What do you guys do to combat stress? I know that at this point in my life I should know what good stress is and bad stress is, but honestly, I just feel constantly overwhelmed. Like there’s too much going on and too many plates spinning in the air. There have been quite a few craft fails, late nights, even earlier mornings and not enough kitty cuddles to go around… Oh, and did I mention that my diet totally went out the window? I lived on takeout. I wore the same outfit TO WORK 2 days in a row. Yep folks, this is adulthood.

One of the things I’ve done since I was a kid is when I’m stressed or upset or overwhelmed, I bake. I don’t go on baking bender and make a million cookies in 10 different flavors, but I do like to cook up a mean batch of cupcakes on occasion. I could say that these champagne cupcakes are stress cupcakes, but really… the flavor says otherwise. So grab some dry champagne and give them a try… and a taste at your next brunch. You could even do orange cream buttercream for a traditional mimosa flavor!

Okay, on to making some delicious spring-y cupcakes!

Champagne Cupcakes 

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs (room temp)
1/2 c Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 c Cooks Medium Dry Champagne

Preheat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed for 2 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes until the tops are springy.

Strawberry Frosting
1/2 c Butter softened
1/2 c Fresh Strawberries
4 c Powdered Sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tblsp heavy cream

Tools:
Magic Bullet or Blender

In a blender or Magic Bullet, puree strawberries and set aside.
Cream sugar, vanilla and heavy cream in a large mixing bowl.
Add pureed strawberries to creamed mixture, mix until combined.
On medium speed, add powdered sugar slowly until your frosting forms soft peaks.

Use a Wilton Extra Large 2D piping tip and frosting bag and create small drop flowers on the entire surface of the cupcake to make it look like a hydrangea! If you want to get really fancy, add some pearl sprinkles.