Are you one of the people who failed to adopt ombre hair at the advent of the trend? Not to worry. Let cupcakes make the ombre commitment for you. Here’s how:
(Recipe and image via Somewhere Splendid)
CAKE
2¾ cups cake flour
1⅔ cups sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) softened unsalted butter, cut into ½ sticks
4 large egg whites, plus 1 whole egg
1 cup whole milk
3 teaspoons vanilla
food coloring
FROSTING
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) softened unsalted butter
3½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Add the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine on a slow speed until well blended.
Add the softened butter, one half stick at a time, allowing the butter to combine before adding the next. With the mixer set at slow, add one egg white at a time, followed by the whole egg, scraping down the sides and ensuring each egg white is completely incorporated before the next addition.
In a small separate bowl, whisk to combine the milk and vanilla extract. Add the milk and vanilla mixture to bowl of the mixer in small portions, allowing the mixer to combine the liquid completely before continuing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and continue to beat for an additional minute or two until the batter is fluffy.
Divide the batter into three equal, smaller batches. Add food coloring as desired, blending well between each drop, until you have three separate color tones (my batches used 4, 7, and 11 drops of food coloring). Spoon a small amount of your darkest batter into each liner, repeating with the middle and then lightest batter until each cupcake liner is filled ⅔ of the way up.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bake for 16 – 18 minutes, or until a toothpick just comes out clean, so as not to overbake. Set aside to cool.
