Cake Pan Set

While it’s perfectly okay to bake your cakes one layer at a time, it’s much more efficient to have a set of cake pans so you can bake all your layers at once. I always like to make triple layer cakes, so I recommend having at least three of your favorite pan sizes. My go-to size is a 6-inch round pan, but a set of 8-inch round pans are great to have on hand too. And opt for anodized aluminum instead of dark metal – it bakes more evenly! 

Cake Turntable

It’s impossible to get a smooth buttercream finish without a cake turntable. It’s also just all-around easier to fill, stack, and decorate cakes with a turntable even if you’re going for a rustic look. The one thing I recommend is finding a cake turntable with a non-slip pad. This will ensure your cake won’t budge while you’re decorating! 

Icing Smoother

It’s super important to find an icing smoother that you feel totally compatible with. I’ve tried a lot of them over the years, but my all time favorite ended up being this bench scraper by Norpro. I use it 100% of the time! I love that it’s perfectly level, easy to grip, and can be gently heated for a super smooth buttercream finish. 

Icing Spatulas

Icing spatulas are extremely versatile. I use them to apply buttercream to my cakes before smoothing them, create sharp edges, add texture to my cakes, and more. It’s best to have a few sizes on hand for different tasks. 

Cardboard Cake Rounds

Every cake I make is built on top of a cardboard cake round. This makes it much easier to transfer the cake off the turntable and onto a stand or into a box. 

Piping Bags

Sure, you can use a ziploc bag for piping buttercream (I have in a pinch!), but it’s so much more efficient to have piping bags on hand. I like to buy the 16-inch size because it holds enough to pipe a lot of buttercream but can also be trimmed down into smaller bags. 

Piping Tips

If you have zero piping tips in your collection and just want to start with a few, I recommend the two below. They’re both extremely versatile – 1M is great for rosettes and swirl borders, 4B is great for star shapes and swirls borders. 

Cake Leveler

Every picture perfect cake starts with perfectly level layers. Since they don’t always bake up flat, it’s handy to have a cake leveler for cutting off domed or misshapen tops. This will make all of your layers the exact same height as well. 

Food Color Gels

It’s so much fun to incorporate color into your cake decorating! My favorite brand of coloring to use is AmeriColor for a few reasons: they don’t add any weird flavor to your buttercream, they’re super concentrated so it doesn’t take a whole lot of food coloring to achieve the color you want, and they come in every single color you could possibly imagine. While they do have Nifty Fifty and Heavenly Seventy kits that include pretty much every color you could want in your collection, they also make a starter kit (below) that has all the basics. 

Anyone Can Cake: Your Complete Guide to Making & Decorating Perfect Layer Cakes

My book is written with beginners and those wanting to up their cake decorating skills in mind! It’s essentially everything I know about making and decorating layer cakes. The first half covers how to bake the perfect cake layers, create a structurally sound layer cake, and decorate it in all sorts of ways. It includes full guides and troubleshooting tips on ganache drips, coloring buttercream, and adding finishing touches like sprinkles and piping. 

The second half is all recipes you could want to practice everything you learn in the first half of the book. It’s truly an all encompassing handbook that will set you up for success and help grow your skills! 

I put together a little Amazon shop with all of these essential tools in one place. Click the link below to shop them all at once!

I’m cheering you on in your cake making and am here to support you however I can. Once you get your collection of tools going, be sure to check out my Cake Basics series to learn all the fundamentals! That series paired with my book will be a game changer. Happy caking!

The post Essential Cake Decorating Tools for Beginners appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

The thing that makes this rainbow color palette extra cohesive is mixing up the primary colors first (pink, yellow, and blue), then mixing those colors together to make all the colors in between (orange, green, and purple). This process can help tie the color palette together better than mixing each of the 6 colors individually. You’re able to customize each color as you go along (add more pink to your purple to warm it up, add more blue to your green to cool it down, etc) without going overboard or making any color more vibrant than the rest. It helps to know a little bit about color theory for making adjustments, but even if you don’t know the first thing about color theory, this blog post should help.  

A Word About Color Gels + Buttercream

The color gels I love most for my cake projects are AmeriColor Soft Gel Pastes and the Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring System, and I always use them with American Buttercream. Note that if you’re using a different kind of buttercream, it may not take these color gels as easily. For meringue based buttercreams, I recommend using oil-based color gels like Colour Mill for best results. 

Before we get started with color mixing, here are a couple other blog posts that could really help with getting your buttercream just right, including my go-to buttercream recipe:

• How to Make the Perfect Buttercream Consistency
• A Guide to Coloring Buttercream Frosting
• Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

Here’s a video of the entire rainbow color palette process in case you want to watch vs. read about it below: 

If you’re into cake videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel for further learning! I’m always rolling out new videos, so click the subscribe button while you’re there to ensure you never miss a new one. 

