I made this striking black velvet cake last Halloween and it has since become one of my most popular recipes (and a personal favorite of mine as well)! I love it for so many reasons. The cake layers are naturally pitch black, super moist, and have the flavor profile of an Oreo cookie. And since I recently discovered a way to make black buttercream without food color gel, the entire cake is 100% dye-free! So this year I knew I had to whip up a cupcake version in time for your Halloween party planning. 

One of the most wonderful things about these black velvet cupcakes is that they will NOT stain your mouth black or kick off any startling bathroom experiences (iykyk). The beautifully dark color of the cupcakes and buttercream comes from black cocoa powder, which doesn’t contain any dye. I was so thrilled when I realized I could make the entire recipe dye-free that I ate far too many of these cupcakes and kept checking my mouth in the mirror in amazement! 

What is Black Cocoa Powder?

Black cocoa powder is an ultra-Dutched cocoa powder, meaning it’s been treated with an alkaline solution to reduce its acidity. It’s very dark in color and while it isn’t as chocolatey as regular cocoa powder, it does have amazing flavor. It’s the main ingredient in Oreo cookie shells, and that’s basically what the cake layers end up tasting like. The best part about black cocoa powder is it gives the cake layers a rich black color without having to add any additional food coloring! That means it won’t turn your mouth crazy colors. 

Where to Find Black Cocoa Powder

You probably won’t be able to buy black cocoa powder at your local grocery store, but you might have some luck at a dedicated cake decorating supply shop. There aren’t many of those around me, so I get my black cocoa powder on Amazon. This brand is the darkest black cocoa powder I’ve found, and it makes a huge difference in the final results of the buttercream specifically. Other black cocoa powders aren’t as Dutched, but any brand will work in this recipe (see the recipe notes for more info on that). 

If you don’t want to get black cocoa powder online, you can substitute it with an equal amount of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, which can be found at most grocery stores. It’ll make the cake batter and buttercream dark brown, so if you’re going for black colored cupcakes you’ll need to add some black food color gel to take it all the way. 

How to Decorate Black Velvet Cupcakes

You can decorate these black velvet cupcakes any way you want, but I went for a super simple yet elegant theme here. I used Wilton Tip 1M to pipe the black buttercream in a swirl and then sprinkled some metallic gold stars on top. 

Other design ideas: topping them with galaxy buttercream for a space-themed party, filling them with vanilla buttercream to go all the way with the Oreo cookie flavor, or keeping it creepy with some edible spiderwebs. However you decorate, these cupcakes will be a true crowd pleaser! 

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Black Velvet Cupcakes

100% dye-free black velvet cupcakes with black cocoa buttercream that are perfect for any spooky gathering. They're moist and decadent with the flavor profile of an Oreo cookie!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 14 cupcakes

Ingredients

Black Velvet Cupcakes

• 1 Cup (132g) all purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 Cup (38g) black cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) hot coffee or hot water

Dye-Free Black Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 Cups (300g) powdered sugar
• 1/2 Cup (56g) black cocoa powder**
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• pinch of salt

Instructions

Make the Black Velvet Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºC and line a cupcake pan with 12-15 liners.
• Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir on low for 30 seconds to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot water in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin. 
• Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners (no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the Black Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just incorporated, then add the rest of the powdered sugar. With the mixer still in the off position, sift in the black cocoa powder and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
• The buttercream will look dark brown at this point, but the color will darken significantly over the next several hours. See the recipe notes for storage instructions if you're not planning on piping the cupcakes the same day.

Assembly

• Once the black velvet cupcakes are completely cooled, frost them with the black buttercream. To create the look pictured, place the black buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Top with edible metallic gold stars.

Notes

*DIY Buttermilk recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 Cup of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe. 

**Black Cocoa Powder: It’s important to use the darkest black cocoa powder possible to achieve a black color. Here’s the brand I used in this recipe. 

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The black velvet cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months. 
2. The black buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It will get significantly darker after 24 hours. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to frosting consistency. 

These black velvet cupcakes are sure to be a hit at your next gathering! I hope you love them as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.

The post Black Velvet Cupcakes appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Whenever I share this black velvet cake recipe I get so excited to say that the cake layers don’t have any food coloring in them. The black cocoa powder turns those layers extra black in the baking process and the result is so striking! I originally paired it with this black buttercream recipe that uses minimal food coloring but I got to wondering if there was a way to make the entire cake dye-free, frosting and all. Well, that wondering turned into a straight up obsession and I tested tons of techniques and ingredients to finally find the perfect dye-free black buttercream recipe. Turns out it’s easier and less complicated than I thought! 

This gorgeous black buttercream recipe is awesome for a few reasons: 

• It DOESN’T turn your mouth black (or anything else )
• It uses ZERO food color gel
• There’s NO charcoal involved 
• It’s super EASY to make
• It tastes like OREO COOKIE BUTTER

Since I’m such a big fan of Oreos, I enjoyed quite a few spoonfuls and kept checking my mouth to see if my tongue would turn black but guess what? It didn’t! If you’ve been looking for a natural way to make dark black buttercream, this is it. 

The Secret Ingredient for Dye-Free Black Buttercream 

To get the blackest black buttercream naturally, you’ll need one special ingredient: EXTRA DARK black cocoa powder. During all of my recipe testing and experiments, I realized that not all black cocoa powders will get your frosting as dark as this kind. Just look at the difference between the brands below:

All black cocoa powder is essentially raw cacao powder that’s been Dutch-processed, or treated with an alkaline solution to reduce its acidity. The result of that chemical reaction is a darker colored cocoa powder and richer chocolate flavor. It’s what Oreo cookie shells are made with, so that’s the main note you get when you bake with black cocoa powder. 

