Hooray that it’s nearly summertime! It’s my favorite time of year, mainly because Portland gets sunny and so picturesque. I just want to be outside 24/7 soaking it all up! Since ice cream is such an iconic summer treat, I wanted to use it as inspiration for these Banana Split Cupcakes. There’s no actual ice cream involved, just tons of cuteness and flavors that are so perfect together.

These Banana Split Cupcakes start with the perfect banana cupcake recipe, enhanced with a little cinnamon to really bring out the flavor. The secret to the perfect banana flavor is using over-ripe (aka brown spotted) bananas, so if you ever find yourself in a situation where your bananas are too ripe to eat, it’s always a good excuse to bake with them! If your bananas are not as ripe, the flavor won’t come through as well, so make sure you wait until the peel starts browning for maximum taste.

Next, I topped the banana cupcakes with a scoop of cold vanilla buttercream and it’s amazing how much it looks like ice cream! If you don’t have an ice cream scoop for this part, a spoon will totally do the trick. Just scoop out a bit of buttercream and top the cupcake, then use a spoon to shape it until it looks like ice cream.

To finish the look, I drizzled a little chocolate ganache, added some sprinkles, and topped these beauties with a maraschino cherry. I’m a little obsessed with how they look! For the sprinkles, you can use any rainbow jimmies, but I used the jimmies from the Rainbow Road mix by SprinklePop. It’s no secret that I love their sprinkles, and if you’re in the need of the perfect sprinkle mix for your cake projects, don’t forget to use my code SUGARANDSPARROW15 for 15% off your order.

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Banana Split Cupcakes Recipe

Tasty banana cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, sprinkles, and maraschino cherries. Perfect for any Summer shindig!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Banana Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 Cup (173g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 Cup (177ml) mashed banana (about 2 large)
• 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (94g) packed brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup (103g) white granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 Cup (79ml) full-fat buttermilk, room temperature

Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• pinch of salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 Cup (92g) semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 Cup (79ml) heavy whipping cream

Additional Garnishes

• rainbow sprinkles
• maraschino cherries

Instructions

Make The Banana Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a muffin pan by lining with cupcake tins. Measure the flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it, then whisk it together with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon and set aside.
• Place the bananas in the bowl of your stand mixer and mash them with a paddle attachment on medium for about 30 seconds. Set aside.
• Cream the butter on high for 1 minute. Add the white and brown sugars and cream on high for another 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.  Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat for 1 full minute, then scrape down the bowl and paddle. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients until just combined, then add the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Give it a few stirs with your spatula to ensure that everything is nice and mixed up without overmixing. The batter will be thick.
• Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake tins ⅔ of the way full, then bake for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for five minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.

Make The Vanilla Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
• Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. 
• Place the buttercream into an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Make The Chocolate Ganache

• Place chocolate chips into a heat resistant bowl (glass or metal). In a saucepan over medium-high heat, warm heavy whipping cream until it just starts to boil. I always look for small bubbles forming around the edge and a soft boil starting in the middle. When you see that it’s just starting to boil, pour it into your bowl of chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds, then whisk it together until it's uniform in consistency and there are no bits of chocolate left on your whisk.
• Cool ganache at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or until the ganache itself is room temperature. 

Assembly

• Once the Banana Cupcakes have cooled completely, add a scoop of cold Vanilla Buttercream on top of each one and shape it with a spoon until it resembles a scoop of real ice cream. Drizzle the buttercream with Chocolate Ganache (make sure it's room temperature, not hotter or colder than that), add the rainbow sprinkles, and place a maraschino cherry on top.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: The Banana Cupcakes can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Alternatively, you can place them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month before thawing and using. 

The Vanilla Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before thawing, re-whipping with your stand mixer, and using. 

The Chocolate Ganache can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, microwave it in 10 second increments, stirring after every interval until your ganache is room temperature and uniform in consistency.

Did you make this cupcake recipe? I want to know what you think! Let me know in the comments below or feel free to tag me on Instagram. I love to see what you’re caking!

The post Banana Split Cupcakes Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

A little over a year ago, my husband kept pushing the idea of turning my love for cake into a blog and although I liked the idea of it, I was absolutely terrified of the idea at the same time. I’d never had a blog before, never taken photos with a DSLR camera (so happy I upgraded to this one from my iPhone though!), and had never shared my recipes with anyone. What if they only worked in my own kitchen and were a disaster everywhere else? Somehow, I pushed the fear aside and got to work on what is now Sugar & Sparrow. What a wild ride it’s been!

I want to thank you A MILLION for following along and cheering me on with all this cake stuff. I couldn’t do any of it without you and am so amazed to find myself part of such a kind, inspiring community of bakers. I’m blessed by you all and consider you a huge part of my journey as a cake maker and recipe writer. You’ve grown my confidence a ton and I hope that you’re feeling more confident in the kitchen too!

