Initially, I thought about making birthday cake truffles from scratch like this but after looking at the ingredients list I just wanted to keep things simple and use what I already had. Since these sprinkle cake truffles are made from baked funfetti cake and vanilla funfetti buttercream, they were already downright delicious. They taste like a little bite-sized truffle version of the double funfetti cake! 

These sprinkle cake truffles are super versatile in the sense that you can literally use whatever flavor of cake scraps and buttercream you’re already working with. The toppings can be rainbow sprinkles or any sprinkle color palette. You could sub the sprinkles for other toppings like graham cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, or whatever would best accent your cake design. The possibilities are totally endless!

If you need some inspiration for your next cake flavor, here are all my cake and buttercream recipes to browse. Just use the cake scraps and buttercream from any of these:

• Cake Recipes
• Buttercream Recipes

And here is the double funfetti cake recipe pictured in this post!

Print

Sprinkle Cake Truffles

Bite sized cake truffles made from a mixture of cake and frosting, rolled in rainbow sprinkles to make perfect edible cake toppers!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 12 truffles

Ingredients

• 1 Cup crumbled cake scraps*
• 1/4 Cup buttercream frosting
• 1/4 Cup rainbow sprinkles

Instructions

• Place the crumbled cake and buttercream frosting into a medium sized bowl and combine them with a rubber spatula until the mixture sticks together. It should be tacky enough to form balls when you roll it between your hands. If it's not quite that tacky yet, add more buttercream a Tablespoon at a time until it reaches the proper consistency.
• Use a Tablespoon to scoop the cake/buttercream mixture and then roll it between your hands to form a 1 inch ball. Place it on a lined baking sheet and continue forming balls until you have used all of the cake/buttercream mixture.
• Pour the rainbow sprinkles (or topping of your choice) onto a small plate or into a small bowl. Roll each ball through the sprinkles until the surface is covered and place back onto the lined baking sheet. Refrigerate the sprinkle cake truffles for at least 20 minutes, after which they should be firm and ready to place on your cake (or enjoy as-is!)

Notes

*For the cake scraps, I used the leftover cake from leveling my layers and simply crumbled it up with my hands. You can feel free to use extra cupcakes or any kind of cake trimmings for this part of the recipe. 

Make ahead tips: these sprinkle cake truffles can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

Did you make these sprinkle cake balls? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create with my recipes!

The post Sprinkle Cake Truffles appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I get questions quite often about adding sprinkles to cake. Mainly: how do you get them to stick to the frosting? And how do you add them without indenting the buttercream? It’s about time I dedicated an entire post to my go-to methods for decorating cakes with sprinkles, and while I already have this post on how to cover an entire cake in sprinkles, this one will share all the little things I do to get the look pictured above. Here’s a quick video to show you the techniques before I get into all the details below:

Want to see more Cake Basics videos like this one? Head to my YouTube Channel to see the growing collection. You’ll also find tons of cake recipes and decorating videos to inspire you and broaden your skill set – be sure to hit the subscribe button so you never miss a new one!

What Kinds of Sprinkles Work with These Techniques? 

The cool thing about these techniques is that any sprinkles will work! Keep in mind that the smaller the sprinkles you’re using, the more tedious it will be to add them if you’re placing them one-by-one (like in Step 3). While it’s not impossible to work with teeny tiny sprinkles, it’s just much easier to place the sprinkles when they’re jimmy-size or bigger. 

The sprinkles I’m using in my video (and throughout this post) are the Hey Sugar mix by Sprinkle Pop, simply because I love the color scheme and think they go well with my turquoise + fuchsia buttercream. I also love using Fancy Sprinkles and have found plenty of pretty sprinkle mixes at my local JOANN store. They’re everywhere these days, so take a look around on Google, Instagram, or even try your local craft store or specialty baking aisle to find a sprinkle mix you love. 

How Many Sprinkles Do I Need? 

