Moscato Cupcakes

I made moscato cupcakes before using a recipe that I found on Pinterest.  They were okay and I liked them, but the sweet tangy moscato wine flavor didn't really shine through for me then.  Also, I found a few things in the recipe struck me as odd...adding vinegar when you already had buttermilk in the recipe, frosting with not enough sugar to be piped, no baking powder...etc.  At any rate, I decided to make them this past week for a summer cookout with friends because the flavor of moscato is so light and delicious and perfect for outdoors and summertime.

This time, despite being pressed for time and without a backup for the dessert I promised to bring, I completely overhauled the recipe and started wingin' it...I've been baking at least once a week with (and a few times without) recipes for about 2 years and a half years so I thought, "Hey, I know what goes in cupcake batter and what ratios work best, right?" and I just went with my gut feeling.  It turned out that I DO in fact know pretty much what makes them good, fluffy, sweet, and nearly perfect.  I wanted more wine flavor, and that is certainly what I got!!  I changed up her recipe, and I hope she wont mind, but here is my version :)

 

Moscato Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c of sugar
1/2 c of vegetable oil
2/3 c of Moscato wine
1/2 c of milk
1/4 c of sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine and whisk together dry ingredients (first 5) in a large bowl and set aside.  In another large bowl, add oil, wine, milk, sour cream and eggs.  Beat on low, increasing to medium until combined.

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry mixing as you go.  I add about a third at a time.  Mix until combined.  Line two and a half cupcake pans with liners and fill 1/2-2/3 of the way full using an ice cream scoop.  For me, this recipe made 30 cupcakes exactly.

Bake for 16 minutes.

While your cupcakes are baking, you can mix up this light and delicious moscato frosting:

Moscato Frosting

2 sticks of butter at room temp
4 oz of cream cheese at room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
about 1/3-1/2 cup of moscato wine
4-6 cups of powdered sugar

Cream together the cream cheese and butter.  Add in vanilla and combine.  Add about 2 cups of powdered sugar and combine.  Add a few splashes of wine, and mix.  Add more sugar, and mix again.  Keep alternating between wine and sugar until the frosting is at the right consistency.  Taste test and if its too tart, add more sugar, if you can't taste the wine, add more wine.  If its too thick, add more wine, too thin, more sugar.

My frosting turned out light and fluffy and piped beautifully with a closed star tip.

I topped my cupcakes with a sliced strawberry to garnish.  Beware though, strawberries release moisture when they come into contact with sugar, so top them with the berries at the last minute before serving.

Enjoy!!  If you try them please let me know how they turn out for you!