White Chocolate Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Nochebuena 2021. The best Christmas. The best because: the pandemic is over (mostly), the table is full (completely), Carmen is here (finally), Concha the dog is here (inevitably), and Luis Jr. has a ring in his pocket that no one knows about except me and the ring and the porch and the blanket.

The tamales were Rosa's. The flan was Rosa's. The champurrado was mine (evolved). The ponche was Rosa's (I haven't changed the ponche — some recipes are beyond evolution, fixed points in the culinary universe that exist as they are and will be as they always were). The table held ten people: me, Luis, Luis Jr., Andrea, Isabella, Sofia, Diego, Camila, Carmen, and Concha the dog under the table. Ten. The fullest the table has ever been. The fullness was the Christmas.

After dinner, Luis Jr. asked Andrea to step outside. No one reacted, because stepping outside after dinner is normal. But I reacted — internally, silently, the way mothers react to everything their children do — with a heart that was beating so hard I could feel it in my flour-stained fingers. They went to the porch. The blanket was there (Luis Jr. had hidden it that morning). And then — I watched from the kitchen window, because I am a mother and mothers watch from kitchen windows, it is our primary viewing platform — he got on one knee and he held up the ring and Andrea put her hands over her mouth and said something I couldn't hear but could see (yes, obviously yes, the body language of yes is universal and she was yes from head to toe) and they held each other and the porch light made them glow and the glow was the Christmas, the real Christmas, the one that has nothing to do with tamales or presents or ponche and everything to do with two people on a porch choosing each other, which is the same choosing that Luis and I made in 2000, which is the same choosing that Rosa and Alejandro made in the 1970s, which is the choosing that builds families, which is the choosing that builds bakeries, which is the choosing that builds everything.

They came inside and Andrea showed the ring and the house erupted — Camila screamed, Sofia clapped, Isabella smiled (the rare smile), Diego said "Congratulations" with the formality of a thirteen-year-old who doesn't fully understand romance but recognizes a significant data point. Carmen cried. Luis cried (in the garage, where he went for four minutes, returning with red eyes and a glass of water). I cried. Everyone cried. The only one who didn't cry was Concha the dog, who slept through the entire proposal because Concha is a dog and dogs don't understand rings but understand that the humans are happy, and happy humans drop more food, and dropped food is the only engagement Concha cares about.

The tamales and the flan and the champurrado were Rosa’s traditions, and I would never touch them — but after Luis Jr. and Andrea came back inside with that ring glowing on her finger, I knew that Nochebuena 2021 needed its own recipe, something new and a little bit sparkling, something that belonged to their beginning the way ponche belongs to every Christmas that came before. These White Chocolate Pink Champagne Cupcakes are what I made for their engagement party in January, and now they are the recipe I reach for every time someone in this family has something worth celebrating — which, since that porch, has been often.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pink champagne or sparkling rosé
1/3 cup whole milk
4 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
2–3 drops red or pink food coloring (optional, for a blush tint)
White Chocolate Champagne Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3–4 tablespoons pink champagne
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Pink sparkling sugar or edible pearl sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add egg whites and vanilla. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract. Pour in the melted white chocolate and mix until fully combined. Add food coloring if desired.
Alternate wet and dry. Combine the champagne and milk in a small measuring cup. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the champagne-milk mixture (begin and end with flour). Mix just until the batter comes together — do not overmix.
Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18–21 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly to the touch.
Cool completely. Let cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting — at least 30 minutes.
Make the frosting. Beat the softened butter with an electric mixer until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the cooled melted white chocolate and beat to combine. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add the champagne one tablespoon at a time until the frosting is silky and spreadable. Mix in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat on medium-high for 1–2 minutes until fluffy.
Frost and finish. Pipe or spread the frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake. Top with pink sparkling sugar or edible pearls. Serve the same day or store loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

White Chocolate Pink Champagne Cupcakes — The Night Luis Jr. Got Down on One Knee