Sprinkles typically come in a few different jar sizes: 2oz (sample size), 4oz, 8oz, and beyond. The cake I’m working with throughout this post is a triple layer 6-inch cake that is about 5 inches tall. To get the look pictured (a thicker band of sprinkles around the base of the cake + individually placed sprinkles around the top) with this size of cake, you’ll need a 4oz bottle of sprinkles. In reality, you’ll only use about 2-3oz of sprinkles, but in my opinion, it’s always best to have more than enough than to have just barely enough. 

The good thing about this approach (buying a little more than you need) is that sprinkles keep for a long time, so you can always use the extra in future cake and cupcake projects. 

When to Add Sprinkles to Your Cake

I always add sprinkles right after I add the final layer of frosting to my cake, while the frosting is still wet to the touch. Beneath that final frosting layer is a crumb coated cake that’s been chilled, which gives the entire cake a sturdy foundation and makes the final layer of frosting semi-set (because of the cold sublayers), yet still fresh enough for sprinkles to adhere easily. 

In my experience, this timing is essential to decrease the chances of indenting the frosting finish while you’re placing the sprinkles. If you add the sprinkles without crumb coating and chilling your cake before applying that final layer of frosting, you have an increased risk of the foundation (cake layers and filling) shifting around on you as you decorate. On the other hand, if the final frosting layer is too chilled (aka you placed your cake in the refrigerator after the final layer of frosting was added) before adding the sprinkles, they may not adhere as easily. 

While it’s not impossible to place sprinkles on a cake that’s not set enough and a cake that’s too chilled/set, I recommend following the timeline laid out in this Cake Basics series and adding the sprinkles right after that final layer of frosting.

Here’s how: 

Step 1: Prepare Your Cake & Workspace

Once your cake has been frosted with the final layer of buttercream, you’re ready to prepare your workspace and start adding sprinkles. To make cleanup super easy and ensure that you don’t waste a ton of sprinkles in the process, I recommend placing a large sheet pan underneath your cake, which should still be on its turntable.  

I also recommend pouring the sprinkles out into a bowl and mixing them up, just so you don’t end up with all of the larger sprinkles in only one area of the cake. 

Step 2: Add the Concentrated Sprinkles

To add a concentrated amount of sprinkles around the bottom of the cake, I find it easiest to pour some sprinkles into the palm of my hand, then gently press them by the palmful onto the side of the cake. 

Continue this process around the entire base of the cake until you’re happy with the way it looks. I prefer an imperfect boundary line when it comes to this technique so I like to add a lot of highs and lows instead of trying to create a perfectly straight line here.

Feel free to add in larger sprinkles and fill in gaps as you see them. Once you feel satisfied with the sprinkle placement around the base, it’s helpful to clean up the stray sprinkles on the turntable so you can ensure that you’ve covered all the spaces you want to before moving on.

The easiest way to do this is with a pastry brush, and since you’ve got your sheet pan underneath the turntable, all of those extras will get swept away without covering your kitchen floor. 

Step 3: Add the Individual Sprinkles

Once I’ve got the base of the cake covered with a more concentrated sprinkle placement, it’s time to add individual sprinkles in what I like to call a “floating” pattern. I don’t really know what else to call it, but the only way to get the look is to add each sprinkle one-by-one. To get started, I press a sprinkle onto the pad of my pointer finger, then quickly (and gently) press that sprinkle to the side of the cake. 

In my opinion, pressing the sprinkles on with the pad of your finger is the best way to prevent indents, since your fingernails won’t get in the way. Adding sprinkles with tweezers, your fingertip, or by pinching the sprinkle between two fingers is totally possible, but you have to be way more careful in regards to the sharp points of the tweezers or your nails indenting the cake finish. 

You will drop a lot of sprinkles along the way whichever method you choose, but as a tip for getting the sprinkles to stick to your finger easier, it’s helpful to keep a damp paper towel handy. This way you can press your finger onto the paper towel before placing it onto a sprinkle – that little bit of moisture helps keep it stuck on for longer. 

I like to place the individual sprinkles about an inch or so apart, always ensuring that no two colors or shapes are placed right next to one another. This process in total can take upwards of 15 minutes, so throw on some music and settle in for a tedious sprinkle sesh. Taking your time will be worth it in the end! 

