Easy Sangria Cupcakes

Close up of a frosted cupcake on a table topped with pieces of orange and lime.

These easy Sangria Cupcakes start with a boxed cake mix and are infused with white wine for a fun cocktail-inspired taste! Just a few minutes of prep gets you tasty cupcakes quickly!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Servings cupcakes

Calories 104kcal

Author Sharon Garofalow

Ingredients

For the Sangria Cupcakes

1 vanilla cake mix (dry)
1 egg
¼ cup white wine (I like sauvignon blanc)
1 tsp orange zest
½ cup butter, melted
¼ cup milk

For the Sangria Buttercream

1 batch Vanilla Buttercream Post linked below
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 TBSP white wine (sauvignon blanc)
1 tsp Cointreau

Instructions

For the sangria cupcakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the dry cake mix, egg, white wine, orange zest, melted butter and milk.
Divide the batter between the cupcake liners.
Bake for 5 minutes and bring the temperature down to 350 degrees.
Bake for 12 minutes or until done.

For the sangria buttercream

Make a batch of my basic Vanilla Buttercream per the instructions on that post.
Add the Cointreau and mix to combine.
Add powdered sugar, then a TBSP of white wine, alternating between the two ingredients – a little at a time- and finishing with confectioners sugar.
Be sure to let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Notes

Don't have Cointreau? You can use any orange-flavored liqueur like Triple Sec.
To get even more wine flavor into the cupcakes you can poke a few small holes with a toothpick (similar to a Poke Cupcake) and drizzle more white wine onto the cake.
To make these even more dramatic, you can use a pipette with wine and stick them in the cupcake for the eater to add as desired.
For making the best cupcakes, do not overmix the batter! Mix just until everything is incorporated.
Use good quality cupcake liners. Cheaper ones tend to not come off as easily and pull off lots of the cake in the process.

*Nutrition info is slightly off as it can't calculate the actual nutrition amount of the batch of the buttercream.

Nutrition