It was the first time Mum and Dad had been to a 3D movie and unfortunately Dad was given a dodgy pair of glasses with one lense blacked out....and even more unfortunately, he didn't know that they were not supposed to be like that so sat through the whole movie thinking that this whole 3D caper is not all it's cracked up to be.....
Those of us that could see the entire movie thought it was brilliant. Those of us that missed out on all of the 3D effects, also thought it was pretty good.....
We stopped at a restaurant called Blue Skies for lunch. When I was younger, Mum, Dad and I used to go there all the time and share a bowl of chips on a Sunday afternoon so it was really nice to go back and share a few different plates of food while we soaked up the sun.
The day got even better later in the afternoon when Mr B started talking about his 'PMS'......he had meant to say 'ESP' and needless to say the rest of us were laughing so hard we were in tears
And last but not least, it was home for presents and cake. This year when Dad suggested maybe we do cupcakes instead of a cake, I knew just the thing. Well Ok I didn't know exactly, but I was thinking champagne, champagne and more champagne. After loads of research I decided on a Champagne Cupcake with Champagne Buttercream and, after initially leaning towards a Champagne Pastry Creme filling, at the last minute decided to go with a Strawberry Champagne Sauce instead.
I was only after a couple of cupcakes seeing as they were just for the 4 of us to share so I halved the original recipe and still got 8 out of this! That's totally fine though because they were amazing and a lovely decadent birthday treat for my Mum.
Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream and Strawberry Champagne Sauce
For the Champagne Cupcakes
55g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tspn vanilla
.85 cup of plain flour
1/4 tspn baking soda
1/8 tspn baking powder
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup champagne
Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease and line a cupcake pan.
Cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat until just combined and smooth.
Spoon mixture into prepared cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 mins or until they bounce back when touched.
For the Champagne Buttercream
1/2 cup champagne + 1 tbspn extra
220g butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla essence
Heat 1/2 cup of champagne in a saucepan over medium high heat until it has reduced to roughly 1 tbspn. Set aside to cool.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until pale and creamy.
Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the reduced champagne and 1 tbspn extra champagne and beat until light and fluffy. Pipe onto your cupcakes....or eat straight out of the bowl.
For the Strawberry Champagne Sauce
200ml champagne
500g strawberries (hulled and halved)
2 heaped tbspns caster sugar
1 tbspn corn flour
In a medium pot over high heat combine champagne, sugar and strawberries.
Bring to the boil.
Allow the strawberries to simmer, stirring occasionally for about 7-10 mins. You want them to be really broken down.
Place two tbspns of the sauce into a jug and add the cornflour. Mix well to remove any lumps and so that it is all combined.
Pour the cornflour mixture back into the pot and continue to simmer and stir for a further 3-5 mins or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before placing in the fridge.
Spoon over cupcakes to serve.
Enjoy!
Mrs B xx
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