When it comes to salted caramel, this recipe is as versatile as can be. I’ve used it to drip cakes, drizzle cupcakes, coat apples, top ice cream, and have even whipped it up into salted caramel buttercream! It’s one of my forever go-to’s that has never let me down. If you’ve ever struggled with salted caramel before, I hope this one becomes your fail-proof friend.

While I’ve tried my hand at some more intricate salted caramel recipes before, this one is my favorite for a few reasons: there are only four ingredients involved, it turns out the same every single time, and it’s the perfect amount of sweet and salty. I have been known to eat it by the spoonful!

One of the keys to success with this recipe is to have your ingredients already pre-measured, room temperature, and ready to go, because you’ll constantly be stirring and whisking. We all know that caramel likes to burn when you stop stirring even for a few seconds (it’s sneaky like that!), so it’s always good to keep those pre-measured ingredients and recipe instructions close by. That’ll keep you cool, calm, and collected throughout the entire process.

Another good tip is to have an oven mit or glove handy so you don’t burn your hand while whisking. When certain ingredients are added (butter and heavy whipping cream specifically), the salted caramel will bubble rapidly and send all the steam toward your whisking hand. Trust me on this one.

From start to finish, this salted caramel recipe only takes about fifteen minutes. After you make it, you can leave it out on the counter to cool before using it in a recipe (like this tasty salted caramel buttercream) or put it in an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to two weeks. It reheats just fine in the microwave if you’re a make-ahead type of baker and makes a great gift if you’re looking for some yummy DIY’s for the holidays.

To add to it’s versatility, you can even use this salted caramel recipe to drip cakes! I’ve used it plenty of times to create a gooey caramel drip effect. Just make sure your buttercream cake is chilled and the salted caramel is room temperature before attempting this (aka follow these tips on creating drip cakes) and you’ll be good to go. Here’s how this salted caramel recipe looks as a drip:

Whether you gift it, whip it up into buttercream, drizzle your desserts, or dip your apples in it, this salted caramel is sure to please and easy as can be! Just the way I like it. Here’s a quick video of the process before you read all about it below:

PS: If you’re into recipe videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! You’ll find more of my favorite recipes, cake decorating tutorials, and so much more. Click the Subscribe button while you’re there so you never miss a new video!

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Salted Caramel

An easy and versatile salted caramel recipe that’s perfect for dripping cakes, drizzling over desserts, dipping apples, or eating by the spoonful. 

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 Cup (200g) white granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

• Have everything pre-measured and ready to go (you’ll be constantly stirring). Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 5-6 minutes. 
• Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, 2-3 minutes. 
• Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt. 
• Let the caramel cool to room temperature* before using it in a buttercream recipe or as a cake topping. If you’re using it to drizzle over ice cream or warm baked goods, you only need to cool it slightly (20 minutes or so). It will thicken as it cools. 

Notes

Make Ahead Tip: You can make this salted caramel ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, reheat it in the microwave in 15 second intervals until it reaches room temperature. 

*The term “room temperature” will vary depending on your environment. This caramel should be soft and set at about 70ºF. If it’s too firm at room temperature, simply microwave it in 10 second increments until it’s runny enough for dripping/pouring but not hot enough to melt buttercream. 

 

The post Easy Salted Caramel Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

These past few months have been crazy. Between the demands of the holiday season coming up and working on a never-ending list of house projects, I am feeling perpetually frazzled these days. Despite the chaos, I thought a little recipe creating sesh would be perfect for me because baking does something good to my soul. I was right. I put on some Springsteen and decided to try my hand at creating the perfect pumpkin layer cake. Five rounds of bakes and a handful of albums later, I am so thrilled with how this Pumpkin Layer Cake turned out.

I tried baking this recipe with all purpose flour vs. cake flour, with buttermilk vs. whole milk, with just white sugar vs. a combination of white and brown sugars. In the end, the winners were cake flour, buttermilk, and the white and brown sugar combo. It’s deliciously moist because of the buttermilk, totally fluffy from the cake flour, and the combination of sweetness and spice is divine. Just look at this crumb: 

The pumpkin flavor of this cake comes from canned, pureed pumpkin and a medley of beautiful spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. It’s so classic to pair this pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese buttercream, and in my opinion the flavor combo never gets old. I bet it would taste amazing with my spiced chai vanilla buttercream too if you want to get really autumnal (imagine a pumpkin spiced chai latte but in cake form!). 