That being said, to celebrate my blogiversary, I’ll be hosting a few giveaways on my Instagram channel over the next few weeks to give you all a chance to win some of my can’t-live-without cake decorating supplies. I hope they bring you even more kitchen confidence! Here are the details:

• This week: $100 worth of SprinklePop sprinkles (hello!) for making those cakes pop
• Next week: an Americolor Heavenly Seventy kit with (you guessed it!) seventy different soft gel pastes for making the most beautiful buttercream colors on earth.

Details to come on all of those things, be sure to follow along on my Instagram so you don’t miss any of it!

And for a trip down memory lane, here are some of my favorite recipes and tutorials from the past year:

Chocolate Ganache Drip Cake Tips

This is the perfect chocolate ganache recipe for dripping cakes, plus all of my best tips for achieving drip cake greatness!

If you’re working with milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate, this one is the best ratio. If you’re more of a white chocolate ganache drip caker, this one is my favorite ratio.  

Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe

The perfect buttercream recipe for every salted caramel lover! It all starts with a batch of my easy four-ingredient salted caramel, then I’ll show you how to whip it up into tasty buttercream for filling and frosting cakes.

Spatula Painted Cake Tutorial

One of the easiest ways to decorate a colorful, eye-catching cake. Just mix up your favorite color palette, grab a small icing spatula, and go crazy!

Milk & Cereal Cake Recipe

This one’s for all the cereal lovers and it pairs perfectly with your Saturday morning cartoons. The best part about this recipe is it works with any cereal, so grab a box of your favorite and I’ll show you how to turn it into a tasty Milk & Cereal cake, plus how to make the perfect white chocolate milk splash to top it!

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

One of the number one recipe requests I get is for my basic vanilla buttercream. It’s perfect for piping buttercream flowers, topping cupcakes, and frosting smooth buttercream cakes.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe

A decadent, moist chocolate cake that’s almost as easy as whipping up a box of cake mix! All of the ingredients go into one bowl, making the mixing process totally failproof, and from start to finish you’ll have the perfect chocolate cake batter in about five minutes.

How To Frost A Smooth Buttercream Cake

This tutorial will walk you through all my tips and techniques for frosting a super smooth buttercream cake finish. You’re gonna want to know these tricks!

Thanks again SO MUCH for all of your support and I’m looking forward to all that’s to come in year two and beyond!  

The post Sugar & Sparrow Is ONE! appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

One of my favorite go-to things to bake are actually the simplest things ever: chocolate chip cookies. I don’t have a fancy recipe (I literally just use the one on the back of the Hershey’s chocolate chip package), but in my opinion, a warm chocolate chip cookie dipped in milk at the end of a long day is like heaven. So as I was whipping up a batch the other day, I had an epiphany: why not translate the deliciousness of chocolate chip cookies and milk into cake form? It didn’t take me long after that to start testing recipes for the best milk & cookies cake ever. Here’s what happened:

It’s a chocolate chip cookie flavored cake with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and plenty of homemade chocolate chip cookies on top! I’m calling it a Milk & Cookies Cake as a nod to its inspiration.

Let’s talk about this cake. I based the ingredients off of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, so there are both brown and white sugars involved in the creaming process. The brown sugar gives such a deep, rich flavor and adds a little bit of moisture. I wanted it to be extra moist though, so I added a some sour cream to the batter as well.

You can use regular sized chocolate chips in this recipe, but I opted for mini chocolate chips instead! Either way, be sure to coat them in a few Tbsp of flour before folding them into your batter at the end. That will make it less likely for them to sink to the bottom of your cake layers in the baking process.

Vanilla buttercream is the milk to this chocolate chip cookie cake, and it provides a nice subtle flavor to wrap it all up in. Just like milk to a cookie, it’s a great complementary flavor that doesn’t try to steal the spotlight. Not too sweet, just right.

I used Wilton Tip 1M to pipe a buttercream rope border on top, then topped it with some homemade chocolate chip cookies to really go the extra mile! Here’s a quick video to show you the entire decorating process, from filling and frosting the cake layers to garnishing with cookies and chocolate ganache:

Like I said before, I’m all about the basic recipe on the back of the Hershey’s chocolate chip bag (although sometimes I get a little crazy and substitute the vanilla extract for almond extract – so tasty!), but if you’ve got a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and want to make them your cake toppers, my hat’s off to you. If you want to use store bought cookies like Chips Ahoy instead, you totally have my blessing. However you decorate it, you can be sure that this cake will satisfy all the cookies and milk loving people in your life!