You Will Need

• 2+ batches of vanilla buttercream (or other white-colored buttercream)
• Blue color gel (I used AmeriColor Sky Blue)
• Pink color gel (I used AmeriColor Deep Pink)
• Yellow color gel (I used AmeriColor Egg Yellow)
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing

Step 1: Mix the Primary Colors

Reserve 1-2 cups of buttercream (in case you need to tone any colors down), then divide the rest of the buttercream between three bowls. The primary colors are yellow, blue, and red (in this case, pink), so those are the colors we’ll mix first. 

Add a few drops of pink or red into the first bowl, a few drops of blue into the second bowl, and a few drops of yellow into the third bowl. It’s best to start with a small amount and add more color gel from there, especially if you’re mixing a pastel color palette. Keep in mind that the colors will darken slightly with time. 

Step 2: Mix the Secondary Colors

Once you’ve got the perfect primary colors, it’s time to mix the secondary colors. When you mix together any two primary colors, the result is a secondary color: 

• 1 part Red + 1 part Yellow = Orange
• 1 part Yellow + 1 part Blue = Green
• 1 part Blue + 1 part Pink = Purple 

Use the formulas above to mix the primary colors together into three new bowls. Start with about ¼ Cup of each primary color and add more as needed in the next step. 

Step 3: Adjust Color Temperature as Needed 

At any point in your color mixing, you can customize any color by changing its temperature. For example, if your green is looking too yellow (or too warm), adding a little more blue can help cool it down. If your orange is looking too pink or red, add a little more yellow to balance it out. Here are some formulas (and a mixing chart!) to help you make the perfect tones:

• Green + more Blue = Blue-Green (cooler)
• Green + more Yellow = Yellow-Green (warmer)
• Purple + more Blue = Blue-Purple (cooler)
• Purple + more Red = Red-Purple (warmer) 
• Orange + more Red = Red-Orange (cooler)
• Orange + more Yellow = Yellow-Orange (warmer)

When adjusting your color temperature, start with 1 Tbsp of added primary color and add more from there if needed. Again, it’s best to start small. 

Once you’re happy with your rainbow color palette, you’re ready to start decorating! Here are some rainbow cake projects to inspire you: 

Pastel Rainbow Birthday Cake: I used a pastel rainbow color palette to create this pretty piped cake. The full tutorial is here.

Cascading Rainbow Cake: I used the same piping techniques from this cascading cake + added these cute little icing rainbows I found from Wilton.

Piped Rainbow Ombrè Cake: I mixed three different shades of each rainbow color on this cake, then used Wilton Tips 1M, 32, and 16 to create the textures as I piped all the colors in an ombrè layout.

Spatula Painted Rainbow Cake: I mixed lots of different rainbow shades for this one and used this spatula painted technique to apply them as a gradient.

I’d love to see what you create with your rainbow color palette! Leave a comment below letting me know about your project or feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post The Easiest Way to Make Rainbow Buttercream Colors appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Here’s a quick video that explains the differences between each buttercream consistency and shows you how to make it before we get into the details 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! 

3 Types of Buttercream Consistency

There are three different consistencies of buttercream that each play a different role in cake decorating. All of the info you’ll find on this post can be paired with any of my buttercream recipes, since they’re all American buttercream recipes. If you’re wanting to work with a different type of buttercream (such as Swiss Meringue, Whipped Cream, etc.), you’ll want to search for info that’s specific to your buttercream type. Here’s everything you need to know about when to use each consistency and how to make it: 

Medium Consistency

I’m starting with medium consistency because it’s the consistency you’ll end up with when you make my vanilla buttercream recipe as-is. It’s also the most versatile of all the consistencies – perfect for filling and stacking a cake, crumb coating, frosting a smooth buttercream finish, and even decorating cupcakes with piping tips. 

If you’re working with an American buttercream recipe that isn’t one of mine, you can check to see if your buttercream is medium consistency by dipping your spatula into it and observing the shape of the peak. It should be a soft peak that holds its shape for at least a few seconds when you turn it right side up. 

Thin Consistency

Thin consistency is perfect for a few things: painting with buttercream (this floral buttercream cake is a good example), writing out a message, or for frosting a super thin final layer of buttercream onto your cake. The second reason is more of a cake hack, which I shared in this YouTube video on how to get an extra smooth buttercream finish. 

To make your buttercream thin consistency, add it back into the bowl of your stand mixer (if it’s not already there) and mix it on low speed while you add room temperature milk, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, until the desired consistency has been reached. To test it, you should be able to dip your rubber spatula into the buttercream and it will come out with super soft peaks that don’t really hold their shape, but also aren’t melty (see the troubleshooting tips below if it is). This consistency should spread very easily, which makes it perfect for more painterly textures.

Stiff Consistency

If you’re piping buttercream flowers, especially ones with petals that need to stand upright, or piping intricate designs like a lambeth cake, you’ll need a stiff consistency buttercream. Thickening your buttercream when necessary will help it to hold its shape and prevent your piping from looking droopy. 