The cream cheese buttercream recipe you’ll find below is sturdy and pipe-able without being overly sweet, which is why it’s my forever go-to. I colored some of it with Americolor Orange and Wedgewood and used Wilton Tips 8B and 4B to pipe those cute little pumpkins on top. Probably the easiest way to create buttercream pumpkins, ever. I piped them into a crescent moon shape because it gives me all the feels, but you do you. 

I decided to repurpose some of the pumpkin cake scraps into toasted cake crumbs that I pressed onto the sides of the cake and sprinkled around the piped pumpkins on top. It adds a great texture and I always feel good about finding a way to use leftover cake! I just crumbled the cake scraps into a pan and toasted them on the stovetop for about 10 minutes, stirring them frequently until they began to crisp. You can toast cake crumbs in the oven as well, but it takes almost an hour at a low temp, and I was impatient (hence the stovetop). Just be sure to let them cool completely before you use them on your cake and you’re good to go!

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Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake

A Fall classic. Layers of moist, fluffy Pumpkin cake with just the right amount of spice, filled and frosted with tasty cream cheese buttercream.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Layer Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
• 1 Cup (205g) white granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz) canned pumpkin puree
• 1 Cup (240ml) full fat buttermilk DIY recipe in notes below

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 Oz cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spreadable kind
• 8 Cup (960g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Pumpkin Layer Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Measure the cake flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it. Place it into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium-high, 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 buttermilk in a steady stream 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. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for ten minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.

Make The Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds.

Assembly

• Once the Pumpkin Cake layers have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Cream Cheese Buttercream. To create the design pictured, divide the leftover buttercream into four separate bowls. Use food color gel of your choice to create orange buttercream in the first bowl, light blue buttercream in the second, and brown buttercream in the third, keeping the last bowl uncolored. Fit three piping bags with Wilton Tips 8B (for the larger pumpkins) and 4B (for the smaller ones), then fill them with the orange, blue, and white buttercreams. Pipe pumpkins in a crescent moon design on top of the cake, then pipe a dot of brown buttercream on top of each one to look like stems. Finish the cake by pressing toasted cake crumbs** onto the sides and sprinkling them over the top (recipe in the notes below).

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The Cream Cheese Buttercream 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, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

*DIY Buttermilk Recipe: Add 1 Tbsp white vinegar into a mason jar or measuring cup. Add one cup (240ml) whole milk and let sit for at least 15 minutes before using in a recipe. 

**Toasted Cake Crumbs Recipe:  crumble cake scraps into a frying pan and toast on the stovetop on medium for about 10 minutes, until the cake crumbs begin to crisp. Let them cool completely before using them in your cake decorating.

This pumpkin layer cake recipe is a true crowd pleaser, perfect for any Fall 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 Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

While I love making homemade everything, I took the easy way out with my caramel apples this year and I do not regret it. I have a fantastic homemade salted caramel recipe that’s amazing for dipping apples in, but coating them with it is another story. It’s a tad runny which makes it perfect for drip cakes and flavoring buttercream, but in order to get a thick caramel coating on an apple you have to coat it, refrigerate, repeat. Instead, I bought a package of Kraft Caramels and followed the melting instructions on the back of the package. It tastes amazing and you have perfectly coated caramel apples in minutes, so I consider it a winner. 

Some toppings I’ve loved for caramel apples in the past have been crushed Oreos, chopped nuts, and M&M’s, but the topping list is pretty endless. I recently took a trip to Disneyland and after seeing sprinkled caramel apples there I knew I had to try it. Right on cue, SprinklePop sent me their #Blessed sprinkle mix and it became the ideal opportunity to sprinkle some caramel apples. 

The combination of red, brown, orange, and gold sprinkles are the ideal Fall color scheme. Plus, you’ll find some cute additional autumnal sprinkles in there: tiny pumpkin pie slices, acorns, and turkeys! The larger spherical sprinkles are actually Sixlets, so you get a little bit of chocolate in those bites. 

