Preheat and prep: preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers.
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and zest: cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and zest*** until well-blended, light, and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed using a hand or stand mixer).
Beat in all other ingredients: add all the remaining cupcake ingredients (in the order listed - dries then wets) and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Once roughly combined, mix another 30 seconds - 1 minute on medium speed until the batter is combined, smooth, and just a little fluffy (beware: over-mixing here will make tough cupcakes).
Portion and bake: divide batter evenly between 12 cupcake papers, using about ¼ cup per cupcake (an ice cream scoop works well here for easy and even portioning!). Bake for 14-16 minutes until the top is golden brown, fully set, and springs back when lightly touched. ****
Soak 'em if you like (optional): if you'd like to add in a floral note with an elderflower cordial, use a fork to poke holes all over the top of your cupcakes after they have cooled for just 5 minutes, but are still hot. Then use a pastry brush to add 3-4 coats of cordial on top of the cupcakes, allowing each round to soak in before adding another.
Cool fully: allow cupcakes to cool fully while you prepare the frosting.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
Beat together all ingredients: place all frosting ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Beat on low speed using a hand or stand mixer for about 30 seconds, just until the ingredients are roughly combined, and then 30 seconds on medium-high speed until smooth and fully combined.
TO DECORATE THE CUPCAKES:
Fill your pastry bag: transfer your frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used Ateco #857). Swirl frosting in a rosette on the top moving from the center of the cupcake to the edge. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, feel free to just frost your cupcakes by hand using an offset spatula or dinner knife.)
Make ‘em sparkle (optional): aiming at a 45° angle, holding your hand about 8”-12” from the top of the cupcake, quickly and lightly spray your cupcakes once from each side using the edible pearl spray. Make additional passes with the spray as you like to achieve your desired look. Use a glitter pump to or sprinkle a little edible glitter by hand over the cupcakes for an extra fancy finish. Lastly, add a few white pearls and/or nonpareil sprinkles Immediately so they stick well before the frosting dries out.
Light ‘em up and party! Add in the sparkling candles and light them up when you’re ready to serve your treats. Then blow them out (if you can) and make a wish! (I promise if it’s for a tasty cupcake…your prayers will be immediately answered!)
Notes
*Soft Butter: Make sure your butter is fully softened as this quick mix cake and frosting will need that nice, soft butter to make sure you don't end up with cold butter chunks in your batter.
**Fresh Prosecco: this recipe was developed to account for those bubbling gases in a freshly opened bottle of Prosecco so you’ll want to pop that bottle right when you’re ready to add it to your cupcakes.For the frosting though, it’s okay if the Prosecco has gone a little flat.
***Zest over your bowl: always make sure to zest your lemon directly over your mixer bowl if possible so the oils that are released during the zesting process (which you often can't really see) make it into your batter too!
****Listen for the snap, crackle, and pop: when the cupcakes are ready, they'll have a nice, set dome and you’ll hear a bunch of air bubbles crackling and popping right when you take them out of the oven if you listen closely.
Looking for something tasty to do with that extra prosecco and lemon juice? Here’s one of my favorite cocktails you can make with your leftover ingredients!
It’d mean so much to me if you could please give the recipe card a ⭐ rating on the site and leave a comment to help others find this sweet recipe! Xo, Jocelyn @ Mint+Mallow