakes, I used a Wilton 1M tip. As you can see, I also added a few drops of red food coloring to 1/3 of my frosting to give it a pink hue. That’s totally optional, of course, but I thought it lent itself well to the whole neapolitan theme.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Oscar’s weekend, and let me know if you try any of these recipes!

xoxo Katie