The Experiments 

I was thoroughly obsessed with finding the perfect recipe for this black buttercream. So much that I went lots of directions with it. After realizing that black cocoa gets darker when heated or cooked, I understood why my cake layers got so dark without food coloring. So I tried lots of experiments with heat: blooming the black cocoa powder in melted butter, making an Ermine frosting with it, and cooking it into an inky black syrup with sugar and water (like this Sugarologie method), to name just a few. These experiments either resulted in a super dark brown buttercream or just didn’t have the right consistency in the end. 

I wanted to come up with a recipe that was straightforward and easy enough for anyone to make, and it wasn’t until I started researching different brands of black cocoa powder that I found this extra dark version. It is a game changer. It’s so much darker in color than any of the other brands I’ve tried, so I was able to sift it into my favorite buttercream recipe and the results were perfect. No cooking, no complicated steps, just a super straightforward method and the right product. 

It’s ready to use right away but look at how much darker it gets after 24 hours:

My New Favorite Black Buttercream Recipe

After seeing that I can make black buttercream without dye, it’s all I want to do going forward. I love not worrying about it coloring the teeth and tongues of party guests or hearing stories about startling bathroom experiences afterwards (iykyk). Plus, it’s silky smooth and tastes just like Oreo cookie butter so I was legitimately eating it by the spoonful! It pairs perfectly with my black velvet cake recipe or any cake that would pair well with dark chocolate frosting. Here’s a quick video I whipped up to show you how it’s made:

If you want more videos like this one, you’ll find more on my YouTube page! Be sure to hit the Subscribe button while you’re there so you never miss a new one.

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Dye-Free Black Buttercream

Silky smooth, naturally colored black buttercream made with the magic of black cocoa powder. No food color gel, charcoal, or complicated steps involved!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Servings 3 Cups

Ingredients

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 Cups (300g) powdered sugar
• 1/2 Cup (56g) extra dark black cocoa powder*
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just incorporated, then add the rest of the powdered sugar. With the mixer still in the off position, sift in the black cocoa powder and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
• Place the buttercream in an airtight container and allow the color to deepen for 24 hours or more. You can keep it at room temperature for one day or store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you're ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed until the consistency is smooth.

Notes

*Black Cocoa Powder: It’s important to use the darkest black cocoa powder possible to achieve a black color. Here’s the brand I used in this recipe. 

Make Ahead Tips: this buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and rewhip with your stand mixer to bring back to frosting consistency. 

 

Yield: This buttercream makes enough to:

• Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
• Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe. 

Did you make this dye-free black buttercream? I want to know what you paired it with and what you think! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post EASY Dye-Free Black Buttercream Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I absolutely love the details on this cake, from the pretty piping to the spooky sprinkles and a touch of sparkle created with this gold shimmer dust. It would be so stunning on any Halloween party table! And it’s delicious too – underneath all that pretty piping is my favorite black velvet cake recipe.

JOANN has an incredible selection of Halloween food crafting items like sprinkles, molds, cake pans, toppers, and really everything you could need to spook up your party table. It’s really a one-stop shop for all things Halloween though – from frightening home decor to the perfect fabric for any costume. I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing some extras like these skull shaped ice cube molds and this pretty pumpkin scented candle. 

Lambeth Cake Tips for Success

If you’ve never made one before, a Lambeth cake may look a little intimidating. Since the style involves over-piping (aka you can never pipe too many details), it ends up being a really forgiving design. Here are some of my best tips to set you up for success: 

Start with a chilled cake. Before you pipe any details, make sure that your smooth buttercream finish is nice and chilled (firm to the touch). This helps keep the buttercream finish intact while you pipe on top and will help any piping set quickly because of the cold surface. 

Place a larger cake circle underneath. Since you’ll be piping details onto the bottom border of the cake, it will save you a lot of stress to make sure the cake is sitting on a cake circle that’s larger than the cake and any piping. This way you can just lift the whole cake off of the turntable while keeping all the piping perfect. For example, since my cake layers are 6-inches in diameter, I decorated my cake on an 8-inch cake circle for easy transfer. 

Plan out your piping. It’s not enough to know what kinds of designs you want to pipe on a Lambeth cake. You have to know where to pipe them. This is where a template comes in handy, and I’ll show you how to make the most simple template ever in this tutorial below. 

Create the ideal buttercream consistency. Piping looks its best when you’re using buttercream that is the right consistency. Not so thick that there are crinkly edges, but not so thin that you can’t see detail and the designs are drooping. You want a stiff consistency buttercream, and this post will show you how to create it with my American buttercream recipe. 

Here’s a video tutorial that will walk you through how to create this Halloween Lambeth Cake from start to finish. Give it a watch before you read through the detailed steps below!

If you love cake decorating tutorial videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.

