Prosecco Popcorn Cupcakes for Oscar Night

Does everyone have their Oscar ballots filled out?

Which nominated movies are you rooting for this year? (Get Out, Strong Island, Dunkirk)

Which movies did you feel were overlooked? (Patti Cake$, The Florida Project, In the Fade, The Disaster Artist, 120 Beats Per Minute)

What about performances? So many great ones (Frances McDormand, Mary J. Blige, Daniel Day-Lewis, Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Gary Oldman)
Who was snubbed? (James Franco, Mudbound’s Director Dee Rees, Phantom Thread’s Vicky Krieps and Jane for Best Documentary)

Does anyone watch the documentary shorts? (Knife Skills)

So many questions. All will be revealed on Sunday evening.
One answer I know for sure is if you are hosting or attending a viewing party, these cupcakes will delight your guests and win the Academy Award for best treat of the evening.  All that drama and here I am talking about cupcakes. Because that’s what I do.

Instead of the classic celebratory champagne, I used prosecco in the cupcakes. Blame it on too many years spent in Germany where prosecco was the celebratory drink of choice over champagne.

There is prosecco in the frosting recipe and in the glaze in the popcorn topping. For a nonalcoholic version of the recipe replace the prosecco in the cupcakes with Half and Half (double the amount below). Substitute water or milk for the frosting and glaze in place of the bubbly.

There are three separate parts to mix up in this recipe. All are easy peasy.

Glaze the popcorn first. then spread it out on a baking sheet to dry as you mix the cupcake batter. I almost stopped here. You can if you want because the glazed popcorn is so good, you can serve it on its own.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, mix up the frosting. After the cupcakes have cooled, frost and top with the popcorn.

The glaze on the popcorn is simple, just powdered sugar and prosecco. While the popcorn was still wet, I added extra sparkle by sprinkling sugar glitter and candy golden stars on top to go with the Oscar theme. Use whatever sugar glitter, Quinns, sprinkles, jimmies or whatever you have on hand to amp up the pretty.

Looking forward to seeing who will go home with the golden statues this year and of course, the pre-gaming red carpet fashion parade.

And the Oscar goes to…

Print

Prosecco Popcorn Cupcakes for Oscar Night

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 1 Dozen

Author Lora Wiley-Lennartz

Ingredients

• 1+3/4 cups plus 2+1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 10 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup prosecco divided
• 6 cups popped naked popcorn no oil or seasoning
• 1/3 cup gold glitter sugar sprinkles, whatever you have on hand
• 1+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 sticks 1 cup unsalted butter, divided, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup half and half

Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1+3/4 cups of the powdered sugar and 6 tablespoons of the prosecco. The mixture should have the consistency of a sugar glaze. Add the popcorn to the bowl and stir to coat.
   
3. Spread the coated popcorn out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with glitter sugar, sprinkles, etc. and let dry.
   
4. Line a 12 cupcake pan with liners.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
7. Beat the sugar and 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter together until creamy (about 3 minutes)
8. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract.
9. Add half the flour mixture and beat to combine.
10. Beat in the Half and Half and 1/2 cup Prosecco.
11. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
12. Fill the cupcake well 3/4 of the way with the batter. To make it easier to fill the cupcake liners with batter, I place a pastry bag in a tall glass, fold the edges over the sides then load it with batter and fill the cupcake wells using the pastry bag. Much neater than spooning the batter into the pan.
    
13. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
14. Remove from oven and transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
    
15. Beat the remaining 2+1/2 cups of powdered sugar together with the remaining 1/2 cup butter and 4 tablespoons of prosecco. You can adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding more powdered sugar or prosecco one tablespoon at a time.
16. Frost the cupcakes, spreading a thick layer of the prosecco buttercream on top of the cupcakes.
17. Top with the prosecco glazed popcorn.
    
18. Plate and serve.
    

Looking for more treats for your Oscar Night festivities? Try these:

Silver Screen Sugar Popcorn with Golden Stars

Hollywood Walk of Fame Cookies

Academy Award Statue Cupcakes