Step 4: Continue Decorating 

For this particular design, I move on to decorating the top of the cake once I’ve got the sides sprinkled just the way I want them. Side note worth mentioning: If I’m adding sprinkles to a cake that will have a ganache drip, I tend to do Steps 1 and 2, add the drip, then complete Steps 3 and 4. Just thought I’d mention that in case anyone is wondering where a drip comes into play. 

For this cake, I fitted a piping bag with Wilton Tip 4B and filled it with some buttercream frosting that I tinted with Americolor Fuchsia color gel. Then, I piped a series of swirls around the top edge.

To finish the look, I added more sprinkles onto each of the fuchsia swirls. It’s important to do this immediately after swirling, while the buttercream is still fresh. If the buttercream has set, the sprinkles will just bounce off. 

When you’re happy with your beautiful smooth and sprinkled buttercream cake, step back and marvel at your masterpiece! You did it! 

Did you make this cake? I want to see how it turned out! Be sure to let me know in the comments or tag @Sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. And if you want more Cake Basics, head here to see all of the posts and learn the methods of caking I’ve come to love over the years. I’m cheering you on every step of the way!

The post How to Decorate a Cake with Sprinkles appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Pretty, right? Before I act like an expert and show you how to create this sprinkle fault line cake, allow me to admit that this was my second attempt. The first go at this technique did not end well at all. The sprinkles got in the way of my smooth buttercream, my fault line was too tiny, and I basically ended up with a ripply, sprinkled mess. Thankfully, I learned some valuable lessons in my first attempt and I can tell you how to avoid cake tragedies like that!

Now, I can confidently say I’ve got all the details of how to make a failproof sprinkle fault line cake below. Here’s a quick video of the process before you read all about it:

You Will Need

• A 6-inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
• 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream
• Food color gel of your choice (optional)
• 4 oz bottle of Vintage Rose Gold sprinkles (or any fave SprinklePop mix)
• Icing smoother
• Angled spatula
• Gold Edible Art Paint (gold luster dust mixed with a little vodka works too)
• Small food-grade paintbrush

Step 1: Separate The Sprinkles

To prepare for your beautiful sprinkle fault line cake, first divide the sprinkles into two separate bowls: one for the jimmies and smaller sprinkles, and one for the large spheres and dragees.

If you’re planning on coloring your buttercream, now is a good time for that too! For this rustic rose color, I used a combination of Americolor Dusty Rose, Peach, and Maroon.

Step 2: Frost Only The Middle Of The Cake

Place your crumb coated cake on a turntable and frost a thin layer of buttercream around only the middle of the cake. Then, smooth it with your icing smoother.

This will become the middle of the fault line, where the sprinkles go.

Step 3: Apply The Small Sprinkles

Place a baking sheet underneath your cake turntable to catch any sprinkles that fall (this part can get messy!). Then, add only the jimmies and smaller sprinkles to the newly frosted portion of your cake.

By leaving the larger sprinkles out of this part, you will prevent them from getting in the way once you frost the buttercream fault line. That was the biggest takeaway from my first time trying this technique. Smaller sprinkles make it easier to achieve a smooth, flawless fault line. Don’t worry though, we’ll add the larger sprinkles in toward the end!

Step 4: Frost The Fault Line

Frost and smooth the top of the cake, then add buttercream to the top third and bottom third of the cake, making sure you stop wherever the sprinkles begin. Feel free to overlap the sprinkles in some areas, but try to keep most of the sprinkles exposed. Also, make sure that the layer of buttercream you add is thicker than the layer of sprinkles. This way when you go to smooth it, your icing smoother will glide over the buttercream without dragging the sprinkles along with it.

Next, smooth the buttercream with your icing scraper to create even sides without touching the sprinkles.

When your sides are looking smooth, use your angled spatula to create sharp edges around the top of the cake by swiping any buttercream from the outer edge toward the top center of the cake.

Once your fault line is looking perfect, chill the cake in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to let the buttercream firm up before moving on to the next step.

Step 5: Add In The Large Sprinkles

Now that the buttercream is nice and set, it’s time to add in the rest of this beautiful sprinkle mix! Add all of the large sprinkles you separated out in Step 1 to the sprinkled portion of the cake.