You Will Need

• 6-inch cake that’s been frosted smooth and chilled
• 8-inch cake circle to decorate on
• 6-inch cake pan (for tracing)
• Wax or parchment paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Toothpick
• 2 ¼ inch round cookie cutter 
• Scotch tape
• 1 batch (3 Cups) of vanilla buttercream 
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring
• 2 Tablespoons Black cocoa powder or regular cocoa powder
• Cake turntable
• Wilton tips 104, 4B, and 32
• Piping bags
• STIR Halloween Sprinkle Mixes
• STIR Edible Shimmer Dust in Gold 

Step 1: Make the Lambeth Template + Mark the Cake

The Lambeth technique is all about symmetry. The best way to keep your piping symmetrical is to make a template to mark out equal sized sections on your cake. To make the template, flip a cake pan (the same size as your cake layers) upside down onto a piece of parchment paper. Trace around it with a pencil and cut out the circle. Flipping the pan upside down and tracing around the lip helps account for the frosting on the sides of the cake when measuring the true diameter.

After cutting out your parchment paper circle, fold it in half three times to create 8 equal-sized sections.

Place the template on top of the chilled cake and mark each crease with a toothpick (a). Find a round glass or cookie cutter that’s the same diameter as the sections in your template and place a piece of scotch tape across the middle to create a half circle (b). This will help you line it up with the top of your cake as you press it into the sides (c) to indicate where each garland will go.

Step 2: Mix the Color Palette

Divide the 3 Cups of buttercream equally amongst three separate bowls and mix in the color gels of your choosing. I used the Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring set to custom mix these colors. In the first bowl, I mixed in 5 drops of Orange. In the second bowl, 5 drops of Pink and 2 drops of Blue to create a warm purple tone.

To create the black color in the last bowl, I first mixed in 2 Tablespoons of black cocoa powder to create a dark brown color, then mixed in 3 drops of Black. This way, I didn’t have to use nearly as much food coloring. If you don’t have access to black cocoa powder, you can use regular cocoa powder instead but note that you’ll need to use a few more drops of Black. 

Step 3: Prepare the Piping Bags

Fit two piping bags with Wilton Tip 104 and add half of the black buttercream into one and half of the purple buttercream into another. Fit two piping bags with Wilton Tip 4B and add the rest of the black buttercream and the rest of the purple buttercream. Fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 32 and add the orange buttercream. 

Step 4: Create the Bottom Border

Starting at the bottom edge of the cake, pipe a shell border with Wilton Tip 4B using the black buttercream. To pipe a shell border, hold the bag at a 45 degree angle and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream fans out and forces the tip upward (a). Gradually relax pressure as you lower the tip and pull the bag toward you to create a tail (b). Pipe the next shell directly onto the tail of the first (c).

Continue piping shells all the way around the bottom edge of the cake, until you reach the very first shell you piped.Using the same technique, pipe a smaller shell border on top of the first using Wilton Tip 32 and the orange buttercream.

Place purple eyeball sprinkles onto the shell border as accents. I placed mine directly below where each of the indented semi-circles from the template connected.

Step 5: Create the Ruffle Garlands + Accents 

Onto each of the semi-circle indents you created in Step 1, use the black buttercream-filled piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 104 to create the ruffle garland. To create a ruffle, hold the piping bag at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the cake with the skinny end of the tip facing away from the cake (a). Squeeze the bag as you move your hand slightly up and down to create the ruffle texture as you pipe (b). Release pressure on the bag once you’ve ended the ruffle where you desire (c).

Continue piping black ruffles along the semi-circle indents until you reach the first one you piped.

Using the piping bag filled with purple buttercream and fitted with Wilton Tip 104, pipe a second set of purple ruffles directly onto each black ruffle.

Use the orange piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 32 to pipe a small shell with the tail pointed upwards where each of the ruffle sets connect. Place a black spider sprinkle onto the top of the middle shell.

Pipe a purple star about an inch beneath each space where the ruffles connect using Wilton tip 4B. Place a skull sprinkle on top of each star. Gently press a pumpkin sprinkle about ½ inch beneath each skull-topped purple star.

Step 6: Decorate the Top of the Cake 

On the top edge of the cake, pipe a shell border with Wilton Tip 32 and the orange buttercream. Pipe another shell border directly next to it using Wilton Tip 4B and the purple buttercream.

Place skull sprinkles in between the two shell borders.

Use the black piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B to pipe swirls next to the purple shell border and place an orange eyeball sprinkle on top of each swirl.

Step 7: Spray with Shimmer Dust 

For a little extra shine on all this pretty piping, I spritzed this Gold Edible Shimmer Dust all over the cake. It gives a really subtle finish of gold luster and was really fun to use! I want to top every cake with this stuff now.

And there you have it! The perfect Halloween showstopper cake for your party table, regardless of the average age on your guest list. Even if you’re not throwing a Halloween party this year, it’s a really fun cake design to whip up this spooky season!

I hope you love making this colorful, vintage-inspired Halloween lambeth cake as much as I did! If you do end up making one, let me know how it went in the comments below + be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco and @joann_stores on Instagram to show us. We’d love to see what you create!   

Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN 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 Vintage Halloween Lambeth Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

UPDATE 2023: I recently discovered a way to make black buttercream with ZERO food color gel and it’s my new favorite recipe because it won’t turn your mouth black and tastes like Oreo cookie butter! I updated the buttercream portion of the recipe to make this entire cake dye-free. If you’d prefer the original black frosting recipe (which uses minimal food color gel), you’ll find it here.

In honor of the spookiest season of all, I’ve whipped up a cake recipe that’s sure to satisfy all the Halloween lovers: black velvet. The cake layers are pitch black, super moist and decadent, naturally colored, and taste just like the delicious shell of an Oreo cookie! Paired with my favorite dye-free black buttercream recipe and lambeth piping, this black velvet cake is a real stunner. It’s elegant and a little eerie all at the same time, which makes it the perfect Halloween party cake! 

