What's better than wine and chocolate? Well, wine-infused chocolate cupcakes! These delicious red wine chocolate cupcakes have a light wine flavor that goes well with the rich red wine buttercream frosting. The recipe for these delightful treats is quick and easy to make, combines a couple of my favorite things, and they are perfect for any celebration or occasion!
Ringing In The New Year Or A Special Occasion
Now that Christmas is over I'm attempting to wean myself from so many peppermint pastries. It was good while it lasted (sooooo good) but moving onto New Years' celebrations. These red wine chocolate cupcakes are just the thing I need for my New Year's Eve party. It's been years since I've gone out on the town for New Year's. I just can't make myself fight the crowds and pay the inflated prices for every venue in the city. A small get-together at the house is much more my speed lately.
You know what I'm talking about. A few close friends, a few great bottles of wine or bubbly, some awesome appetizers, the NY times square ball drop in the background on the TV, all paired with some gourmet chocolate cupcakes like these chocolate cupcakes infused with red wine. You're going to love the deep and delicious flavor that's perfect for welcoming the New Year or any other special occasion you may have.
Using Red Wine In Dessert Recipes
Red wine makes a flavorful addition to many desserts. In cupcakes, it creates a moist texture and combines with chocolate for a richness that is unforgettable so you want to choose a red wine that you love. I'd stick with a cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, pinot noir, or just one of your favorite dry red wines.
I was up in Northern California for a conference a while back and we went on a wine tour and did a few wine tastings. I loved this wine from Boeger winery up in Eldorado County. As many times as I have been wine tasting in California, I had never ventured to El Dorado County. It was a diverse place with stunning beauty. There was a great blend of gorgeous scenery, colorful history, and fun outdoor adventures. You can get the wine from the winemaker, or if you have your own favorite go ahead and use it.
Ingredients In Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes
The Boeger red wine made a great addition to the cupcake. I used it to create a wine syrup reduction and mix it with the buttercream to give the red wine frosting just a tiny bit of wine deliciousness. Now if you think you just want to go with plain buttercream, you don't need to add the wine. But if you like the color just add a few drops of gel food coloring to get the red frosting.
- Red Wine
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Cultured buttermilk powder
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Eggs
- Confectioner's sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes
For this recipe, I used the red wine reduction in the batter while baking, and I also used it once done baking.
- Boil red wine and sugar until reduced by half in a small saucepan.
- Combine the cupcake ingredients and bake 16-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once cooled, use a wooden skewer to poke a few holes in the top of each cupcake and drizzled some of the wine reduction into the holes and let the cupcake soak it up. (Just a tiny bit here. A little goes a long way. You could skip this part if you wanted. It depends on how much red wine flavor you like.)
- Make the buttercream frosting.
- Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!
These cupcakes are the definition of a good dessert. They're rich and chocolatey with just enough red wine to make them interesting. As always we hope you enjoy these red wine cupcakes as much as we do. Please share if you end up making them, we always love to hear how it goes. If you find you are still longing for the peppermint like I am, these little chocolate peppermint meringues make great party food or even peppermint bark. Cheers to a Happy New Year!
More Cupcake Recipes You'll Love
Looking For More Recipes?
Subscribe to my free newsletter to get new baking tips in your inbox monthly. Find me sharing new recipes and tips on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook.
Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 297 grams AP Flour
- 425 grams sugar
- 65 grams cocoa powder
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 12 grams baking soda
- 45 grams cultured buttermilk powder
- 170 grams vegetable oil
- 470 grams boiling water
- ¼ cup red wine syrup
- 80 grams eggs
Red Wine Syrup
- 1 cup red wine (Your favorite type of red wine)
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
Buttercream
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter
- 2 tablespoons milk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ cup wine syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line your cupcake pan with 24 cupcake liners.
Wine Syrup
- Boil red wine and the tablespoon of sugar in a small saucepan until it reduces to half (about 10-15 minutes on medium low heat)
Cupcakes
- Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk powder into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer.
- With paddle attachment mix on low speed to combine.
- Add oil, water, eggs, and ¼ cup wine syrup one at a time to the flour mixture and continue mixing until blended together. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl.
- Scoop the cupcake batter out with a cookie scoop and place into cupcake pan and bake for 16 - 20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- If you want more wine flavor, use a skewer and poke holes in top of cupcakes, use ⅛ cup of wine syrup and drizzle over tops of cupcake.
Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the confectioners sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla on low speed until combined.
- Stop the mixer and scrape the sides down.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 more minutes. (If frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time until creamy)
- Stir in the remaining ⅛ cup wine syrup
- This will make 2 cups of frosting. Use a piping bag to frost cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. What that means is if you click on one of our affiliate links, they may toss a few pennies our way for a commission.
robin rue says
Yes please! I have never had cupcakes like this before, but I want to make them for New Year's Eve!
serena says
They are simple to make. Enjoy 🙂
Beth says
OMG! These sound simply amazing!! I would have never thought to add red wine to cupcakes!! AMAZING!!
serena says
Thanks so much!
