Champagne Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I volunteered to make some cupcakes for a surprise mini shower for work today. The second-time-mom-to-be happens to be a fan of champagne cake and I made it for her birthday about month ago. I had never attempted a Champagne cake, nor do I think I'd even heard of one. So, I "googled it" and came across a number of various recipes and reviews. I ended up trying this one. I was very suprised and happy with the results. As one reviewer stated, Champagne cake is like a cross between Angel Food Cake and Pound Cake. I though that was such a strange comparison, linking those two types of cake, but it truly tastes like a mixture of the two.

I decided to repeat the recipe but changed up the frosting this time around. Here's how I made the Champagne Cupcakes:

Ingredients

1 box (1-pound 2 1/4-ounce) moist white cake mix
1 1/4 cups extra dry Champagne (I used Martini & Rossi Asti, not dry)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large egg whites

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.

In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix, Champagne, vegetable oil, and egg whites. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the cupcake papers filling 2/3rds full and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can begin to prepare the frosting. For today's cupcakes, I chose this Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.