Ombre Cupcakes for Ceci's Birthday

Today is Ceci's birthday. And this is significant because why? I write about my family a lot on this blog because I associate so much of what I make in the kitchen with them, and because this blog was really started to communicate with my family. I don't write about my friends all that often because most of them don't know that the blog exists . . . and I like it that way! (I'm still kind of in the blogging closet.) Ceci, however, is different, because she has a blog of her own all about her art and life; this means that she's one of my only friends, and my only best friend, that's a bloggy friend and a real life friend. Ceci is also my hip and fashion-forward friend; she always has on a fabulous outfit that's perfectly accessorized. If you know me, then you know that I am neither hip, nor fashion-forward. I can count the number of stores where I purchase clothing on one hand, and while I'd like to be cute and put together, most of the time I'm pretty boring in the clothing department. I'll often text message Ceci to ask her what I should wear or if two things go together. I really wish that we still lived in the same city so I could raid her closet and rely on her fashion advice from close at hand. That wish has grown all the more fervent since I moved to DC and I just don't think I should have to wear anything other than Uggs and sweat pants in the winter. The first time I flipped through Martha Stewart Cupcakes I saw the White Cupcakes with Pastel Buttercream Peaks (page 154) and I immediately thought of Ceci. Why? Because they're ombré cupcakes, or if you're Ceci, you'll say degradé.

 

Ombré is one of those things that gets me in trouble with my sister for being narrow minded, hypercritical, and a fashion dunce. It totally perplexes me. It means that the color is shaded or graduated in tone, and when Ceci and I went shopping last summer, we saw lots of degradé in/on clothes. Of course, Ceci rocks the degradé and although the cupcakes are supposed to resemble flowers, their color fades from the outside to the center, and I see degradé (or ombré, I use the two terms interchangably, though perhaps I shouldn't). I might not wear it on my dress, but I can pipe it on my cupcakes, and what better way to say happy birthday than some cupcakes?! 

 

For my first try with the ombré cupcakes I made pastel yellow and and an orangish-peachy color with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Then for the second try I made pink and white in an attempt to be more like Martha. Honestly, though, I like the yellow and orange combo more. I think that might be because I left too much white space on the pink and white cupcakes for my personal taste. I also made the mistake of starting from the outside and moving in, rather than the opposite direction that the recipe directs. These are some very fun cupcakes to make, though, and I will definitely make them again sometime. I live in DC and Ceci is all the way down south in Miami (I am SO jealous right now!), so these are rather virtual birthday cupcakes. Not to worry, I enjoyed one and so did the people at school who got to reap the benefits of Ceci's birthday. If you'd like the recipe for the cupcakes and the Swiss meringue buttercream, head on over to Martha Stewart's website. These really are some pretty simple cupcakes that yield a very fun result. If you have a little bit of food coloring and a star tip (Martha recommends #20) then you're good to go. I can't wait to play around with the colors and the tips a little bit more when I get a chance. In the meantime, Happy Birthday, Ceci! Thanks for being one of my best friends for the past 14 years!

 Ceci & I at the Coral Gables Farmers' Market

Here we are in our famous "foxy" pose at Ceci's 80's birthday party!