You’ve probably heard of red velvet cake (which could also be a very cool Halloween-themed cake depending on how you decorate it!), but you don’t really see black velvet cake any other time of year. It’s so delicious that I would totally eat this cake year round. I’m actually planning on using it in an Oreo-inspired cake recipe since it tastes so much like the cookie part! The color and the flavor both come from black cocoa powder, which I’ll explain more about below. 

First, look at how stunning these cake layers are with this black buttercream. The whole thing together tastes like if you sandwiched chocolate buttercream between Oreo cookie shells instead of creme filling. If you’re a chocolate lover like I am, you are going to love this black velvet cake. 

What is Black Cocoa Powder?

Black cocoa powder is basically an ultra Dutched cocoa powder, meaning it’s been treated with an alkaline solution to reduce its acidity. It’s very dark in color and while it isn’t as chocolatey as regular cocoa powder, it does have amazing flavor. It’s the main ingredient in Oreo cookie shells, and that’s basically what the cake layers end up tasting like. The best part about black cocoa powder is it gives the cake layers a rich black color without having to add any additional food coloring! That means it won’t turn your mouth crazy colors. 

I use this extra dark black cocoa powder in the frosting portion of this recipe, which makes it possible to create black buttercream without adding food color gel. The frosting ends up being a super dark brown color after you mix it up, but after 24 hours it darkens to a rich black color like magic! It won’t stain your mouth or kick off any startling bathroom experiences, plus it tastes like Oreo cookie butter so I’m in love.

Where to Find Black Cocoa Powder

You probably won’t be able to buy black cocoa powder at your local grocery store, but you might have some luck at a dedicated cake decorating supply shop. There aren’t many of those around me, so I get my black cocoa powder on Amazon. If you don’t want to get it online, you can substitute it with an equal amount of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, which can be found at most grocery stores. It’ll make the cake batter dark brown, so if you’re going for a black colored cake you’ll need to add a squirt of black food color gel to take it all the way. 

What Makes it a Velvet Cake? 

The term “velvet cake” dates back to the 1800’s. The term was used to describe the soft, delicate texture of the cakes served at fancy dessert parties. Today, there are recipes for virtually every color of velvet cake – red velvet and white velvet being the most popular. The common denominator between all of the velvet cake recipes of today is the use of buttermilk. This ingredient helps give the cakes their velvety texture. 

How to Make a Lambeth Cake

After making these cake layers, I couldn’t stop imagining black lambeth piping as the final decoration. Turns out that lambeth was the perfect choice to turn this black velvet cake into a spooky showstopper. The thing about lambeth is you can add as many layers of piping as you want, so feel free to go overboard. Here’s how I decorated mine: 

I used the black buttercream to fill and stack the cake, crumb coat it, and frost it with a smooth buttercream finish. After chilling the cake until the frosting was firm, I made a template for the garlands using this same parchment paper technique from my cherry chip cake recipe. Then, I used the following piping tips to decorate:

• Wilton Tip 6B for the shell border around the bottom + top edges
• Wilton Tip 4B for the shell border above the bottom 6B shell
• Wilton Tip 104 for the ruffle garlands
• Wilton Tip 32 for the overlapping shells below the garlands 

My cherry chip cake recipe shows these piping techniques in more detail. I finished the look by placing a few round black sprinkles to accent the ruffle garlands and overlapping shells. However you decide to decorate, this cake is so much fun to make and completely delicious. It’s the perfect cake for this scary season and I hope you love it as much as I do!

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Black Velvet Cake

100% dye-free layers of velvety black cocoa cake and black chocolate buttercream dressed up with lambeth piping for the perfect mix of elegance and spookiness.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Black Velvet Cake

• 2 Cups (265g) all purpose flour
• 1 2/3 Cups (340g) granulated sugar
• 2/3 Cup (80g) black cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 Cup (240ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
• 1 Cup (240ml) hot coffee or hot water

Dye-Free Black Buttercream

• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 Cups (600g) powdered sugar
• 1 Cup (112g) black cocoa powder**
• 4 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions

Make the Black Velvet Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax paper or parchment cake circle. 
• Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir on low for 30 seconds to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot water in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin. 
• Pour into prepared cake pans no more than 2/3 full and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the Black Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just incorporated, then add the rest of the powdered sugar. With the mixer still in the off position, sift in the black cocoa powder and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
• The buttercream will look dark brown at this point, but the color will darken significantly over the next several hours. See the recipe notes for storage instructions if you're not planning on frosting the cake the same day.

Assembly

• Once the cake layers have cooled completely, level them to your desired height. Fill and stack the layers with black buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with more black buttercream. Refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
• To create the design pictured, use the black buttercream to create a smooth finish on the cake, then refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Use the rest of the black buttercream to create lambeth piping (feel free to use this tutorial as guidance). Accent the lambeth piping with round black sprinkles where desired.

Notes

*DIY Buttermilk recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 Cup of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe. 

**For the darkest black buttercream, you’ll want to use extra dark black cocoa powder. This can also be used for the cake portion of the recipe.

Make ahead tips: 

1. The Black Velvet Cake layers can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature. 
2. The Black Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and rewhip with your stand mixer to bring back to frosting consistency. 

This black velvet cake recipe is so perfect for any Halloween gathering! I hope you love it as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.