Continue adding sprinkles until the fault line looks dazzling.

Step 6: Paint The Edges (Optional)

To complete the look, use a small food-grade paintbrush to paint some Gold Edible Art Paint onto the edges of the fault line. As an alternative to Edible Art Paint, you could use gold foil, gold luster dust mixed with a little vodka, or whatever your jam is when it comes to an edible gold look!

And voila! This sprinkle fault line cake is so eye-catching. I love this technique now that I know a few tips and tricks to getting it just right!

I hope you feel a little more confident with your sprinkle fault line cakes now that you know a thing or two. Be sure to try it with your fave SprinklePop mix! And if you found this tutorial helpful for your cake decorating session let me know by tagging me on Instagram. I love to see what you’re caking

Disclaimer: I was compensated by SprinklePop for my work of creating this project, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.

The post Sprinkle Fault Line Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Incorporating sprinkles into cake design is something I’ve loved from the beginning of my cake making journey. But although I’ve been caking for years, I’ve never actually attempted to cover an entire cake in sprinkles – until now, that is! Behold:

How pretty are those sprinkles? They’re the Oh Snow Cute sprinkle mix by SprinklePop and they’re part of a beautiful collection of Holiday sprinkles available in their shop! I love the color contrast of the icy blues and Christmas reds, and if you look real close you’ll find some tiny little snowmen and snowflakes mixed in (hence the name “Oh Snow Cute”). I think they’re so perfect for a non-green-and-red Holiday look, but you’ve got to check out the other Holiday sprinkles in the collection because they’re all so beautiful!

I was totally surprised to find that covering a cake with sprinkles was actually easy, even as a first timer. All you need is a smooth buttercream cake and a tray full of sprinkles to roll it around in! Ok, maybe there are a few other things you need, but I promise I will spare no details so you can reach sprinkle cake greatness. Here’s a quick video of the process before I walk you through the step-by-step below:

You Will Need:

• 8oz bottle of Oh Snow Cute sprinkles (or other favorite sprinkle mix)
• A baking sheet
• A crumb coated cake
• Enough buttercream for a final frosting layer
• Icing scraper
• Angled icing spatula
• Cake turntable
• Cardboard cake circle (the same diameter as your cake)

Step 1: Frost The Sides Of Your Cake

Start by frosting the sides of your cake only. Use your icing scraper to create smooth, straight sides as a buttercream finish. For the buttercream ridge that forms around the top rim of the cake, use your angled icing spatula to frost it inward (across the top of the cake) and create sharp edges around the top rim.

When your sides are looking smooth and your edges are looking sharp, place the cake into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so the buttercream begins to set, but isn’t too firm to the touch.

Step 2: Spread Sprinkles Onto Baking Sheet

While your cake is chilling in the refrigerator, spread the sprinkles onto the baking sheet. Feel free to shake them around so they get mixed up really well.

Step 3: Roll The Cake In Sprinkles

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place a cardboard cake circle on top of the cake. With one hand on the top cardboard cake circle and one hand on the bottom one, gently roll the cake through the sprinkles.

Feel free to stop halfway around, shake the sprinkle tray to keep the sprinkles well mixed, and continue rolling the cake until the sides are completely covered.

Step 4: Ice The Top Of The Cake

Place the cake back onto your turntable and remove the cardboard circle from the top of the cake, then frost the top with buttercream.

Use your angled icing spatula to make sure the top of the cake is as smooth and level as possible while maintaining your sharp edges. When you’re finished, pop the cake back into the refrigerator for about five minutes so the buttercream on top begins to set slightly.

Step 5: Cover The Top In Sprinkles

Finally, pour sprinkles over the top of the cake and smooth them with your icing spatula until the entire top is level and covered in sprinkles.

Voila! A sprinkle-covered masterpiece! I ended up piping an open star border with my Wilton Tip 6B for some extra flair. 

The best part about this technique is that it will work with sprinkles of all shapes and colors. It’s an easy way to make an eye-catching creation, whether it’s for the Holidays or any day!

The post How To Cover A Cake In Sprinkles appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.