Another time that stiff consistency comes in handy is in the filling and stacking process, when you’re working with a soft filling that needs a piped buttercream dam around it to uphold the weight of the cake layers above. By slightly thickening your buttercream for the dam, it will be extra effective against the weight of gravity. This way, your filling won’t bulge out between the layers.

To create a stiff consistency buttercream, add powdered sugar to your batch of buttercream, 2-3 Tablespoons at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. You can add as much powdered sugar as you’d like depending on how thick you want the buttercream. If you are concerned about making it too sweet, you can use cornstarch as an alternative. It won’t add any flavor to your buttercream. 

To test the consistency, you should be able to dip your rubber spatula into the buttercream and it will come out with stiff peaks that hold their shape. It should pipe easily without having to put a lot of pressure on the bag and the piped details should not look frayed. If they do, you’ll want to thin out the buttercream slightly (see details on that in the next section). 

How to Fix Buttercream 

When you’re altering buttercream consistency, it’s entirely possible to overdo it. The good news is that whether you make your buttercream too thick or too thin, it’s easy to fix. I’ve thrown in some additional common problems just in case you need troubleshooting tips for those too: 

If it’s Too Thick 

You’ll know your buttercream is too thick if it’s ripping the cake layers while you’re trying to frost with it or the details look frayed when you pipe with it (like in the picture below). To fix it, simply add room temperature milk, 1 tsp at a time, until the consistency is just right.

If it’s Too Thin or Runny 

There are a few ways you’ll know your buttercream is too thin: it looks soupy, bulges out from between your cake layers when used as a filling, or the details droop when you try to pipe with it. Buttercream might end up too thin if you add too much liquid or if you’re working in a warm kitchen. Butter starts to break down above 75 degrees, so any environment above that will have an effect on your buttercream consistency.

To thicken your buttercream when you’ve added too much liquid, simply add more powdered sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. If it’s more of a matter of the kitchen temperature being too warm, pop your buttercream into the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. Then, remix it in your stand mixer on low speed for a minute or two to bring it back together. The refrigeration should help the butter in the recipe firm up and stabilize the whole batch.

If it’s Filled with Air Bubbles

Sometimes when you’re making a batch of buttercream, extra air can get trapped inside, resulting in visible air bubbles throughout the mixture. This mostly happens when the buttercream is whipped on too high of a speed after adding the powdered sugar. To fix it, place the buttercream into an airtight container, let it rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then add it back into the bowl of your stand mixer and let it mix on low speed for about a minute. I don’t know why this works exactly, but the whole process somehow forces out all the extra air like magic. 

If you didn’t realize your buttercream had air bubbles in it until you started frosting the cake, fear not. Frost a super thin layer of buttercream, air bubbles and all, and place the cake into the refrigerator while you fix the rest of the buttercream using the process described in the paragraph above. By the time you’ve got a smooth buttercream to work with, your frosted cake should be chilled to the point where you can frost an additional layer of buttercream over the top and fill in all of the air pockets in the buttercream layer beneath. 

To prevent air bubbles in the future, always mix on low speed from the time you add the powdered sugar until the end of the recipe. Low and slow is the ticket. 

If it Looks Curdled 

Typically, the buttercream becomes curdled if you start with butter that’s too soft or add milk that’s too cold. Both of these ingredients must be at room temperature for the buttercream to have a cohesive, smooth consistency. To fix it, place the entire batch of buttercream into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, then re-mix it with your stand mixer for 2-3 minutes. It should look well-blended and smooth at this point. 

If it Feels Grainy or Gritty

Buttercream looks and tastes gritty if you haven’t given the powdered sugar enough time to dissolve. The powdered sugar will dissolve easiest if you sift out any large lumps prior to adding it. To fix the grainy consistency, add 1-2 additional teaspoons of room temperature milk and mix the buttercream on low speed for an additional 1-2 minutes. This should help the powdered sugar dissolve completely. 

Hopefully this post solves every buttercream consistency question you could ever have! But, if you’ve got more questions, feel free to post them in the comments below. I’m happy to help!

The post How to Make the Perfect Buttercream Consistency + Troubleshooting Tips appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

First, let’s talk about some make ahead tips for baking cake layers, making frosting, and storing it all so it’s ready to go when you’re ready to decorate. There are a few different methods and preferences on the subject that vary from baker to baker, and the purpose of this post is to talk about my own preferred methods. I’ve gathered them all in the video below, so give it a watch before reading on to commit these make ahead tips to memory.

And side note: if you’re wanting to learn more Cake Basics, be sure to check out my YouTube channel and hit the Subscribe button so you never miss a new one. In addition to the basics, you’ll also find my favorite recipes and cake decorating tutorials to broaden your skill set!

