Lemon Pebble Cupcakes for Mel
This morning I woke up and threw open the balcony door. The sky was clear and the day smelled so crisp and sweet. A sweetness you get just before the belching buses, the bronchial leaf blowers and other excesses of modern life choke the very air from underneath your nose.
Over grain bread, slices of Morbier, and Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, I thought about the life I lead and the strange serenity you sometimes feel even in the midst of so much chaos and noise. I thought about the funny things we do to ourselves, and each other. About the darkness that the fragile notion of society and civilisation supresses within us.
I thought about all that, and decided that, today, I wanted to make something and someone happy.
These lemon pebble cupcakes are for a very close friend who recently celebrated her 30th birthday. She had a big bash up in the mountains, but I didn’t go because I was working. (I’m a pretty bad friend, aren’t I?). I’ve never been too sure about the whole notion of best friends (or even soul mates, for that matter) – to use the term makes me feel like I’m back in primary school again, so I never use it. But Mel is one of my favourite friends, so I wanted to make her something a little special. The cupcakes and frosting are made with Lindt white chocolate, which she loves.
Due to their chocolate content, I will be winging the remaining cakes to Stephanie for her chocolate themed blog party. At the moment, I can’t tell you what beverage to have with these cakes, I’m afraid, because I’m including a surprise something in Mel’s gift bag, to have with her cakes. 🙂
Aran said,
June 19, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
These are absolutely beautiful!!!
pea & pear said,
June 19, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
These would bring a smile to anyone’s face, what a good friend you in fact are 🙂
Ali
grace said,
June 20, 2008 @ 2:39 am
i love love love those pebbles! i’ve never seen little balls of beauty on top of a cupcake, but it’s a great idea! good work, you!
Cakelaw said,
June 20, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
These cakes are just adorable – I would be almost scared to eat them because they are so cute (but I think I can be tempted ;)).
linda said,
June 20, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
Love them! The pebbles look very cute! What are they made of?
Hélène said,
June 21, 2008 @ 3:28 am
Beautiful & so nice of you.
Lorraine E said,
June 22, 2008 @ 9:01 am
Awwww gorgeous! I love the “piled on” look! Love the flower too
Cakelaw said,
June 22, 2008 @ 8:49 pm
Hi Y, you have an award:
http://kitchenlaw.blogspot.com/2008/06/sugar-high-friday-taste-of-canada-oat.html
cathy x. said,
June 23, 2008 @ 12:01 am
oooh an award! i’m so proud! 😛
what i really, really want to know though is how on earth do you find the time to keep whipping these things up so often? i want a time travel machine too!
Indigo said,
June 23, 2008 @ 1:36 am
Ooh, what are the pebbles made of? They look so cute! I love cupcakes with toppings all piled up like this. Or cupcakes with any topping. Or cupcakes at all. I’m all about the love.
Tea said,
June 23, 2008 @ 5:18 am
Thank you for the comment! I absolutely love your blog, great work! :))
Greetings from NY!
The Caked Crusader said,
June 23, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
So pretty – I love the height you have achieved
Sophie said,
June 24, 2008 @ 2:12 am
These are so cute! I immediately thought of the Flinstones when I saw them! What a fun birthday present. 🙂
Mandy said,
June 25, 2008 @ 12:37 am
The cupcakes are so pretty! I am sure Mel loves it.
Y said,
June 25, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
Thanks for the comments. For the curious, the pebbles were balls of delicious lemon shortbread. Quite Flintstone-ish, like Sophie said, though I didn’t think of it at the time. 🙂
leslie said,
June 26, 2008 @ 4:45 am
Thanks for your visit to my blog and the comment about my PMS cookies!
I love these beautiful cupcakes! Almost too pretty to eat…but who am I kidding..no food is too pretty to eat!! LOL
Mari said,
June 26, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
WOWSA! These are beautiful!!! What are the lemon pebbles are made from, and did you make them yourself?
Y said,
June 26, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Hi Mari! The pebbles are made from a shortbread dough I made not too long ago. I rolled the dough into little balls instead of cutting into flat squares or circles as I usually do. I’m not sure where the idea came from, but I had this vision of a mountain of pebbles on top of the cupcake.
Patricia Scarpin said,
June 26, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
These are absolutely beautiful! One of the most wonderful cupcakes I have ever seen. Love the flower detail!
Memories in the Baking said,
June 27, 2008 @ 12:42 am
Just looking at these put a smile on my face. So wonderfully unique.
Autumnal said,
June 27, 2008 @ 5:12 am
Any chance you might post the recipe? Pretty please? These look lovely, and I’d love to try making them!
Joy the Baker said,
June 27, 2008 @ 8:22 am
Those are just gorgeous! And the pansy flower is the perfect touch! Beautiful!
Cathy said,
June 27, 2008 @ 10:17 am
These cupcakes just jump out of the screen. They are so adorable and look almost too good to eat. On second thought, NO – I would eat them in a minute.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers
Cathy
http://www.wheresmydamnanswer.com
Cakespy said,
June 28, 2008 @ 2:19 am
An absolute masterpiece! I love them!
Sophie said,
July 2, 2008 @ 3:15 am
These are beautiful cakes (especially with the flowers on them). What a nice friend you are!
cakebrain said,
July 2, 2008 @ 5:44 am
These cupcakes are so inspirational! They have depth and dimension and look scrumptious!
bonbon oiseau said,
July 2, 2008 @ 10:20 pm
what a beautiful gift. these are so fun to look at!
Y said,
July 2, 2008 @ 10:35 pm
Thanks again! 🙂
Autumnal, if you want the recipe, I can email it to you. I cobbled it together from various recipes, and didn’t think to bother including it in the post in case it was too long. Let me know anyway!
My Sweet & Saucy said,
July 3, 2008 @ 10:22 am
These are adorable! I love the little balls!
DebinHawaii said,
July 6, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
Your cupcakes look wonderful–nice to have some white chocolate represented at the Blog Party! Great job!
Natashya said,
July 7, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Adorable little cupcakes, very creative!
perry said,
July 22, 2008 @ 12:57 am
a lovely post. short and sweet– which is good for cupcakes, right?
… form follows function. 🙂