Here’s a quick video of the decorating process before I show you how to create these sprinkley treats below: 

You Will Need

• 5 apples, de-waxed and chilled
• Popsicle sticks or cookie sticks
• 1 package of Kraft Caramels
• Microwave safe bowl
• Wax or parchment paper
• 4 oz bottle of #Blessed sprinkles (or any favorite SprinklePop mix)

Step 1: Prepare The Apples

The perfect caramel apples all begin with some chilled and de-waxed apples. I love using Fuji or Honeycrisp apples, but you can feel free to use any favorite variety. De-waxing them will help the caramel adhere to the apple, and you can do that by running them under hot water and wiping them with a towel to remove the wax coating.

Once they’re de-waxed, stick them in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) to get them nice and chilled for dipping. When it comes time to melt that caramel, be sure to remove the stems and insert a popsicle stick or cookie stick into the tops of the apples. 

Step 2: Melt The Caramel 

When your apples are prepped, you can start melting the caramel. Simply unwrap the Kraft Caramels one by one and place them into a glass bowl. I followed the microwave melting directions by adding 1 Tbsp of water and microwaving for one minute, stirring, then melting for an additional 30 seconds. If you’d rather melt them on the stove, the package instructions include a way to do that. 

One package of Kraft Caramel is enough for five apples, so if you need more than that be sure to adjust the amount of caramel to suit your needs. I suggest working in small batches because the caramel doesn’t take long to set once it’s on the apples. 

Step 3: Dip The Apples 

Once your caramel is melted, it’s ready to go, so start dipping those apples! Spread out a sheet of wax or parchment paper on a flat surface and one by one, dip each apple in caramel.

The apples only need about five minutes to set once their coated with caramel, so by the time you’re done with the last apple it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 4: Add Sprinkles

Place the sprinkles into a shallow bowl that’s big enough for dipping an apple in. I set aside some of the larger sprinkles in the mix so I could hand place them. One by one, dip the caramel apples into the sprinkles.

Add some of the larger sprinkles afterwards wherever you’d like. 

These sprinkled caramel apples are ready to enjoy right away, but if you want to gift them or store them for awhile, you can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. And by the way, while I absolutely adore the #Blessed sprinkles for this technique, it will work with any of SprinklePop’s amazing sprinkles! There’s something for every look you could want with your caramel apples.

Disclaimer: This originally appeared as a guest post on SprinklePop’s blog and 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 How To Make Sprinkled Caramel Apples 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.

I’m a tea lover all year round, but once Fall hits and things start to get cozy, chai is a staple in my tea cabinet. The aromatic spices in a cup of chai are unreal and totally reminiscent of Autumn. So when I decided to bake up those spices in cake form, not only did my kitchen smell amazing, but this Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake tasted like an Autumnal dreamscape! It’s the perfect cake for welcoming the changes of the season whether you’re a tea lover or not.

The flavor of this Vanilla Chai Cake is created by both adding the perfect spice blend to the dry ingredients and infusing the liquid with chai goodness. By adding, I mean mixing up a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and cloves and whisking it into the cake flour. And by infusion, I mean pouring boiled whole milk over a chai tea bag and letting it steep before adding it to the batter at the end. Both of these methods add tons of spicy chai flavor, and combined with a good dose of vanilla extract, the result is Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake perfection. 

To really up the flavor, I’ve filled and frosted this delicious cake with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. It’s basically my vanilla buttercream recipe with homemade Chai Spice Mix added, and oh my. The combination is Fall flavor heaven! You can choose to pair this cake with all sorts of buttercreams (cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla, or anything that pairs well with chai tea), but if you want the full-on chai cake experience, this is it. 

To decorate, I crumbled up some Speculoos Cookies and added them to the sides of the cake after frosting, then piped some simple stars (Wilton Tip 4B) and rosettes (Wilton Tip 1M) on top of the cake in a crescent moon design. Then, I topped it all off with some cinnamon sticks and more Speculoos cookie crumbles. My favorite part of all of it is the little specks of Chai Spice Mix that come through in the buttercream. I have all the heart eyes for speckled buttercream!

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Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake

Layers of fluffy, moist vanilla chai cake that's perfectly flavored with chai tea and a homemade chai spice mix. Top it with vanilla chai buttercream for the ultimate Autumn flavor palette.

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Chai Spice Mix

• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Vanilla Chai Cake

• 1 1/4 Cups (296ml) whole milk
• 1 chai tea bag
• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp chai spice mix (recipe above)
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 Cups (358g) granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (112g) sour cream, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Chai Buttercream

• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp chai spice mix (recipe above)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Chai Spice Mix

• In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and cloves and set aside.

