Sangria is a portugese wine, and consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of liquor such as Brandy. It is a perennial summertime favorite, and brings delight to any party. The fruit tends to absorb a lot of alcohol, and makes for a fun surprise.
I modified the original recipe because the cupcakes tasted good, but the sangria flavor wasn't recognizable. I gradually reduced the sugar and removed the fruit from the wine to produce a cupcake that has actual wine flavor. Also, it is important to use Merlot, as any other wine's flavor will get lost in translation. I made this recipe 5 times before producing a cupcake that tasted like wine, using Pino Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Neither produced the intensity, or blueness, of Merlot.
In order to make this "wine" cupcake taste like sangria, a Strawberry Pineapple compote was used for filling and Hennessey and Grand Marnier were used in the frosting. The result is magic for your taste buds: Sangria in a foil wrapper.
CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 bottle Merlot
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
- Follow recipe for Jameson Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Substitute Hennesey and Grand Marnier for the Jameson and 1/4 cup water used to make the syrup
- Follow recipe for Spiked Strawberry Pineapple Compote
- In medium sauce pan, simmer the Merlot.
- Add the 1/3 cup sugar once the Merlot is simmering, and let cook on medium low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Allow merlot to cool to room temperature
- Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
in a medium bowl.
- Sift together at least one
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and
sugar until fluffy and light
- about 3 minutes.
- Add sour cream and eggs until combined.
- Add the flour mixture and 2/3 cup of cooked Merlot, alternating between the two, but beginning and ending with the flour.
- Fill the cupcakes approximately 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes.
- Remove from oven when tester comes out clean.
- While cupcakes are hot, brush extra Merlot over the tops of
each cupcake.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Remove a core from the center
- Fill with Strawberry Pineapple compote
- Pipe the Grand Marnier Henessey buttercream on top
- Garnish with fluer de sel or sea salt