Summer celebrations will never be the same now without these fun, fruity, and fresh sangria cupcakes. I don’t know about you, but a backyard bbq isn’t complete without a pitcher full of cold sangria. Red, white, berry, or citrus…it really doesn’t matter. Just pass me the pitcher and a tall glass. These sangria cupcakes will be the perfect sweet treat addition to your summer celebration.
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Easy Homemade Sangria Cupcakes
Fluffy oil-based cupcakes made with sangria are wonderfully moist and flavorful. A one-bowl recipe that requires little effort to prepare the batter and bakes up in a flash. These flavorful sangria cupcakes are paired with a light whipped sangria buttercream frosting that requires no extra flavorings or extracts. Using a sangria reduction, a few tablespoons is all that is needed to create this delicious and stupendous sangria frosting.
What Is Sangria?
Sangria is a mixed alcoholic drink originating from Spain. Made with either red or white wine, it is prepared with fresh fruits and/or citrus in a punch-like presentation. Some sangria recipes call for extra flavored liqueurs, sparkling water, and/or brandy and are typically mixed with orange juice. There are several non-alcoholic versions and recipes that are just as fun and flavorful as its boozy originator.
How Do I Make Sangria Flavored Cupcakes
There are a lot of fun extracts and emulsions on the market. I, however, try to stay as real and genuine as possible when introducing a flavor to a baked good. A good ol’ bottle of pre-made sangria was all I needed to create these incredibly flavorful sangria cupcakes.
First, I used the sangria in the cupcake batter straight from the bottle. Well, I measured it first and then it went straight into the batter in place of what typically would be milk. Second, I reduced a cup of the sangria for 20 minutes and used that in the buttercream frosting to really pack a sangria flavor punch.
Non-Alcoholic Sangria Cupcakes
While I love a good alcoholic sangria, I realize not everyone does. And I fully support that! I also fully support still making these sangria cupcakes with non-alcoholic sangria. Here are a few different options:
- Make your own non-alcoholic sangria. Here’s a fabulous recipe from I Heart Naptime.
- Use a premade non-alcoholic sangria beverage. Here’s a yummy one from amazon called Mocktails.
- Swap in non-alcoholic red wine like this one and 1 cup of mixed fresh berries or small diced fruit.
One-Bowl Oil-Based Cupcakes
I love easy. Life is busy with work and kids and all things summer, so an easy cupcake recipe is clutch. And this one-bowl oil-based sangria cupcake recipe is everything easy and delicious. There’s an entire debate regarding oil vs. butter-based cupcakes and I simply do not have space here to go into it. Okay, that’s a lie, I do have space…it is my own blog after all. Truth is, I believe there’s a time and place for both oil and butter-based cupcakes.
Oil-based cupcakes, generally speaking, tend to retain more moisture, have a higher lift, and a more even crumb. The pure and simple ease of using oil in a batter cannot be beaten either. Especially when it’s hot and the fewer appliances on the better.
Much like many one-bowl recipes, this one requires exactly that: one bowl. Into that bowl goes all the dry ingredients for a quick whisk together. Second, in goes the wet ingredients. Do cupcakes get any easier than that? I think not!
Sangria Buttercream Frosting
Not only was this frosting perfectly pink, but it was light, fluffy, and so wonderfully full of that sangria flavor. The trick to using a liquid such as juice, or in this case, sangria, to flavor frosting, is to reduce it. Reducing a liquid means simmering away the water portion. This reduces the volume while concentrating the flavor.
In simpler terms: more bang for your sangria flavor buck! A few tablespoons of this sangria reduction gets whipped into the buttercream frosting and will not only provide a stunning pink color but all the sweet scrumptious sangria flavor needed!
The Best Sangria Cupcakes
Okay, okay…the term “best” gets thrown around a lot. Especially on food blogs. But seriously you guys these are truly the best sangria cupcakes. Easy, fresh, fruity, and totally fun. Perfect for a summer bbq, an evening spent socializing on the patio, or simply a summer-inspired sweet treat. These sangria cupcakes are a superb “cheers” to every sun-filled celebration.