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Milk & Cookie Cake

A decadent chocolate chip cookie flavored cake topped with vanilla buttercream and extra chocolate chip cookies for good measure.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

• 3 3/4 Cups (400g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/8 Cup (254g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 Cup (220g) granulated white sugar
• 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (112g) sour cream, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Cups (355ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups (283g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, coated in 1.5 Tbsp flour

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

For Garnish (optional)

• chocolate chip cookies
• chocolate ganache drip (see link below)

Instructions

Make The Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans. 
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and sour cream, turn the mixer to high, and mix for one minute, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the whole milk and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps, then fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (about 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cakes are done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.

Make The Vanilla Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
• Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated. 

Assembly

• Fill and frost the cake layers with vanilla buttercream. Crumble the chocolate chip cookies (either homemade or store-bought) and garnish the cake by adding them to the bottom third of the frosted cake, pressing the crumbles in to the sides. 
• If garnishing with a chocolate ganache drip, chill the cake for 30 minutes before dripping with ganache. Finish by piping a border on top with vanilla buttercream (I used Wilton Tip 1M) and placing whole chocolate chip cookies on top. 

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: the cake layers can be made ahead and stored (wrapped in plastic) at room temperature for up to one day. Alternatively, you can wrap the cake layers in plastic and store them in the freezer for up to two months. When you’re ready to use them, thaw them to room temperature before continuing with the frosting and decorating process.

The vanilla buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one 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 re-whip with your stand mixer on medium for one minute to bring it back to frosting consistency. 

The post Milk & Cookies Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Hands down, my favorite Thanksgiving tradition is spending an entire day cooking all the food. There’s something so special about working side-by-side in the kitchen with someone you love, turning the music up loud enough to sing, and tackling a huge list of foods to make! It all started with my sweet mom and I, and although she passed away years ago, I’ve been able to keep the tradition alive with my mother-in-law. Of all the things we make together for Thanksgiving, there’s one thing I’m solely responsible for: the pies.

Although my pie game is usually a tiny bit better than average, this year it was almost as if I’d never baked a thing in my whole life! After laboring over the perfect butter crust and decadent chocolate caramel pecan filling, the pie wouldn’t set. It’s a recipe I’ve made successfully before (see the pic above), but this year.. oh man. Just imagine chocolate caramel soup with pecans floating around in it. It’s a good thing situations like these can be redeemed with these chocolate caramel pecan cupcakes!

Inspired by the pie recipe that went horribly wrong, these chocolate caramel pecan cupcakes are downright decadent: moist chocolate cupcakes topped with salted caramel buttercream, rolled in chopped pecans and drizzled with chocolate ganache and salted caramel. They’ll satisfy the chocolate caramel lover at any gathering! And best of all, they’re easier than pie.

You can decorate these cupcakes any way you’d like, but I love piping a swirl of buttercream with my Wilton tip 4B and rolling the edges in chopped pecans before all the drizzling. Since the chocolate ganache and salted caramel recipes do require some cooling time before decorating, I recommend making these two elements ahead of time (they’ll keep for up to two weeks in the fridge!) so you don’t have to wait around for them to cool down. And with everything prepped and ready to go, you can really whip them up in a jiffy!

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Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cupcakes

Moist chocolate cupcakes topped with a swirl of caramel buttercream, rolled in chopped pecans, and drizzled with chocolate ganache and caramel. 

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/3 cups (184g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (63g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (200g) white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240ml) boiling water

Salted Caramel Buttercream

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) salted caramel, room temperature (recipe link below)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Garnishes

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• salted caramel (recipe link below)
• chocolate ganache (recipe link below)

Instructions

Make The Chocolate Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 325˚F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Place the sifted dry ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar to the mixture and mix at low speed until blended. Add the vegetable oil and continue to mix until the mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute.
• In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract until blended. With the mixer at low speed, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix for two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as necessary.
• Slowly add the boiling water and mix until just blended and the batter is smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle to ensure uniform consistency. Pour the batter evenly amongst cupcake liners, about ⅔ full each. Bake the cupcakes for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool thoroughly before frosting.

Make The Salted Caramel Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high until it’s fluffy and light (almost white in color), 5-6 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each interval. Add the vanilla. 
• With the mixer still on low, add the salted caramel. Add a pinch of salt, increase the speed to medium, and mix for 2 full minutes.

Assembly

• Once the chocolate cupcakes have cooled completely, top them with a swirl of Salted Caramel Buttercream (I used Wilton Tip 4B). Roll the edges in chopped pecans and drizzle the cupcakes with Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ganache. 

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: I recommend making at least the Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ganache recipes at least one day ahead. Each of those recipes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use them, bring them back to room temperature and then microwave in 10 second increments to bring them back to drizzling consistency. 

The Chocolate 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. 

The buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, re-whip with your stand mixer.

How are the Holidays treating you? I’m in full-on Christmas mode now that Thanksgiving has passed and really excited to share some festive cake tutorials and recipes with you! Let me know how you like these chocolate caramel pecan cupcakes in the comments below, or feel free to tag me on Instagram – I love to see what you’re making!

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