Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting

I got a hankering for something sweet last night. So, last night I went to Wal-Mart and tried to buy the necessary ingredients for Raspberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting. But, my Wal-Mart didn't have raspberries, so, the recipe immediately morphed into Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting. :) And I fully intended to make said cupcakes last night. But as I drove home, I thought of how Cohen needed a bath and it was also Daylight Savings... so our night would be cut short anyways, and I decided to put them off until today, Sunday.

Cupcakes fascinate me. I love them. I want to be a cupcake connoisseur. I want to be a judge on Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. I get a wild look in my eyes and a mad desire to go to Sprinkles Bakery at odd hours of the day when they certainly aren't open. It's a little personal sized cake (in any flavor imaginable) with a fluff of heaven on top. How can you NOT love cupcakes?

Annnddd... I also want a Kitchenaid Electric Stand Mixer. Ohmagoodness... It is the ultimate kitchen appliance. Ina Garten uses one in practically every episode of The Barefoot Contessa. I dream of my cupcakes tasting 100x better if I just had a stand mixer. Ahh.. In my dreams. This appliance probably won't make the budget cut for a loonnggggg time. :(

Anyways, call me lazy.. but I'm just going to include a link to this recipe, then put my pictures. As opposed to typing out the recipe. :)
THE Recipe

making the strawberry puree

into the oven for 20 minutes

whipping a pound of butter into frosting!

adding the champagne to the frosting!

a little in the frosting, a little for the baker!! (right?)

frosting the cupcakes (I tried to get fancy!)

Can't waste that champagne!! (He spit it out after the picture) :)

The finished product! Ina always says to give your guests a hint as to the flavor of the cake they're about to eat.. hence the strawberry on top! :)

My thoughts on this recipe...

-The batter did not have much flavor.. and we even added an extra tablespoon of strawberry puree. The original recipe called for raspberry extract, but when I changed it to strawberry, all I could find was "Imitation Strawberry Extract".. so maybe it being imitation made a difference? I don't know. 

-The consistency of the cakes was perfect! 20 minutes was spot on!

-You absolutely could NOT taste the champagne in the frosting. And we kept adding more and more..  Maybe because I used sweet champagne? 

So.. Expert advice anyone? Please? Bakers out there?

They sure are pretty to look at though, right? :)