Moscato Cupcakes

Never fear! The food porn has returned! This go around I have two versions of Moscato Cupcakes adapted from the Sutter Home Wine Blog. The first version is the original and the second is a gluten-free version. The change for the gf one (there really is only one change) is in parenthesis. I also used a classic buttercream in place of the moscato vanilla as one of my dear friends at work is pregnant.

I was given a $30 gift card to Joann's for Christmas; I assume it was meant to buy knitting supplies with. All my knitting supplies I buy from Tina though. In baking these cupcakes, I was struck by the need to make them pretty. I caught the bus and promptly spent the entire cad (and then some) on decorating supplies. Please bear with my decorating skills. I haven't done it in a while and that wasn't fancy either. Because of that, this is an image heavy post.

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Cupcakes:
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for gluten-free use 2 1/2 cups gf ap flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup Moscato wine
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. white vinegar
Optional: fresh strawberries or sprinkles for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put cupcake liners in two cupcake pans. This recipe should make 12-24 cupcakes depending on the size of your pan. (I was able to get 24 of each.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and whisk together. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, Moscato, buttermilk, eggs, and vinegar. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into dry and mix until it is just blended.

Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out cleann (It took 24 minutes for both the regular and the gf versions). Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

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Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Gradually add 3 cups of powdered sugar and using the lowest speed on your mixer so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere. Work it in until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

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In my opinion the gf ones turned out prettier than the regular ones. Before frosting them, I tried one of each and found I preferred the gluten-free ones, strangely enough.

Baked but undecorated! Gluten-free (L) and Regular (R)

Since my cupcakes were in gold and silver, I was going to frost them in red and green respectively to appease my Harry Potter nerd. Unfortunately neither the red nor green wouldn't go dark enough, so I have leafy green and bright pink.

The second batch of frosting I did in pastel colors - blue, purple, and orange. The orange reminds me of sherbert. Yummmmm. I liked the starburst flower thing so I did it a few times. And yes, those are two poor, unfrosted cupcakes that I didn't have enough for. They will be delicious anyway.

That's all my food porn for today. Now that I've found something to satisfy Tracie's gluten-free sweet tooth, I'm on to Elsa, my dear vegan friend.