Storing Unfrosted Cake Layers 

When you’re building a cake, it’s ultra important that your cake layers are room temperature and not even a little bit warm (trust me, your frosting will melt). Because of this, you’ve got to give your cakes a few hours to cool after they come out of the oven. This means padding in those extra hours of cooling time into your overall timeline, which can end up taking a lot of your day if you’re doing all of it the day of. Instead, there are a few options for baking your cake layers and storing them properly so they’re ready to go on decorating day:

Storing at Room Temperature

If you’re baking your cakes a day or two ahead of decorating day, you can store them at room temperature as long as they’re wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Just be sure to wait until they’re completely cooled before wrapping them in plastic wrap, as the steam from a hot cake layer can create excess condensation in the storage process. Nobody wants a soggy cake!

Freezing Cake Layers

If you’re baking your cakes more than two days ahead of time, I recommend freezing your cake layers. Again, it’s important that you let the cakes cool completely before wrapping them up. As long as you wrap them properly, they will keep for up to two months in the freezer and once thawed will taste just as fresh as the day you baked them! Talk about a cake hack. 

To ensure they stay extra fresh, I like to wrap the cake layers in one layer of plastic wrap, then one layer of aluminum foil, then place them into a ziploc bag (or other airtight container that can go in the freezer). When you’re ready to use them, simply take the cake layers out of the freezer the day before decorating to thaw them. 

Remove them from the ziploc bag, but keep them in their aluminum foil/plastic wrap covering. This way, any excess condensation will escape and gather on top of the foil, which acts as a barrier to keep the cake beneath it from getting soggy. Then, on decorating day, remove all the wrapping and you’ll have your cake layers thawed and ready to go! 

Making Buttercream Ahead 

To make your buttercream frosting ahead of time, simply place it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before decorating day.

When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature by placing it on the counter for an hour or two. Once it reaches room temperature, add it back into your stand mixer and mix it on low speed for about a minute.

This will bring it back to frosting consistency and you’ll be ready to roll! 

Storing Crumb Coated Cakes 

After you’ve filled and frosted your cake with a crumb coat, it’s safe to store it in the refrigerator overnight without the risk of drying out the cake. The thin layer of buttercream acts as a barrier to preserve the cake underneath and help it maintain its moisture. 

I always like to add my final layer of frosting to a chilled crumb coated cake anyways, because having a nice firm structure underneath the final layer is one of the secrets to creating a smooth buttercream finish. Even if you don’t plan on storing your crumb coated cake in the fridge overnight, I highly recommend letting it firm up in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you add your final layer of frosting. Here’s everything you need to know about how and why I crumb coat my cakes.

Storing Decorated Cakes (Uncut) 

Once the final layer of frosting has been added and you’ve decorated your cake, the safest place to preserve it is in the refrigerator, uncovered (in my opinion). This way, the details of your decorating will be preserved while keeping the cake beneath all that frosting nice and moist. I like to decorate my cakes and store them in the refrigerator overnight before serving them.

Although I don’t have much experience with fondant covered cakes, I store my buttercream frosted cakes with ganache drips, buttercream piping, sprinkles, and even fondant/gumpaste accents in the refrigerator overnight, until about an hour or two before serving the cake. If I’m driving the cake somewhere, I keep it in the fridge until the minute I walk out the door. This is because cakes that are chilled are much easier to handle and transport while keeping the details intact. 

Cakes With Fresh Flowers

If you’re topping a cake with fresh flowers, I recommend keeping those flowers in a vase of water until the morning of the cake due date. Then, prepare the flowers according to these instructions to ensure they stay fresh once you top the cake with them. 

Since fresh flowers tend to wilt over time (some quicker than others), adding these final touches the day of is your best bet. 

Cakes With Fresh Berries

Berries (and fruits in general) are full of liquid, so if you are adding these to your cake, it’s best to add them last minute if possible. This will often require that you save some of the final buttercream piping until the due date of the cake as well, since those berries will need something to adhere to (and firm buttercream doesn’t make the best glue). 

To work ahead, you can always frost the final layer of the buttercream, add any ganache drips, and store the cake overnight in the refrigerator. Then finish the rest of the decorating the day the cake is due to keep those berries looking fresh. 

Cakes Topped With Cotton Candy

Cotton candy makes a pretty whimsical cake topper, but it’s a fleeting one. Since cotton candy only lasts about an hour before beginning to disintegrate, I wait until the cake is going on display to add the cotton candy – aka the very last minute. This way you get an hour for people to ooh and ahh before you cut the cake and no one has to know the cotton candy was about to fall apart.

Creating a Cake Timeline 

To best prepare yourself, especially if you’re just getting started on your cake journey, it’s a really good idea to establish a cake timeline for yourself. This just helps you plan ahead so you’re not scrambling to get your materials together last minute. Here’s a sample timeline that I have gone by when making cakes with due dates:

Notice that frosting and decorating the cake is split between day 3 and 4. This is just to give you extra padding in case you don’t want to do all the final decorating the day before. Your timeline will depend on what your final design will be, so be sure to take some time to think about things and plan out your schedule before you get in over your head.