The post A Spooky Black Velvet Cake Recipe for Halloween appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This monster shag cake is perfect for a Halloween party table and will work in any color scheme you can think of. I used five colors here: AmeriColor Super Red, Egg Yellow, Orange, Turquoise, and Sky Blue. To make your life easier, plan on using one shag piping tip per color in your palette. Sure, you can get away with using couplers to swap piping tips between colors, but the piping process will be much more enjoyable if you have as many piping tips as colors. 

Tips for Piping a Shag Cake 

Working with Wilton Tip 233 to create shag texture is a whole lot of fun, but there are a few keys to success that I want to mention:

1. Make sure your buttercream is medium consistency. I used my favorite Vanilla Buttercream recipe for this cake and it worked perfectly. It’s an American Buttercream but any type of buttercream will do for this piping technique as long as it’s not too thick or too thin. 
2. Practice first. If this is your first time piping shag, don’t be afraid to practice before you start piping directly onto the cake. You can pipe onto the side of a glass or jar to get the hang of it – basically hover the tip close to the surface and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream starts to make contact. Continue squeezing the piping bag while you pull away from the surface to create length, then quickly release pressure to end the shag. 
3. Start with a chilled buttercream cake. After crumb coating your layer cake, chill it for 20-30 minutes (or until firm) in the refrigerator. This will create the perfect surface for piping. 
4. Keep your hands cold. Run your hands under cold water and dry them thoroughly before piping. You’re going to be handling the piping bags quite a bit and the heat of your hands could start melting the buttercream inside. If it does start to become runny due to heat, you can place your piping bag in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, then gently massage the bag to mix up the buttercream and continue piping. 

Here’s a quick video of the process before you read all about making this monster shag cake below: 

If you want to see more videos like this one, check out my YouTube Channel. I’ve got a growing collection of recipe videos, cake decorating tutorials, and my Cake Basics series in video format. Click subscribe while you’re there so you never miss a new video! 

You Will Need

A 6-inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled

3 Cups of medium consistency buttercream (I used this Vanilla Buttercream)

Bowls and spoons for color mixing

5 color gels of your choice 

5x Wilton Tip 233 

5 piping bags

Candy eyeballs in various sizes (I used this set) 

Step 1: Color the Buttercream

Divide the buttercream evenly between 5 bowls. Mix the color gels into each bowl to mix up the color palette of your choice. I used AmeriColor Super Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Turquoise, and Sky Blue for this color palette (about 3 drops per color). 

Once your buttercream colors are looking good, add each color into a separate piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 233. 

Step 2: Pipe the Shag

Starting on the bottom third of the cake, pipe the first shag monster. It should be an imperfect, blob-like color block. To create the shag, hover the piping tip close to the surface of the cake and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream makes contact with the surface of the cake, then pull the tip away from the cake while you release pressure. This can take some practice, so feel free to perfect your shag piping on a glass or jar before piping directly onto the cake. 

Pipe the next shag monster in a different color directly next to the first. Feel free to make this one a little taller or shorter than the first shag monster for variety. 

Repeat adding the shag monster color blocks all around the bottom third of the cake.

Add a second row of shag monsters on top of the first row. Be sure to leave enough room for a third row of shag monsters. 

Add the final row of shag monsters on the top third of the cake and continue the shag onto the very top. Keep going until you’ve got color blocks covering every inch of the cake.

Step 3: Add the Candy Eyeballs 

Add a set of candy eyeballs to each shag color block to bring the monsters to life. Some could have just one eyeball, others could have five eyeballs or more. Feel free to use your imagination here and create some variety! 

This set of Wilton candy eyeballs really came in handy for this cake. It comes with three different sizes of eyeballs!

When you’re finished adding eyeballs to each and every monster, you’ll have the cutest Halloween cake ever. I love how this cake looks like the monsters are having a cozy little snuggle sesh. 

Did you make this monster shag cake? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave me a comment below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post Monster Shag Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

UPDATE 2023: I recently found a way to make black buttercream with ZERO food color gel, so if you’re looking for a dye-free alternative be sure to check out this recipe.

Spooky season is here and with it, lots of black buttercream cakes. I’m no stranger to the trend and before now I’ve stuck with a method of making my Favorite Chocolate Buttercream recipe and adding a few Tbsp of AmeriColor Super Black. Since this food color gel is tasteless, the black buttercream still tastes like chocolate buttercream but there is one little problem: it stains teeth temporarily (among other things). So I thought I’d do a little research and experimenting to see if I could create a black buttercream recipe that not only tastes great, it uses as little food coloring as possible to get a nice deep color. 

First, I ordered some black cocoa powder. It’s cocoa powder that has been heavily Dutched, aka alkalized. It helps provide a rich black color, so I swapped the cocoa powder in my Chocolate Buttercream recipe with it to see if it would be all it took. The results: a really dark brown buttercream that tasted a bit bitter, almost like a dark chocolate buttercream. I still needed to use about ½ tsp of AmeriColor Super Black to get it looking right, and it passed the “no teeth stain” test, but I really wanted to make it taste amazing. If flavor isn’t an option (or if you’re a fan of dark chocolate unlike myself), this route is definitely worth a try! 

Since I wanted to get that perfect balance of chocolate flavor, deep black color, and perfect consistency without using too much food coloring, I tried again. This time, I used a mix of half black cocoa powder and half regular (Hershey’s) cocoa powder. The results were again a dark brown color, and this time I had to use about ¾ tsp AmeriColor Super Black. BUT all that to say, this one is the winning black buttercream recipe in my eyes – it passes the “no teeth stain” test, has the perfect black color, and tastes just like my Favorite Chocolate Buttercream recipe. It’s the one I’ll put below. 