Fresh and Fruity Summer Sweet Treats
Summer is sweet and so should be your treats. Here are a few fun fruity recipes I think you will enjoy:
- Key Lime Pie Cookies
- Easy Lemon Cake
- Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
- Black Forest Cake
- Strawberry Almond Cake
- Peach Rose Cupcakes
Sangria Cupcakes
- Total Time: 1 Hour 2 Minutes
- Yield: 12 Cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Low Lactose
Description
Easy and incredibly delicious, these sangria cupcakes are full of fresh and fruity sangria flavor. Great for a BBQ gathering or summer celebration.
Ingredients
Sangria Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour *can substitute gluten-free flour 1:1 baking blend
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (250ml) sangria
- ¼ cup (59ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature *can substitute liquid egg replacer for vegan
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sangria Reduction
- 1 cup (250ml) sangria
Sangria Buttercream
- 1 cup (227g) dairy-free salted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) icing sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sangria reduction, room temperature
- fruit for decor
- extra reduction for drizzling
Instructions
Sangria Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF degrees and place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined.
- Add in the sangria, oil, egg, and vanilla extract and mix on low until just combined. Be careful to not overmix the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Gently remove each cupcake from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to fully cool.
Sangria Reduction
- In a small pot over medium-high heat, bring the sangria to a boil.
- Reduce the heat slightly and allow to slowly boil for approximately 20 minutes or until the volume reduces by half. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Sangria Reduction
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the icing sugar and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Add in 2 tbsp of the sangria reduction and mix on low until combined.
- Turn the mixer to high and allow to beat for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Cupcake Assembly
- Place a Wilton 2D piping tip in a piping bag and frost each cupcake with a large swirl.
- Top each cupcake with some fresh fruit and a drizzle of leftover sangria reduction. Enjoy!
- Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
* The cupcake batter is quite runny and that’s okay for an oil-based recipe.
** Place the sangria reduction in the fridge if you want it to cool faster.
- Prep Time: 45 Minutes
- Cook Time: 17 Minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
- Calories: 345
- Sugar: 26 Grams
- Sodium: 92 Miligrams
- Fat: 18 Grams
- Saturated Fat: 10 Grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 Grams
- Trans Fat: 1 Gram
- Carbohydrates: 36 Grams
- Fiber: 1 Gram
- Protein: 2 Grams
- Cholesterol: 67 Miligrams
Keywords: sangria cupcakes, sangria cupcake recipe, dairy-free sangria cupcakes, dairy free sangria cupcake recipe, easy sangria cupcakes, summer sangria cupcakes
These were so easy to make and so good!
★★★★★
I love the ease of an oil-based cupcake too!
I was honestly shocked as to how easy these cupcakes were to make! The beautiful, professional photos Katie takes make it seem like they would be complicated, but this recipe is quite simple. Also very tasty! Made them for my daughters first birthday and they were a huge hit!
★★★★★
Yay! That legit makes my day to hear. And now I’m craving sangria. 😉
These cupcakes turned out phenomenal. I made them for a baby shower and they were a total hit!
★★★★★
Yay! I love hearing that Wanda. Thank you for sharing with me.
I impressed myself with how well these turned out. 😂
★★★★★
Haha that’s awesome Sadie!
I finally made these and they did not disappoint. Great sangria flavor in the cupcake and frosting.
★★★★★
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed them.
Absolutely freakin lutely delicious !!! Wine party and everyone was saying I need to add this to the need to make this again list!
That’s the BEST compliment/review ever! Thank you, Brittany!!!
I’ll definitely make these again. They were a hit!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that Jesselynn!
Amazing recipe and easy to make!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing that, Sandra!
I made Katie’s sangria cupcakes for my son’s engagement party. Huge hit! Everyone loved them.
★★★★★
I am thrilled to hear they were enjoyed! Thanks for sharing, Dina.
Question: do you reduce the sangria and then use in the cupcake and icing or just for the icing?
No, the recipe only calls for the sangria reduction in the frosting. So regular sangria in the cupcakes and the reduction in the frosting.
Did you soak part of a strawberry in sangria that you used on the top of the cupcake that gives it a really dark look? Awesome pix and can’t wait to make these.
It’s a black plum! I can’t wait to hear what you think.