Almond Cupcakes with Champagne Swiss Buttercream
Hi friends. I'm on a roll here. Let's keep it that way. So this post was inspired by cake tasting. Lemme tell ya guys, the best part of wedding planning is the cake tasting. I'm ecstatic to marry my dear fiancé, but the planning is a busy, and at times extremely stressful. Which is why a few moments of eating cake makes the process a little easier.
I learned an interesting thing during our tastings. Apparently the traditional wedding cake flavors are almond and champagne. So when I tried this flavor combo at a tasting I was like, "Well, I need to be able to have this in my life for forever," aaaand here we are. I knew almond and champagne would be a great combo going into it, because *hello* almond champagne. However, in cake form it somehow is improved. Probably because of the sugar...yeah, that's it.
The cake on these babies is super easy. A simple white cake with almond extract. The more difficult part is the swiss buttercream. The buttercream we're used to here in the States uses oodles of powdered sugar and butter AKA American buttercream. Swiss buttercream uses a process of cooking egg whites with sugar in a double broiler, whipping that in a stand mixer and then adding loads of butter. Long story short, it's a lot less sweet, and much creamier. Enjoy this little bit of wedded bliss whenever you'd like! I will be eating it a bunch in the coming months. #stresseating
Almond Cupcakes with Champagne Swiss Buttercream
Almond Cake
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Champagne Swiss Buttercream
- 4 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons of champagne (or to your taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a stand-along mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Next add eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract and mix until smooth (mixture may have a few lumps which is ok), scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Lastly, add one third of the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed until just combined then add half of the milk, mix until combined, again add another one third of the flour mixture and mix until combined then add the other half of the milk and mix until combined. Finally add the last of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Evenly spoon batter into cupcake liners, I use an ice cream scoop. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or knife in the center of a cupcake, and if it comes out clean or with light crumbles on it, they're done! Pull them out, let them cool for just a minute and then remove from pan to fully cool on baking rack or counter.
- For the Swiss buttercream, Place egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl of a stand mixer. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water, not touching the water. Whisk or stir constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to approximately 160ºF. If attempting without a thermometer, sugar should be dissolved with no graininess when a bit is rubbed between two fingers. It will be hot to the touch.
- Immediately place the bowl on the stand mixer and whip on high using the whisk attachment until frosting has become thick and glossy, forming a stiff peak. Continue to whip frosting until the bowl feels room temperature to the touch, a total of about 10 minutes.
- Switch the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, drop in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. If frosting appears curdled or clumpy at any time, increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth.
- Once all of the butter has been incorporated, mix in extracts, champagne, and pinch of salt. If needed, continue beating until smooth.