3 Key Elements for Black Buttercream Success

If you’ve ever tried to turn a big batch of vanilla buttercream black using only food coloring, you know that it takes a lot of coloring. So much that it can not only ruin the flavor and consistency of your buttercream, it’s costly and isn’t really fun to eat because everyone is left with a black mouth. Instead, going from a deep brown color (aka chocolate buttercream) to black is much easier and takes a lot less coloring. Before you get to buttercream making, here are three key things to keep in mind for black buttercream success: 

1. Start with a chocolate buttercream recipe. It’s much easier to go from brown buttercream to black than it is to go from white to black. By adding cocoa powder into the mix, you save yourself a lot of food color gel (and stress!). I prefer using half black cocoa powder + half regular cocoa powder in my recipe below. You can certainly substitute the regular cocoa powder in the recipe with all black cocoa to use even less food color gel, but the taste will be more like a dark chocolate as opposed to a milk chocolate buttercream.  
2. Use a concentrated black color gel. I swear by AmeriColor Super Black because it’s so concentrated that you truly don’t have to use a whole lot to get a rich black color. It’s also formulated in such a way that it won’t affect the flavor or consistency of your buttercream. 
3. Give it 24 hours to deepen in color. It may look like wet concrete when you first mix it up, but time is magic with this stuff. Give it at least 24 hours to deepen in color and you’ll be blown away at how dark it gets. This is definitely worth making ahead. 

Here’s a quick video that shows you how to whip this black buttercream recipe up.

PS: If you’re into recipe and cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to follow along on my YouTube channel! You’ll find my entire Cake Basics series in video format there, plus tons of recipes and cake decorating tutorials as well. Hit the subscribe button so you never miss a new one! Without further ado, here’s the recipe:

Print

Black Buttercream Recipe

A pitch black buttercream that checks all the boxes: decadent chocolate flavor, perfect consistency, and won't stain your teeth!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 3 Cups

Ingredients

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup (30g) black cocoa powder
• 1/4 Cup (20g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp AmeriColor Super Black or other black food color gel

Instructions

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add the powdered sugar, cocoa powders, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Turn the mixer to low until all ingredients start to come together.
• Add the black food color gel, increase the speed to medium and beat for two full minutes. The color will resemble wet concrete at first, but will darken as time goes on.
• Place the buttercream in an airtight container and allow the color to deepen for 24 hours or more.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: this buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and rewhip with your stand mixer to bring back to frosting consistency. 

Yield: This buttercream makes enough to:

• Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
• Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe. 

Did you make this black buttercream recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram and show me. I love to see what you create!

The post Black Buttercream Recipe with Minimal Food Coloring appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This Dia De Los Muertos mix is ideal for adding to Day of the Dead themed cupcakes or cakes. The color scheme is perfectly vibrant, and my favorite part is that the mix comes with plenty of those cute little sugar skulls. I want a whole bottle of those cuties just to stare at them! Just look at how fun these sprinkles are:

Although these sprinkles are outstanding on their own, I decided to make some spiderweb cake toppers using piped Wilton Candy Melts. The spiderwebs are so easy to make and the best part is that they’re fully dry and ready to use in about ten minutes. After topping the cupcakes with an edible spiderweb and sprinkling with the Dia De Los Muertos mix, these cupcakes have the perfect balance of pretty and scary.

I made a quick video of the process so you can see the techniques it takes to get the look. From the Candy Melt spiderweb toppers to piping and sprinkling the cupcakes, here are all the visual details before you read about them below:

PS: If you love watching videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! I post cake decorating videos and recipes there quite often, so be sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss a thing.

You Will Need:

• Wilton Candy Melts in White
• Piping bags
• Wilton Tip 3
• Wax paper
• Baking sheet
• 12-15 baked cupcakes
• One batch of vanilla buttercream
• Black, purple, and orange food color gels
• Wilton Tip 1M (x3)
• 4 oz bottle of Dia De Los Muertos sprinkles

Step 1: Make The Candy Melt Spiderwebs

Spread a sheet of wax paper onto a baking sheet. Then, melt your Wilton Candy Melts in the microwave according to the package instructions. Alternatively, you can use white chocolate chips for this part, but I love the Candy Melts because they’re a much brighter white than white chocolate chips, which tend to be a bit yellow. 

Add the melted Candy Melt mixture to a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 3, then pipe spider web designs onto the wax paper.

At this point, you can let them air dry or speed up the process by popping the baking sheet into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. When they’re completely dry to the touch, remove the wax paper backing from each spiderweb.

Step 2: Prepare The Buttercream

Divide the buttercream into three separate bowls for color mixing. Add black food coloring to the first bowl, purple food coloring to the second bowl, and orange food coloring to the third bowl. Mix until you have the desired shades for your buttercream color palette.

When you’ve got the perfect colors, add each color to a separate piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 1M. 

Step 3: Pipe The Cupcakes

Using each of the piping bags, pipe swirls onto each cupcake starting on the outer edge of the cupcake and spiraling the buttercream toward the center.

When you’re finished, all of your buttercream colors should be represented equally amongst the cupcakes. 

Step 4: Top The Cupcakes

Top each cupcake with a white chocolate spiderweb and sprinkle the Dia De Los Muertos mix generously. Make sure that each cupcake gets at least one sugar skull, because they’re the cutest!

And there you have it – an easy way to create Halloween or Day of the Dead themed cupcakes with the prettiest spooky sprinkles around.