Once you get the hang of how long things take, you can certainly squeeze this timeline even tighter and do more work closer to the due date. You can also freeze cake layers and store buttercream weeks in advance so you can eliminate more work for yourself the week of. It’s all up to you! But hopefully these make ahead tips and sample timeline give you the tools you need to set yourself up for success. Happy cake making!

The post How to Make + Decorate Cakes Ahead of Time appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

A note on this cake stand pictured above: I get asked about where it can be purchased all the time, and sadly I haven’t been able to find the same one online! It was a birthday gift from my sister in law many years ago, before Sugar & Sparrow was even a twinkle in my eye. I did find this very similar one on Amazon that you can feel free to check out. And as for where I get my other cake stands, I’ve had great luck at thrift shops, Target, eBay, and Amazon (here’s another one I use all the time). 

Before I get to the written tutorial below, here is a quick video I whipped up of the process showing two different styles of cake: one with a buttercream finish and one with sprinkles around the bottom edge. Give it a watch before you read on: 

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

You Will Need

• A decorated cake on a turntable
• Cake stand or box 
• Angled spatula 
• Hot water 
• Dish towel

Step 1: Prep The Cake 

There are two things that are essential when it comes to a successful cake transfer: 1) a solid foundation underneath the cake and 2) a chilled cake. First, the cake needs to have been stacked on a cardboard cake circle in the filling and stacking process to ensure it has a sturdy foundation. This method will not work if you don’t have a firm foundation beneath that cake, because it’s nearly impossible to lift a layer cake that’s just sponge on the bottom. It might work with a cake lifter, but even still, I highly recommend building your layer cakes on a cardboard cake circle for easy maneuvering, 

Second, I always start the transfer with a chilled cake. To make sure the cake is nice and chilled before attempting to move it, place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer. This will get that buttercream finish nice and solid so that if you do end up touching the cake finish during the transfer, you won’t fingerprint it easily. 

Step 2: Heat the Spatula 

Once the cake is nice and chilled, heat up an angled spatula by running it under some hot water for a few seconds, then drying it thoroughly with a towel.

Heating the spatula will help create a clean edge in the next step. 

Step 3: Release the Cake From the Turntable 

Now that the spatula is warm, run it all along the bottom edge of the cake to release it from the turntable. You’ll want to keep the spatula as close and parallel to the turntable as possible to get a clean edge around the bottom of the cake. 

As you go around, the seal between the buttercream frosted cake and the turntable will be completely released.

Once you’ve gone around the entire cake, work your spatula underneath to lift up one side.

Step 4: Move the Cake 

With your spatula lifting one side of the cake, slide one hand underneath the cake. Remove the spatula and place your other hand beneath the cake and slowly lift it up.

Move the cake over to the stand, going as slowly as you’d like.

Once you’ve made it to the stand, gently lower the cake and keep one edge of it lifted to pivot the cake around where you want it. Then, slide the angled spatula back underneath and gently lower the cake edge before removing the spatula.

Notice that I’ve got my finger covering the area above the spatula to prevent the buttercream finish from sliding off with the spatula. 

Step 5: Fix Any Areas (If Necessary)

Now that the cake is safe and sound on the stand, I like to slightly re-heat my spatula using the hot water method shown in step 2 and run it all around the bottom edge of the cake to press in any areas that look flared out or imperfect from the transfer. This helps to make the cake look even more flawless! 

And there you have it! All my best tips for moving your cake onto a stand, all while keeping it looking picture perfect. You can use this same method for moving a cake into a box, onto a serving plate, or wherever your cake needs to end up. 

If you want to learn more about cake baking and decorating, be sure to follow along with this Cake Basics series and all of the fun cake decorating videos I release on my YouTube page. Hit that subscribe button over there so you never miss a new video. And PS: I’m always thinking of new Cake Basics topics to help you learn, so if there’s something you’d love for me to cover please leave a comment below with your idea! 

The post How to Transfer Cakes From a Turntable to a Stand appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

The Launch of Cake Basics

Back in July, I launched something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time: Cake Basics! It’s an ongoing series of blog posts and YouTube Videos where I show you all the essential methods of cake decorating that I swear by. 

The first set of Cake Basics show you how to build a cake from start to finish, from leveling cake layers to filling and stacking, crumb coating, frosting a smooth buttercream finish, and decorating with sprinkles. Like I mentioned, this series is meant to be ongoing – I’ve got more Cake Basics up my sleeve for 2021! 

Chocolate Ganache Drip Recipe

This chocolate ganache drip recipe + tutorial has been my number one blog post for years, but this last year I decided to revamp it and make a detailed YouTube video to go with it! 

Painted Cake in Summer Colors

This was actually the very last cake project I did before my son was born, just days before I went into labor. I was a bit tired of waiting while on maternity leave so I whipped up a Summer-inspired color palette and used them with this painted buttercream cake tutorial. Just goes to show that this style looks great in a variety of color schemes! 