Make The Vanilla Chai Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and fitting a wax or parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Place the chai tea bag into a mason jar. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the whole milk, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil. Pour the boiling milk over the chai tea bag in the mason jar and let steep for 20 minutes before removing the tea bag. Allow the mixture to cool completely to room temperature before moving on.
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, 4 teaspoons of the chai spice mix, 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 sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high, 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 (room temperature!) chai milk mixture slowly 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 (without over-mixing). The batter will be slightly thick, but pourable. 
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're 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 Chai 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. 
• Whisk 1 Tbsp of the Chai Spice Mix into the measured powdered sugar. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition 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

• Once the Vanilla Chai Cakes have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. To create the design pictured, add crushed Speculoos Cookies to the sides of the cake by placing them into the palm of your hand and gently pressing them onto the buttercream finish. Then, fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 4B and another piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M before filling each with Vanilla Chai Buttercream. Pipe rosettes and stars onto the top of the cake in a crescent moon shape, add some cinnamon sticks, and sprinkle more crushed Speculoos Cookies on top.

Notes

Make Ahead Notes: 

1. The chai milk mixture can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature before adding it to the cake batter. 
2. The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
3. The Vanilla Chai Buttercream 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, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

What are some of your favorite Fall cake recipes? I particularly love this Caramel Apple Cake and this Matcha Cake (another tea lover’s dream!). It’s the perfect time of year for baking all of the above. Be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you try this Vanilla Chai Cake (or any of my recipes!) – I love to see what you’re creating!

The post Spiced Vanilla Chai Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Although it was my first time trying the technique, I was so pleased to find out that it was super easy to create with the right piping tips (aka a handful of Wilton Tip 233). The tips basically do all the work for you, so you only have to worry about coming up with a cool color scheme and letting your imagination for the pattern run wild. I’ve got the full tutorial over here on The Cake Blog, and in the meantime, here are some photos to inspire your next shag cake:

Coolest texture ever, am I right? I’m already dreaming about other ways I can use these Wilton Tip 233’s. Head over to The Cake Blog to learn everything you need to know about creating the perfect shag cake and be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco and @thecakeblog on Instagram if the tutorial was helpful! We’d love to see what you create.

The post Autumn-Inspired Shag Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Whoever thought of putting caramel and apples together was a flavor genius. I just love the sweet and salty complexity a good homemade caramel adds to apples (and apple-flavored things!), so as soon as I perfected this apple spice cake recipe, I knew I had to pair it with salted caramel buttercream and turn it into an caramel apple masterpiece! It’s become such a Fall classic in our household that I make it every year as soon as the leaves start changing colors.

First, let’s talk about this apple spice cake, because it’s the foundation of all this flavor. It’s made with unsweetened applesauce to give it a rich apple flavor and make it ultra-moist. Combining the apple flavor with the cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg not only gives this cake the perfect spice, it also makes your kitchen smell amazing as it’s baking! There’s nothing more cozy than the aroma of this cake in the oven, especially on a picturesque Fall day.

Next, let’s talk about all this salted caramel tastiness. It all starts with this homemade salted caramel recipe. It’s such a versatile consistency of caramel that you’ll be using it to dip the apple cake topper, drip the sides of the cake, and whip it up into salted caramel buttercream for filling! It’s one of my favorite Fall staples. I like to use the time that the cakes are baking in the oven to make the caramel, because it needs to cool completely to room temperature before using it in buttercream, dipping apples, etc. The cool thing is, it’s a super easy recipe that only involves four ingredients and about 20 minutes of your time.

Once your homemade caramel is cooled to room temperature, you’ll be ready to make the salted caramel buttercream. I like to fill and crumb coat the cake with salted caramel buttercream and then mask the cake (aka frost the final buttercream layer) with vanilla buttercream, just so I can use even more salted caramel for garnish. You can totally skip the vanilla buttercream mask by making a double batch of the salted caramel buttercream for filling and frosting the cake, it all just depends on how much you love caramel. It pairs so well with this cake that you can totally get creative with the final presentation and mix things up a bit!

For my final cake presentation, I garnished the bottom edges with chopped almonds, then dripped the cake with salted caramel before placing a caramel apple on top. The goal here was to make it look like the caramel apple was dripping down the sides of the cake. Here’s a quick video to show you the process:  

The dripping caramel apple design is an easy and intentional way to represent the cake flavors, but you can feel free to decorate however you want! The flavors of this cake are so autumnal and beautiful that you could do something even more simple and let the flavors speak for themselves. However you decorate, I hope this recipe becomes as much of a Fall tradition for you as it has for me! 