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 Dia De Los Muertos Spiderweb Cupcakes appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This cake is Candy Corn colored inside and out, and JOANN had everything I needed to make it pop. The outside of the cake is rolled in white, yellow, and orange Wilton Sugar Sprinkles and I’m in love with how the texture turned out! The finish is meant to be a little imperfect (just like real Candy Corn), and I’m convinced that the rolling-in-sugar technique is fail proof for this particular design. 

Coloring the inside of the cake is completely optional, but it’s such a fun surprise to cut into the cake layers and see the colors inside. To get the look, I colored some Vanilla Cake batter with the yellow and orange gels from the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System before baking the layers. It’s an extra little step, but worth it if you want those Candy Corn colors throughout.

I whipped up a quick video of the process for baking and decorating this Candy Corn cake. Be sure to give it a watch before following the written steps below for a truly eye-catching and non-scary Halloween cake:

You Will Need

• Three 6-inch cake pans
• 6 Cups (one batch) vanilla cake batter
• Orange and Yellow color gels
• Wilton Cake Leveler
• Two 6-inch cake cardboards
• Two batches of vanilla buttercream
• 4 piping bags
• Icing smoother
• Angled spatula
• 1 bottle White Sugar Sprinkles
• 1 bottle Yellow Sugar Sprinkles
• 1 Bottle Orange Sugar Sprinkles
• Sheet pan
• Wilton Tip 4B
• Candy Corn

Step 1: Create the Colored Cake Layers (optional)

Prepare three 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Pour plain vanilla buttercream into one of the pans to fill it ⅔ full. Then, divide the remaining batter evenly amongst two separate bowls. In one bowl, add a few drops of yellow food color gel and in the second bowl, add a few drops of orange food color gel. Gently stir to combine and be careful not to overmix the batter. 

Pour the yellow cake batter into one pan and the orange cake batter into the other pan. Bake all three layers according to the recipe instructions and let them cool completely.

When they’re cooled, use the Wilton Cake Leveler to level off the tops.

Step 3: Fill and Crumb Coat the Cake

Set a 6-inch cardboard cake circle onto your cake turntable and place a dab of buttercream on top before placing your yellow cake layer on. Fill with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream and place the orange cake layer on top. Frost another thin layer of filling on top of your orange layer before placing your white layer on top, bottom side up.

Frost a very thin layer, or crumb coat, of vanilla buttercream on top of the cake and smooth it with your icing scraper and angled spatula.

Place the cake into the refrigerator to firm up while you move on to Step 4. 

Step 4: Color the Buttercream

Divide the remaining vanilla buttercream into three separate bowls. Leave one bowl white, then add a few drops of yellow food color gel to the second bowl and a few drops of orange food color gel to the third. Mix until you’ve got the perfect candy corn color palette.

Add each buttercream color to a separate piping bag with about ½ inch opening snipped off the end. 

Step 5: Frost the Cake 

Starting at the bottom of the cake, pipe the yellow buttercream horizontally until you reach the top of the yellow cake layer. Next, pipe the orange buttercream until you reach the top of the orange cake layer. Finally, pipe the white buttercream onto the top third of the cake, including the very top.

Smooth the sides of your cake with an icing scraper until they’re perfectly level, then use your angled spatula to swipe the top edges inward to create sharp edges. Getting the cake nice and level is key, as this will be the final shape of your cake once it’s rolled in sprinkles.

When you’re happy with your smoothness, pop the cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or until the buttercream is firm to the touch. 

Step 6: Roll in Sugar Sprinkles

Measure out and record how tall each colored section is on your cake. Then, spread out the sugar sprinkles to match your measurements for rolling the cake. For example, my yellow buttercream was about 2 inches in height, so I spread out the yellow sugar sprinkles to create a 2 inch tall section and so on.

Place a cardboard cake circle on top of the chilled cake and carefully roll it in the sugar sprinkles until the sides are covered in a candy corn ombrè. 

Step 7: Decorate the Top

Place the sugared cake back on the turntable and remove the top cake cardboard. Add some white sugar sprinkles to the top of the cake and smooth them out with your angled spatula until the entire top is covered.

From here, I piped some white buttercream swirls to border the top with Wilton Tip 4B, sprinkled some more sugar sprinkles on top of the piping, and added a candy corn piece to each swirl.

Now you’ve got the perfect Halloween party cake that everyone can appreciate! I’m a little obsessed with how cute it is:

Be sure to visit your local JOANN store for all of the supplies you need, including a bag of Candy Corn! And if the closest JOANN is a bit of a drive, you can find all of these supplies (and more!) on their website. Their selection of cake decorating supplies and tools is so good, they’re sure to become your go-to.

Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN 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 Halloween Candy Corn Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This Witch Cauldron Cake is frosted with black buttercream, dripped with green (white chocolate) ganache, and topped with some creepy gummy candies and eyeballs. I finished it all off with a generous heap of green cotton candy to make it look like the cauldron steam. The full step-by-step with all my best tips on how to get pitch black buttercream, the perfect drippy ganache finish, and details on decorating is all over on The Cake Blog, so be sure to check out the tutorial there! In the meantime, here are some photos to inspire you:

Perfect amount of spooky and cute, right? I think so! Head to The Cake Blog to see the full tutorial and if you end up making this cake, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco and @thecakeblog on Instagram. We love to see what you create! Happy Halloween season, people!