Peppermint Mocha Cake Recipe

I created this peppermint mocha cake recipe for the holidays, but it’s really meant to be enjoyed all Winter long! Layers of peppermint mocha cake with coffee buttercream, decorated with a chocolate peppermint drip for looks and flavor.

Y’all. This one is so, so good. Just the perfect balance of chocolate/coffee/peppermint and basically tastes exactly like a peppermint mocha in cake form. 

Watercolor Cake in Fall Colors

This beauty was created for a wedding photo shoot and I just love the color scheme so much! This is basically my watercolor ombrè buttercream tutorial with a Fall-inspired color palette of deep reds, peach, and dusty rose. 

Pumpkin Cake Recipe

The design for my pumpkin layer cake recipe is one of my most replicated of all, and I’m flattered to see your renditions every time.

This classic recipe is layers of tasty pumpkin cake with cream cheese buttercream, decorated to look like a cute little pumpkin patch! 

Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe

Need I say more? This salted caramel buttercream recipe has been a hit from the start! It’s infused with my four-ingredient salted caramel sauce and is the perfect pair for so many cake flavors (or to eat by itself, it’s that good!). 

Spatula Painted Rainbow Cake

I created this beauty for AmeriColor (my favorite color gel brand!) and there are actually 20 different shades represented here!

I mixed them all up with buttercream and used this spatula painted cake technique to apply them in a rainbow layout with multiple shades. Lots of color mixing, but worth it! 

Lucky Charms Cake

I whipped this beauty up to showcase my milk & cereal cake recipe and its versatility. The original recipe uses Froot Loops, but you can use any cereal you’d like! For this version, I separated the marshmallows out from the cereal and used the ground cereal in the cake batter + the marshmallows to decorate. I’ve also seen this recipe paired with Cap’n Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Fruity Pebbles! 

And that’s a wrap on 2020 for Sugar & Sparrow! I’ve got so many plans for 2021 that I can’t wait to start on: more Cake Basics to help you grow your cake making skills further, more vegan recipes, more frequent emails, writing my first eBook, and creating some fun cake designs I’ve been dreaming up! I’m always adding to the list of things I want to do, so let me know if there’s something you want to see next year by commenting below. Wishing you all the happiest new year!

The post Sugar & Sparrow’s Best of 2020 appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

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

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

What Kinds of Sprinkles Work with These Techniques? 

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

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

How Many Sprinkles Do I Need? 

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

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

When to Add Sprinkles to Your Cake

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

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

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

Here’s how: 

Step 1: Prepare Your Cake & Workspace

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

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

Step 2: Add the Concentrated Sprinkles

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Add the Individual Sprinkles

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

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

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

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

Step 4: Continue Decorating 

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you’ve never heard of crumb coating a cake, it simply means frosting a thin layer of buttercream all over your cake after it’s been filled and stacked. Here’s a quick video I shot of the process before I walk you through the steps below:

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

Why Crumb Coat?

There are two main reasons why you’d want to crumb coat your cake: 1) catching any loose crumbs that might want to make their way into your final layer of buttercream and 2) creating a smooth, even surface and ensuring your cake is level for your final layer.  

But it’s not enough to simply crumb coat your cakes. Chilling your cake after crumb coating is what glues all those pesky crumbs down and helps the entire structure set into a firm, sturdy foundation. It’s a step I never miss when making cakes. 

What Type of Frosting is Best for Crumb Coating? 

You can use any type of frosting for crumb coating your cake – basically whatever you’re planning on using for your final layer of frosting. If you need some recommendations, my Basic Vanilla Buttercream is the perfect consistency for both crumb coating your cake and adding your final layer of frosting, so feel free to use that if you’re in need of a go-to vanilla buttercream recipe.

If you’re looking for more buttercream flavors to try, be sure to browse my Buttercream Recipe Collection – any of those will work great! 

How to Crumb Coat Your Cake

To crumb coat your cake without getting any crumbs in your batch of frosting, you’ll want to start by adding about one cup of that frosting into a small bowl. This is what you’ll use to crumb coat instead of dipping your spatula in and out of the larger bowl of frosting. Place your filled and stacked cake on a turntable. This is the turntable I’m using – it has a built in anti-skid section under my cake board that makes it extra easy to frost a cake on!

Start by frosting a thin layer of frosting on the top of your cake and smoothing it down with an angled spatula. 

Next, add a thin layer of frosting all around the sides of the cake and use an icing smoother to get the sides smooth and level. Basically hold the icing smoother at a 45 degree angle towards you while you rotate the turntable and scrape off the excess onto the edge of your bowl. Be sure to fill in any patchy areas with more buttercream and repeat the process of smoothing and scraping until you’ve got a thin, yet level crumb coat. 

