Ombre Icing

 

     The cake is a chocolate and vanilla cake marble. The icing is a caramel buttercream mmm. I used a large icing tip to create the large swirl on the top of the cupcake. The large tip created a beautiful design but I couldn't fill up much of the bag because the coupler was HUGE which was a bit of a let down. To create the ombre, I fill the right side of the bag with yellow icing, middle of the bag with orange, and left side with red. Also, I can't believe just how expensive cupcake liners are! I got these at Michaels and they were $6.99 for just 24 of them! Anyways, this chocolate cake recipe is the best that I've ever followed so here it is (got it from the blog Add a Pinch):

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

 

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

1. For the cake:
2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
4. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.