The post Halloween Witch Cauldron Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I’m one of those people who starts making big plans for costume ideas months ahead of time and watches all the scary movies as soon as they hit Netflix. So when I saw some sneak peeks of SprinklePop’s Halloween sprinkle lineup, I couldn’t help my brain from bursting with spooky cake ideas! I got my hands on the Monster Mashup sprinkle mix as soon as it hit the shelves and got right to work on planning the ultimate Halloween cake.

The Monster Mashup sprinkle mix is just what it sounds like: a fun collection of monster-esque sprinkles mixed up with some pretty Halloween colored awesomeness. It’s well-saturated with cute candy mummies, googly eyes, and ghosts. Just look at the variety of shapes and colors you get:

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided that the perfect backdrop for these Monster Mashup sprinkles is black buttercream. Pitch black buttercream to be exact. Using a floating technique for placing the sprinkles, it almost looks like those googly eyes, mummies, and ghosts are levitating in the dark! To add to the spook-factor, I’ve also topped the cake with some white cotton candy that’s reminiscent of cauldron smoke.

And because I’m an ultra Halloween nerd, I also tinted the vanilla cake with orange food color gel underneath it all. Everyone knows orange and black are the signature colors of this horrifying holiday. Muah ha ha ha.

I’ve included a full written tutorial below for how to make and assemble this cake, from achieving pitch black buttercream to perfectly placing your Monster Mashup sprinkles. First, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the decorating process: 

Whether you’re in need of a Halloween party showstopper or you just want to make something for the love of spooky cakes, this one’s for you!

You Will Need:

• Chocolate buttercream (here’s the recipe I use)
• 2 tsp Americolor Super Black food color gel
• A great vanilla cake recipe
• A few drops of orange food color gel, optional
• Icing spatula and scraper
• SprinklePop Monster Mashup Sprinkles
• Piping Bag
• Wilton Piping Tip 1M (or another favorite piping tip)
• White cotton candy

Step 1: Make The Chocolate Buttercream

Going from large amounts of white buttercream to black is near impossible. I’ve successfully tinted small quantities before, but in my experience, the easiest way to turn large amounts of buttercream pitch black is to start with your favorite chocolate buttercream recipe. Since brown is not far from black on the color wheel, you won’t have to use a ton of food coloring to get there.

If you don’t yet have a favorite chocolate buttercream recipe, I’ve got a great one for you here! You’ll want to double that recipe to have enough for filling and frosting this cake.

Step 2: Tint The Chocolate Buttercream Black

To get the best consistency of black buttercream, you need a food color gel that’s so concentrated you don’t need to use the entire bottle. My absolute favorite food color gel for the job is Americolor Super Black. It’s a water-based gel and is so powerful you’ll only need a little bit of color! And best of all, it doesn’t affect the taste of your buttercream at all. Not even a little bit.

Once you’ve made your chocolate buttercream, add 2 tsp of Americolor Super Black and make sure it’s fully incorporated. I add it at the end while my buttercream is still in the stand mixer and let the paddle attachment do all the hard work for me.

Step 3: Let The Buttercream Set Overnight

After adding your food color gel, note that your chocolate buttercream won’t be pitch black right away. It’ll probably look a bit like dark concrete. The missing ingredient here is time. In order to let that food color gel work it’s magic, you’ll need to add your buttercream to an airtight container and stick it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, bring it back to room temperature and whip it all back up in your stand mixer.

What you’ll end up with is pitch black buttercream magic!

Step 4: Bake And Cool The Cakes

While your buttercream is setting in the fridge, whip up your favorite vanilla cake recipe and add a few drops of orange food color gel at the end to tint the cakes.

Bake the cakes according to your recipe instructions and let them cool completely before torting the layers to your desired height.

Step 5: Fill And Frost With Black Buttercream

Once your cakes are completely cool and leveled, fill and frost them with your black buttercream. I’ve created a smooth black buttercream finish as the backdrop for my sprinkles.

I use an offset icing spatula and bench scraper to achieve the perfect smooth buttercream finish, and if you need additional tips on how to create this look, you can check out this blog post on how to get the smoothest finish ever.

Step 6: Apply The Monster Mashup Sprinkles

Now for the fun part: adding the sprinkles! To achieve the floating monster sprinkle look, reserve some of the googly eyes, mummies, and ghosts from your Monster Mashup sprinkle mix and set them aside. While the buttercream is still soft enough for the sprinkles to adhere, pour a handful of the Halloween colored sprinkles into your hand and place them around the bottom of the cake.

Cover the entire bottom third of the cake this way, making the top edge of the sprinkle border slightly uneven as you go around.

Once your sprinkle border is complete, take the monster sprinkles you’ve reserved and place them one by one around the top two thirds of the cake. It looks best when there are more monsters toward the bottom and less toward the top. I’ve also chosen to add some of the colored jimmies one by one to fill in some of the blank spaces.

Step 7: Decorate The Top Of The Cake

When your spooky Monster Mashup sprinkle placement is complete, prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 1M or another favorite piping tip of yours. Fill the piping bag with black buttercream and pipe a border around the top of the cake. I’ve chosen to pipe a few swirls around the top of the cake and sprinkle with more Monster Mashup sprinkles.

Stretch out the white cotton candy so it looks a little more like cauldron smoke and less like a clump of cotton, then place it on the top of your cake.

How cool is this cake? Definitely a showstopper for your Halloween festivities! This design will work with any of SprinklePop’s Halloween sprinkles, but I think the Monster Mashup does the trick quite well. Happy Halloween month to all!

The post Spooky Black Buttercream Halloween Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.