Traci says
Well, you had me at red wine...and then you brought in cupcakes. Double jackpot...and I seriously need to make these asap!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
serena says
I thought the same thing! Enjoy 🙂
Julie says
Such a smart idea to use red wine as we know how beautifully it pairs with chocolate.
serena says
Thanks so much!
Nawal Aharrass says
Is there any substitute for the red wine syrup? Because I don't consume alcohol. Thanks in advance
serena says
Increase the water to 525 grams and eliminate the wine for just a chocolate cupcake.
Jacque Hastert says
Sound like the perfect dessert for our new years bash!
serena says
Makes a great dessert for any event. Enjoy! And Happy New Year
Veena Azmanov says
Oh I've never heard of red wine in cupcakes... sounds so delicious. I love alcohol in my bakes so this is definitely a must try.
serena says
Thanks!
Krystal Butherus says
Oh those really look GOOD! I'll have to convert your measurements to cups and teaspoons, etc. Now, to find red wine syrup!
serena says
I always struggle with this. I think we are going to start listing both on the recipes in 2018
Krystel | Disney on a Budget says
I probably wouldn't be able to make these, but I would love to try one! I have to find a way
serena says
Find a friend that loves to bake then enjoy one 🙂
Karen Morse says
These cupcakes are the bomb, I would love to give the recipe a try! Thanks for the tips on how to make it perfect!
serena says
Thanks! Enjoy
Reesa Lewandowski says
My best friend makes something like this for our girl's nights. They're amazing. Great idea for New Years Eve!
serena says
I don't know why I haven't been making these for those kind of events. Definitely in 2018!
Helen says
This is a great yet simple to make recipe. I would definitely share this and will try to bake one of these days.
serena says
Enjoy!
Stella says
Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Whenever I am feeling lazy and make brownies from a box, I love to sub in red wine for water, it really adds a wonderful richness to an otherwise boring dessert.
serena says
I haven't tried the brownies with wine. It's on my list of tests to do. Glad to hear that the flavor is good.
Jennifer says
Oooooh these look amazing! I have try them, and love that my husband will also enjoy them. He loves red velvet and I love wine!
serena says
Enjoy!
Ching says
Seriously? You said the two magic words.Wine and cupcakes...how can you go wrong? !I have never heard of it going together in a recipe like this but trust me, I am NOT complaining!
serena says
LOL! I thought the same thing!
Helene says
Oh wow that sounds like a nice and special cupcakes.. im so love in the recipe that i feel i also should try out the same for new year...
Thanks for such a lovely recipe
serena says
Thanks so much! Enjoy 🙂
Pam says
Red wine cupcakes?! OMG, where have you been all my life? I will definitely need to try these out. Thanks so much for the thorough instructions.
serena says
Enjoy!
Cindy Ingalls says
I remember trying an adult cupcake at a bakery a few years ago. They were all infused with some type of liquor and they were insanely delicious. Using red wine in the frosting sounds amazing. Can't wait to try these out, maybe over NYE.
serena says
Enjoy 🙂
Lisa Rios says
These look so delicious! I LOVE chocolate, and cupcakes, these look like great dessert items for a girl's night.
Luci says
Oh wow, I wouldn't have though about making cupcakes with wine and combine it with chocolate. Yummy.
Jessica Joachim says
two of my favorite things, wine and chocolate, how can you go wrong!? I totally have to try these out soon!
Nailil says
I love wine and cupcakes the same. This recipe which combines both, sounds just amazing. I am pinning it for later, so delicious.
Doreen Pinto says
Nice recipe. Looks tempting
Meghna says
I won't be able to make it. But I sure want to eat it.
Molly Kumar says
These look super fun to make as we do have some leftover red wine which I've been thinking where to use. I love the frosting on these too.
Heather says
Wow, these look wonderful and would be so great for many of my friends. Definitely an awesome party food!
Ariel says
These cupcakes look so delicious! I really need to try this recipe, although they probably won’t turn out as pretty as these! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
serena says
Practice your piping on a piece of parchment paper and just scoop the frosting back into your piping bag when done. Let's you get some practice in without wasting frosting or cupcake 🙂
Maria Katsulos says
These look so yummy!! I'd definitely skip the red wine part for myself, LOL, but these look fantastic!!
Nicole Shillings says
OMG! These look soooooooooo decadent and elegant. These would be perfect for Valentine's Day! What a treat!
Nathan says
You had me at red wine! Seriously, these cupcakes look absolutely fantastic. I don't think I've ever had cupcakes infused with wine before, so clearly I need to get on it ASAP. Can't wait to try them out!
serena says
They are delish! Enjoy 🙂
Anjali says
Omg what a fun twist on traditional chocolate cupcakes!! These look decadent and delicious - can't wait to try them soon!
serena says
Enjoy 🙂
Katia says
What a refreshingly different take on cupcakes. I'm going to try this over the weekend
serena says
Enjoy 🙂
Sara Welch says
Whipped up a batch of these for an afternoon treat and it did not disappoint! Easy, rich and delicious! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
serena says
Thanks Sara!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes please (she said while sipping red wine).
serena says
Ha! Happy Friday 🙂