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Salted Caramel Apple Cake

An ultra-moist apple spice cake paired with salted caramel buttercream filling, then topped with vanilla buttercream, dripping salted caramel, and chopped almonds. A Fall classic!

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Apple Spice Cake

• 3 1/2 Cups (460g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (162g) packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (840ml) unsweetened applesauce

Homemade Salted Caramel

• 1 1/2 cup (300g) granulated white sugar
• 9 Tbsp (128g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt

Salted Caramel Buttercream Filling

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

Vanilla Buttercream Topping

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk or heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• pinch of salt, or to taste

Additional Ingredients

• 1 medium apple
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Instructions

Make The Apple Spice Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax or parchment paper circle. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set them aside. 
• Cream the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown and white sugars and continue to beat on high for 3 more minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Add the eggs one at a time, then turn the mixer to medium for one full minute.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. When it just begins to come together after the last flour addition, turn off the mixer and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure everything is incorporated. The batter will be thick. 
• Divide the batter between your prepared cake pans (fill to no more than 2/3 full) and smooth the tops, then bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make The Homemade Salted Caramel

• Have everything pre-measured and ready to go (you’ll be constantly stirring). Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 6-8 minutes. 
• Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, 1-2 minutes. 
• Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt. 
• Let the caramel cool completely to room temperature before using it in a buttercream recipe, dipping a caramel apple, or dripping the cake. It will thicken as it cools. 

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.

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.

Assembly

• Fill and crumb coat the Apple Spice Cake layers with Salted Caramel Buttercream, then place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before frosting a final layer with Vanilla Buttercream. Garnish the bottom edge of the cake with chopped almonds, then place the cake back into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill before moving on to the next steps. 
• While the cake is chilling, pour the remaining Homemade Salted Caramel into a small bowl. Insert a popsicle or cookie stick into the apple and dip it into the caramel, coating it thoroughly. Let the excess caramel drip off of the apple and then set it onto a sheet of wax paper, then place it into the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to set. 
• To create the caramel drip effect, first do a test drip on the chilled cake with room temperature salted caramel. If it’s too thick, microwave it in 15 second bursts to bring it to perfect drip consistency without heating it too much. Drip the sides of the cake with salted caramel and partially fill in the top before topping with the caramel apple. Garnish with more chopped almonds on top of the cake and apple. 

Notes

Make Ahead Notes: The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.

The Homemade Salted Caramel 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, reheat it in the microwave in 15 second intervals until it reaches room temperature. 

Both of the buttercream recipes can be made ahead and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use them, bring them back to room temperature and re-whip each in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

What are some of your favorite Fall flavors? Besides caramel apple, I love a good Chai Latte and am hoping to incorporate those tasty flavors into a cake and/or cupcakes SOON! In the meantime, if you make this caramel apple cake, I’d love to know how you like it. Tag me on Instagram or let me know in the comments below!

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One of my favorite things to do with my homemade salted caramel recipe is incorporate it into buttercream. It ends up being such an awesome blend of sweet and salty, perfect for topping cakes and cupcakes or using as a cake filling. It can transform basic cake flavors like chocolate and vanilla into something above and beyond, and it also adds complexity to Fall-inspired flavors like apple spice cake. Whatever flavors you love pairing with caramel, this salted caramel buttercream is magic!

It all starts with a great homemade salted caramel recipe, like this one. It’s only four ingredients, easy as can be, and you don’t even need a candy thermometer to make it! Making the salted caramel from scratch is the key to this beautiful caramel buttercream flavor, so if you have your own favorite salted caramel recipe, feel free to incorporate it into the buttercream recipe below. Just avoid premade salted caramel sauces that tend to be overly sweet, because they might send the sweetness level of this buttercream way over the top.

When you’ve got your salted caramel made and ready to go, make sure you give it enough time for cooling to room temperature before you add it into the buttercream recipe. It’ll be very hot and runny when you remove it from the stove, and allowing it to cool will not only ensure that your buttercream doesn’t melt into soup, but the caramel will get thicker and more flavorful as it sets. If you prefer to make the salted caramel ahead of time, that’s fine too! You can store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container, then when you’re ready to make the buttercream, just microwave it in 15 second intervals to bring it back to room temperature.

