It’s finally starting to feel like spring here in Tokyo and the sakura (cherry blossoms) are blooming, so the long awaiting and highly anticipated hanami (cherry blossom viewing season) is upon us again at last. I did my first hanami of the year this last weekend and since it’s become something of a tradition for me to bring booze-y “cocktail cupcakes,” I made pink champagne mini cupcakes filled with sakura liqueur pastry cream. The pink champagne cake and frosting were made with the same recipe I’ve used a few times before, but the sakura liqueur pastry cream filling was a first try for me, so I was relieved that the cupcakes got good reviews from the people who did hanami with me. The color and flavor of these little guys really does invoke all the best parts of spring, plus mini cupcakes are the perfect size to share no matter how big your hanami picnic ends up getting, so I definitely recommend giving making these a try for hanami season★