You’ll notice that a frosting “crown” has formed around the top edges of your cake, which is what you want to see. Using a clean angled spatula, swipe those edges toward the center of the cake to create sharp edges all around the top. 

When your cake is looking level and covered in a nice, thin crumb coat, pop the whole thing (turntable and all) into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Like I mentioned previously, chilling your cake will make the buttercream firm, essentially glueing down any crumbs within the crumb coat and creating a stable foundation for your next layer of frosting.

Next Steps

After refrigerating for at least 30 minutes, you’re ready to move on to your final layer of frosting. If you’re short on time though, it’s perfectly fine to refrigerate a crumb coated cake overnight. Even though the crumb coat layer of buttercream is thin, it helps preserve the cake layers beneath and keep everything moist and fresh. 

Do keep in mind that the longer the amount of time between baking your cake layers, decorating them, and serving them, the less fresh your cake will be. A typical timeline for me looks like:

It’s perfectly fine to split up “Day 2” into two separate days though: filling and crumb coating one day, frosting and decorating the next. This will split the timeline into four days between baking and serving, but the cake will remain fresh. I do have an upcoming Cake Basics post detailing all my best tips for making cakes ahead and planning things out so you avoid the pressure of baking, decorating, and serving on the same day, so stay tuned!

Want more Cake Basics? Head here to see all of the posts and learn the methods of caking I’ve come to love over the years. I’m cheering you on every step of the way!

The post How to Crumb Coat Cakes (and Why it’s Important) appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Over the years, I’ve come to depend on two different approaches to filling and stacking cakes, since in my opinion, there are two different types of cake fillings. There are stable fillings like buttercream and then there are less-stable fillings like soft consistency chocolate ganache, salted caramel, jam, lemon curd, etc. Whatever you’re using to fill your cakes these days, I’m about to show you my way of filling and stacking layer cakes. Here’s a quick video to show you the methods I’ve come to love before you read all the details below:

Before we move on to details, if you’re wanting to see more Cake Basics videos like this one, you should definitely check out my YouTube Channel and watch more of this series! You’ll even find cake recipes and decorating tutorials there to help broaden your skill set and inspire you. Be sure to hit the Subscribe button so you never miss a new video!  

Before You Start Filling & Stacking

No matter what kind of filling I’m using, I always start by placing a cardboard cake circle that’s the same diameter as my cake layers onto the turntable. Then, place a small dab of buttercream onto the cake circle before adding the first cake layer on top. The little swipe of buttercream acts as “glue” to keep the bottom layer in place.

Using this cardboard cake circle method not only keeps your bottom layer in place, it makes your cake easier to work with overall and easier to transport from the turntable to a cake stand or box once it’s finished. 

After you’ve got your bottom layer secured to the cake circle, follow either of the methods below depending on the type of filling you’re using. 

Filling Cakes with Buttercream 

Filling a cake with buttercream is super straightforward as long as you’re working with the right consistency of buttercream. My vanilla buttercream recipe is the perfect consistency for filling and frosting cakes as-is, but if you find that your buttercream collapses underneath the weight of the above cake layer and starts oozing out of the sides, it will need to be made thicker. That could mean adding extra powdered sugar to your buttercream or cooling it in the refrigerator before whipping it back up, depending on the type of buttercream you’re using.

To fill a cake with buttercream, simply add a few spatula scoops full onto your cake layer and smooth it down with an angled spatula until it’s about ½ inch thick (or however thick you prefer your filling to be). 

It’s super important to make sure your buttercream filling is as level as possible, so be sure to get down to eye level and check to see that it’s nice and even before adding your next cake layer. 

Filling Cakes with Soft Fillings (Ganache, Caramel, Jam, etc)

If you’re using a softer filling, like chocolate ganache, lemon curd, salted caramel, or really anything that could easily ooze out under the weight of a cake layer, I recommend creating a buttercream dam around the edge of your cake layer before adding your filling to the center.

To create the dam, you’ll want to use a medium or stiff consistency buttercream (these notes after my vanilla buttercream recipe detail how to create those consistencies). Add the buttercream into a piping bag and snip off about ½ inch opening, then pipe a dam around the cake layer that’s about ¼ inch from the edge of the cake. 

Fill in the center of the dam with your filling. This method basically gives your filling a nice bumper to hold up the weight of the cake layer, keeping your softer filling nice and secure inside. 

Smooth down your filling until it’s level with the top of the dam, then place your next cake layer on top. 

Stacking Cake Layers

After placing your cardboard cake circle down and filling the bottom layer of your cake using either of the above methods, place your next layer of cake right side up on top. Be sure to get down to eye level to make sure it’s centered with the bottom layer. 

Then, repeat the process of adding and smoothing the filling before placing the next layer on top. 

When adding your top layer, flip it upside down (so that the bottom of the cake layer is the top).

By adding it cut-side down, it greatly reduces the amount of loose crumbs that end up in your crumb coat and final cake finish. 