Once your ingredients are all room temperature and ready to go, all you need is a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and about ten minutes from start to finish. The process is about as basic as it gets when it comes to an American buttercream recipe, but the end result is buttery salted caramel magic that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful!

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Salted Caramel Buttercream

A sweet and salty caramel buttercream, perfect for frosting cakes and cupcakes or using as a cake filling. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) salted caramel, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

• 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.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: You can make this salted caramel buttercream ahead of time and store 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-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to smooth buttercream 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. 

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It’s officially feeling like Fall around here. Leaves are changing the prettiest colors, the weather’s getting colder, and I just spent the entire weekend wearing cozy sweaters and baking with autumnal flavors! One of my absolute favorite things to bake in the Fall are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They’re a seasonal classic, downright delicious, and they make the whole house smell incredible while they’re baking. I’ve been known to bake them and hoard them all to myself, but they also make great party cupcakes (that is, if you’re willing to share!). For all the more festive occasions, this All Hallows sprinkle mix by SprinklePop is perfect!

The All Hallows sprinkle mix features the classic Halloween color palette. There are plenty of orange, black, and white jimmies mixed with metallic silver dragees and rods, plus wafer paper pumpkins and bats to make it extra spooky (but oh so pretty!). These sprinkles are the perfect festive touch for Halloween party cupcakes, cookies, and more:

Let’s talk about the flavors going on underneath all the pretty sprinkles. As far as the cupcakes go, the use of pureed pumpkin (be careful not to use pumpkin pie filling!) makes them so moist and melt-in-your-mouth good. The crumb is fluffy and rich without being too dense from all the added moisture, making them a little dangerous because it’s easy to eat more than one! I’ve spiced the batter with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg just to up the cozy factor and really take the flavor of the pumpkin to the next level. And I know I said it before, but these cupcakes will make your kitchen smell like heaven!

Cream cheese buttercream is the perfect pairing for pumpkin cupcakes, and while cream cheese frostings tend to be on the soft side, the recipe I use is perfect for piping! It’s decadent and flavorful without being overly sweet, and holds its shape long enough to pipe some pretty designs. I’ve used Wilton Tip 6B to pipe large open stars over the surface of the cupcakes before sprinkling with the All Hallows sprinkle mix.

Since I couldn’t decide whether I wanted a white or orange buttercream backdrop for these sprinkles, I went ahead and tinted some of the cream cheese buttercream with orange food color gel. I actually ended up liking both looks, so I paired them together for all these photos! I’m sure that the All Hallows sprinkle mix would look amazing on any spooky buttercream color palette or piping design. Whatever your Halloween event, these cupcakes will be a sure hit looks-wise and flavor-wise!

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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Buttercream

Moist and flavorful spiced pumpkin cupcakes topped with decadent cream cheese buttercream that’s the perfect consistency for pretty piping.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes

Total Time 39 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, measured correctly*
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs, room temperature

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Pumpkin 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 rest of the dry ingredients and set aside. 
• Cream the butter on high for 1 minute. Add the white and brown sugars and cream on high for another 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and beat for 3 full minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients until combined. The batter will be thick. 
• Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake tins ⅔ of the way full, then bake for 19 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 Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds. 

Assembly

• After the cupcakes are fully cooled, prepare a piping bag by fitting with Wilton Tip 6B (or other favorite piping tip) and filling the bag with cream cheese buttercream. I’ve chosen to pipe a few open stars over the surface of each cupcake. Finish by sprinkling with the All Hallows sprinkle mix. 

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: The cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days.

The cream cheese buttercream 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, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your mixer to bring it back to the right consistency.

This cupcake recipe is a Fall staple in my book, and I hope it makes its way into yours. Whether you decorate them for Halloween, make them for another occasion, or hoard them all to yourself (like I do!), they’re guaranteed to please. Happy Fall, y’all!

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I’ve got a major business crush on Tea Bar for a few reasons: their tea is organic and ethically sourced, the drinks they make with it are innovative (and delicious!), and their entire team is made up of strong, inspiring women. They’ve made a mark on the Portland tea market but I can easily see them taking over the world. After all, who doesn’t love a good cup of golden milk or a matcha latte? If you’re a Portlander and have never been, give them a try next time you want to meet up with a friend!

