Champagne Candy Floss Cupcakes

My champagne cotton candy cupcakes are the perfect treat for celebrating the New Year in style…or the end of 2020! Champagne infused sponge with equally tasty champagne buttercream and a sugary sweet cloud of candy floss to top it all off. Yes please!

I’ve made champagne celebration cupcakes for a few years now and I love them. But this year, it just seems right to go the extra mile. Hence the candy floss, which is great fun to make if you have a candy floss maker. 

You can buy pre-made candy floss, but I would highly recommend getting yourself a candy floss maker, just because it’s so much fun! 

There’s something so appealing about candy floss. I have no doubt that everyone has childhood  memories of demolishing bags of the stuff at fairs or other big events – I definitely do. So I was super excited when my fiance bought me one a few years back. 

Each bite of one of these cupcakes is filled with that signature, tangy champagne flavour and a deliciously sweet kick from the candy floss. 

Whether you want to be in a champagne haze or riding a sugar high come midnight on the 31st, this is the cupcake for you!

*TOP TIP*

These cupcakes are delicious and they look gorgeous, but they do need to be polished off pretty quickly. If left for too long, or stored in an airtight container, the candy floss will react to the moisture from the cupcakes and will essentially melt. 

You can always take the candy floss off before you store any leftover cupcakes, half the recipe if you don’t want the full 12 cupcakes, or just use this as an excuse to eat lots and lots of cake before starting your January diet!

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12

Cupcakes:

160g self-raising flour
160g caster sugar
160g butter
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2tbsp natural yogurt
125ml champagne
1tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream:

250g softened unsalted butter
600g icing sugar
125ml champagne
1tsp vanilla extract 

Candy floss & edible glitter to decorate 

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 140°C (280°F, gas mark 1) and place 12 cupcake cases into a muffin tin. Make a generous amount of candy floss using a candy floss maker. You can buy candy floss if you don’t have one.
   
   
2. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar and beat with a whisk or hand mixer. Melt the butter and add to the egg mixture, followed by the vanilla, yogurt and champagne. Mix until well combined. Finally, sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, and gently fold into the wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix – stop when you can’t see anymore flour.
   
   
3. Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake cases, filling to about two thirds of the way and bake for 22 minutes. Allow your cupcakes to cool for a few minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
   
   
4. While your cupcakes are cooling, make your buttercream. Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat the butter on a low-medium speed for five minutes, until it goes pale and gains some volume. You may need to stop your mixer and scrape down the bowl a couple of times.
   
   
5. Sift in the icing sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time, lightly mixing using a spatula before beating on a low setting between each addition. Once you’ve used about half the icing sugar, start alternating each tablespoon with the champagne. Keep adding until you’ve used all of the icing sugar and champagne. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, add your vanilla extract and give it a thorough mix.
   
   
6. Add your buttercream to a piping bag fitted with your favourite nozzle and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Sprinkle with edible glitter and top with a generous cloud of candy floss and enjoy!

What are your plans for New Years Eve? Let me know in the comments!