Creating Structure for Tall Cakes

My go-to cake height is 3 layers, typically 6-inches in diameter. Between the filling and frosting, my cakes end up being between 5 and 6 inches tall. The higher you fill and stack your cakes, the less sturdy they will become due to the weight of the above layers and the nature of gravity. If you want to make an extra tall cake, you’ll want to use the barrel method to add extra structure. This involves adding supports via dowels/boba straws and extra cardboard cake circles to even out the weight of the cake. While I don’t yet have my own tutorial on this method, this is the method I’ve used with success and point readers to all the time. 

Want more Cake Basics? Head here to see all of the posts and learn the methods of caking I’ve come to love over the years. I’m cheering you on every step of the way!

The post How to Fill and Stack Cake Layers appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

As promised with this Cake Basics series, here’s a video to show you everything I cover in this blog post, from the three main methods of preparing cake pans to releasing your baked cakes from those cake pans.

I’ll be releasing more Cake Basics videos like this one on my YouTube channel in the coming weeks, so be sure to subscribe! That way you’ll never miss a new one. I’ve also got tons of cake decorating tutorials and recipe videos over there, so there’s a little something for everyone regardless of skill level. 

3 Ways to Prepare Cake Pans 

The way I see it, there are three main methods of preparing cake pans. The first one is my preferred method, but I’ll show you how to do the other two as well because it’s important that you find what works best for you. 

Method 1: Grease the Sides + Line the Bottom

This is my go-to method because I never want to be left guessing whether or not I missed a spot on the bottom of the pan and risk the cake sticking. Having a liner there is ultra reassuring! I simply spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray (I love Baker’s Joy for this) and fit a parchment or wax paper circle to the bottom of the pan. As an alternative to a spray, you could also use vegetable oil or butter to grease the sides. 

For making the perfect-sized liners for the bottom of your pan, simply place the empty pan on top of a sheet of parchment or wax paper, trace around it, and cut out the circle. Repeat for however many layers you’re making, and once the sides of the pan are greased you can just place the liner right in before adding batter over the top. 

A note on using wax paper: This is the brand I use because it states clearly on the box that you can use it as a pan liner. Although you may think that wax would melt under a cake baking in the oven, I’ve come to learn that it’s only a problem if you have it exposed in the oven (aka baking cookies on a sheet of wax paper).  

Method 2: Grease + Flour

A lot of cake recipes will ask you to grease and flour the pan, and it simply means you grease the entire pan and add about a Tbsp of flour into it afterwards. Shake that flour around until it coats the sides and bottom of the pan. 

For the grease part of this method, you can use vegetable oil or butter and spread it evenly with a paper towel. And for the flour part, unless a recipe states otherwise, all-purpose flour is recommended. 

Method 3: Grease Only

This is the riskiest of the three since there’s no extra protection like there is with a pan liner or coating of flour, but I want to mention it because some bakers don’t see a need for that added protection. I will say that using a cooking spray like Baker’s Joy is your best bet if you’re going with this method, as the spray contains flour. Alternatively you can try vegetable oil or butter. 

Whichever method you go with, be sure to fill your pans with cake batter to the specified amount in a recipe. Some recipes will tell you to divide the batter evenly, while others will state to fill the pans no more than ½ or ⅔ of the way full. This is because pan heights can differ – while one 6-inch pan might have sides that are 2 inches tall, another might have sides that are shorter or taller than that. Following the pan filling instructions will help prevent you from overfilling the cakes.

Releasing Cakes From Pans 

After your cakes are baked, be sure to cool them in the pan for about 5 minutes. Any longer than this and the sides of the cake will start to shrink away from the heat of the pan. 

Afterwards, I place a clean oven mitt over the top of the cake, turn the whole pan upside down, and slide the pan upwards to release the cake. Because of the cake pan prep method I use (greasing the sides with Baker’s Joy + lining the bottom with a parchment paper circle), the cakes release really easily. If you find that the cake isn’t releasing well with your method of choice, try running a knife in between the side of the pan and the cake to release the sides, then turn the pan upside down and release it from the cake.

Once the cake is released I flip it right side up (be sure you’re protecting your hands throughout this entire process – cakes and pans are hot at this point) and place it onto a baking sheet to cool completely. You could alternatively use a cooling rack to place the cakes on. Just be sure to let them cool to room temperature before applying any frosting (this takes a few hours).

I don’t recommend placing warm cakes in the refrigerator or freezer to “speed up” the cooling time, just because the extreme temperature change can end up shocking the cake and creating extra condensation. Instead, either be patient with the cooling process or plan to make your cakes ahead of time, whether it’s a day ahead or a month ahead – we’ll get to that in an upcoming Cake Basics post! 

Want more Cake Basics? Head here to see all of the posts and learn the methods of caking I’ve come to love over the years. I’m cheering you on every step of the way!

The post How to Prepare Cake Pans for Easy Release appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.