In addition to selling their fabulous teas online for drinking at home, Tea Bar offers Culinary Grade Matcha for baking that’s organic, hand picked, stone ground, and sourced from a tiny family farm in Uji, Japan. I was so intrigued that I had to try it in a cake recipe. I am so glad I did, because the results were mind-blowing! The cake itself is light and fluffy, and the Matcha powder makes it flavorful and aromatic without being over the top. Oh, and it’s pretty to look at. 

I chose to pair the Matcha cake with this raspberry buttercream as filling, then topped it with an eye catching vanilla-matcha buttercream ombre and white chocolate geometric shapes. These flavors ended up being very complimentary. It was a hit with the Tea Bar ladies, and I’m sure this cake will impress all of your Matcha-loving friends!

You can use any Culinary Grade Matcha in this recipe, but I can say from experience that not all Matcha powders are made (or taste) alike. If you want try using Tea Bar’s, you can purchase it on their website and they’ll ship it right to your door. It’s so worth it. PS: This is not a sponsored post, Tea Bar really is my favorite Culinary Grade Matcha! 

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Favorite Matcha Cake

A light and airy matcha cake filled with raspberry buttercream and topped with a vanilla-matcha buttercream ombre.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Matcha Cake Recipe

• 2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour
• 2 Tbsp culinary grade Matcha powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 2/3 Cups (330g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Cups (240ml) whole milk, room temperature

Raspberry Buttercream Filling

• 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (5-6g) freeze dried raspberries
• 1 1/2 Tbsp (22ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

Vanilla-Matcha Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 cups (600g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp culinary grade Matcha powder

Instructions

Make The Matcha Cake

• Preheat oven to 350º and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and placing a pre-cut wax or parchment paper circle to fit the bottom.
• Whisk together sifted cake flour, Matcha powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter on med-high for one minute. Scrape down bowl and paddle. Add sugar and beat on high for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl and paddle as needed. 
• Turn the mixer down to low and add the eggs one by one. Scrape down bowl, turn the mixer on med-high and beat for about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla, continue beating for 1 minute.
• Add all of the dry ingredients at once with the mixer on low speed until just combined, then add the milk all at once with the mixer still on low. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and mix on low until it all just comes together. You might need to hand whisk at the end to get rid of some lumps, but be careful not to overmix.
• Fill prepared cake pans ⅔ full and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Make The Raspberry Buttercream Filling

• With a food processor, grind the raspberries into a fine powder. Sift out the seeds (if a few seeds end up in the powder that is totally ok) and set the powder aside.
• Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until it’s creamy and light in color (5-10 minutes). Add vanilla, milk, and raspberry powder and continue to mix on medium for 3 minutes.
• Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add a pinch of salt (I like about an eighth of a teaspoon) and mix on low for another 30 seconds.

Make The Vanilla-Matcha 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. Hold off on adding the Matcha powder until you get to the assembly instructions. 

Assembly

• Starting with your first cake layer, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around each layer’s edge to create a buttercream dam. Fill the middle of your vanilla buttercream ring with raspberry buttercream until it’s the same height as the vanilla ring. Level the filling with an offset spatula and place the next layer of cake on top. Repeat the vanilla ring and raspberry filling before placing the third and final cake layer on top. 
• Divide vanilla buttercream evenly into two bowls. In one bowl, add the matcha powder to the buttercream and mix until combined. Grab a third bowl and mix together a third of the matcha buttercream and a third of the vanilla buttercream until you get a nice in-between shade.
• Starting at the bottom of the cake, frost with the darkest matcha buttercream until you get a third of the way up the side of the cake. Continue frosting with the lighter colored matcha buttercream mixture until you get to two thirds up the side of the cake. Frost the vanilla buttercream on the top third of the cake, including the top. Smooth the cake until you achieve the perfect finish.
• To decorate, I’ve chosen to stick some white chocolate geometric shapes (made by melting white chocolate onto parchment, sprinkling with matcha powder, and cutting out shapes with a hot knife) into the top of the buttercream cake in any pattern you desire. I also piped a few open stars using leftover matcha buttercream. Feel free to let your creativity flow with this!

Notes

*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. 

Make ahead tips: These cakes can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and left out at room temperature up to two days ahead of decorating. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and frosting. 

The buttercream recipes can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use, bring back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer. Add whole milk, 1 tsp at a time, if it needs to be thinned to the right consistency.

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