2013 is coming to a close, and I decided that I would keep up my December tradition of making a seasonal, holiday-appropriate cupcake. Holiday cupcakes of the past have been:

2011
Peppermint mocha cupcakes with peppermint frosting
Gingerbread cupcakes with double ginger frosting
Figgy pudding cupcakes with boozy brandy icing

2012
 Cranberry cupcakes with white chocolate frosting
Candy cane cupcakes

For 2014, I decided to make something subtle, yet refined, and not a typical Christmas-time sweet. So I decided to make a mulled wine cupcake.

Mulled wine is very easy to make—I followed the instructions from Gimme Some Oven, with a couple of adaptations (I skipped the brandy, increased the cloves, and used honey). I’d never had mulled wine before, but I have to say, it’s really tasty, and your kitchen will smell AMAZING.

The cupcakes bake up light and fluffy—my one bit of advice is to definitely use a touch of food coloring with this recipe, because otherwise you have oddly grayish-purple cupcakes, and it’s not appealing.

 

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Mulled wine cupcakes

Yield: 26 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients
2 3/4 cup (11 oz) cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp ginger
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp orange zest
4 eggs
3/4 cup mulled wine
2 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp vanilla

Mulled Wine Syrup Ingredients
3/4 cup mulled wine
1/4 cup sugar

Note: The color is a bit off in these ... a bit of a grayish purple. I added some fuchsia gel food coloring to improve the look, and I highly suggest you do the same.

Directions

For the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your cupcake tins with wrappers and set aside

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Set aside.

Combine the sugar and orange zest in a bowl and stir until you begin to smell the aroma of oranges. Cream the butter in the bowl of a standmixer, then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time.

Alternate the flour mixture and mulled wine and mix until combined.

Divide the batter between the wrappers and bake for 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes bake, make the mulled wine syrup so it has time to cool.

Combine the wine and sugar in a wide saucepan over medium high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Bring the wine to a boil, then reduce the heat so that it simmers. Keep an eye on this, stirring regularly.

Reduce the wine by at least half, checking the texture of the syrup ... it shouldn't be too watery, but also not too sticky.

Once finished, take the syrup off the heat and let it cool for 15-20 minutes before putting it into a container for drizzling.

As the cupcakes and the mulled wine syrup cool, make the frosting. Begin by beating the butter until light and fluffy.

Add the 1 cup of sugar, beating until combined.

Add the vanilla, then the remaining sugar gradually, beating until combined. Once you've added all the sugar, turn the mixer up to medium-high and whip for 2-3 minutes.

Pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes, using a star tip (the ridges help catch the syrup). Drizzle the cooled mulled wine syrup and enjoy.

https://cupcakefridayproject.com/2013/12/mulled-wine-cupcakes/

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