wilton tip 3 Archives - Sugar & Sparrow https://sugarandsparrow.com/tag/wilton-tip-3/ Lifestyle and Cake from Portland Oregon Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:18:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.3 https://sugarandsparrow.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/flour/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/02212522/cropped-sparrow_favi-32x32.png wilton tip 3 Archives - Sugar & Sparrow https://sugarandsparrow.com/tag/wilton-tip-3/ 32 32 Buttercream Embroidery Cake Tutorial https://sugarandsparrow.com/embroidery-cake-tutorial/ https://sugarandsparrow.com/embroidery-cake-tutorial/#respond Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://sugarandsparrow.com/?p=35955 Textiles have always been a big source of inspiration for my cake making (a couple cases in point: this knitted buttercream cake and this fiber art inspired cake), and creating...

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Textiles have always been a big source of inspiration for my cake making (a couple cases in point: this knitted buttercream cake and this fiber art inspired cake), and creating an embroidery cake with buttercream has been on my list of things to try for quite some time. With March being National Craft Month, I thought I’d finally check an embroidery cake off my list and luckily, JOANN had the perfect supplies to make it! Just look at this cutie: 

buttercream embroidery cake tutorial by sugar and sparrow
floral embroidery cake by sugar and sparrow

Although it looks pretty intricate, this embroidery cake ended up being so much easier than I thought it would be. This is partly because the piping techniques I used were so forgiving, and partly because I had some adorable floral cookie cutters to imprint onto the cake and use as piping guides for the larger flowers. I went the extra mile on the buttercream color palette and mixed up nine different colors for this design. Since this cake will look great in any color scheme you can feel free to mix up a simpler palette if you want.

JOANN supplies for floral embroidery cake tutorial
buttercream floral embroidery cake

To show you the piping techniques in action, here’s a full video tutorial of this embroidery cake before I get into the written tutorial below:

If you’re into cake decorating 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:

Step 1: Frost the Cake with Smooth Buttercream

Place your chilled and crumb coated cake on the turntable and frost a smooth buttercream finish onto the cake. Start by frosting a smooth layer on the very top of the cake with your angled icing spatula.

how to frost a smooth buttercream cake

Next, add buttercream to the sides of the cake and glide your icing smoother over them while turning the turntable to create smooth sides.

how to frost a cake with smooth buttercream
how to frost a smooth buttercream cake

You’ll notice a crown of buttercream forming on the top edges of the cake, which is essential to getting sharp edges on the top. Use your angled icing spatula to swipe the crown inwards (toward the top center of the cake). Repeat until you’ve got nice sharp edges.

smooth buttercream cake tutorial

When your cake is looking ultra smooth, pop it into the refrigerator to firm up for at least 30 minutes. If you need more tips on creating a perfectly smooth cake finish, I’ve got a great tutorial for you here

Step 2: Mix the Color Palette

Divide the remaining buttercream amongst nine different bowls (or however many colors you plan on mixing, plus one bowl you’ll leave uncolored). Use the Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring Set to create your ideal color palette. This set comes with 8 bottles of ultra concentrated food color gels and a guide to help you mix the colors you’re imagining. If you want to replicate the color palette I created, here’s what I did:

buttercream color palette
  • Dark Green: 1 drop blue, ½ drop yellow, ¼ drop brown 
  • Light Green: Mix dark green with uncolored buttercream using a 1:1 ratio
  • Light Purple: 1 drop pink, ¼ drop blue 
  • Periwinkle Blue: 1 drop blue, ¼ drop pink
  • Sky Blue: 1 drop blue
  • Coral Red: 1 drop orange, 2 drops red, ½ drop brown 
  • Peach: Mix 1 Tbsp of the coral red buttercream with uncolored buttercream
  • Yellow: 1 drop yellow, ¼ drop brown

It might seem intimidating to custom mix your color palette but I promise it’s worth it! You’ll get more control over your colors (thus a more cohesive color palette), but like I said before – feel free to walk to the beat of your own drum and use whatever colors you’re imagining! 

Step 3: Prepare the Piping Bags

Fit eight piping bags with Wilton Tip 2 or 3, then fill each one with each of the colors you mixed up in the previous step. There’s not much of a size difference between Tip 2 and 3, so you could even use a mix of both or fit some of the piping bags with couplers so you can swap the tips between bags mid-decorating.

rainbow piping bags

Step 4: Imprint the Cake with Floral Cookie Cutters

Once your frosted buttercream cake is chilled and firm to the touch, use the floral cookie cutters to make imprints where you want your embroidery to be piped.

how to imprint a buttercream cake

Leave a little room to freehand some details in between imprints as well. 

Step 5: Pipe the Embroidery Textures

Start by outlining one of the floral imprints with one of the piping bags you prepared. Place a dot in the center of the flower. Squeeze and drag the piping bag from the outlined edge of the shape to the center dot and focus on making a straight line. Continue making straight lines of buttercream from the outlined edge to the center dot all the way around the shape.

how to pipe embroidery texture with buttercream

For some of the flowers, you can pipe two colors on the inside of the imprint. Starting on the outlined edge of the flower, pipe the straight lines of buttercream only part of the way to the center of the shape with one color, then overlap with a different color to reach the center.

how to pipe embroidery with buttercream

For some of the smaller flowers, I outlined the imprint with buttercream and filled in the shape with more of a back-and-forth piping motion. I started at the bottom of the flower outline and piped from one outlined edge to the other and continued piping parallel lines in a back-and-forth motion until I reached the top of the shape.

how to pipe buttercream embroidery

I freehanded the stems and leaves using the same embroidery-inspired piping techniques. Mainly just lines and dots!

buttercream floral embroidery cake tutorial

Step 6: Add Some Accents 

I decided to add some super tiny flowers in random places as accents and I love them so much! Each one is just five dots in a circular formation.

piping floral embroidery with buttercream

I also placed dots in the center of each flower I created in the previous step. This made the embroidery design look super detailed and multi-layered.

adding details to embroidery cake with buttercream

Finally, I added a border on top of the cake. This is where the ninth color in my palette came in. I mixed the remaining uncolored buttercream with a little of the Coral Red to make a mid-toned coral color. Then I placed it in a bag fitted with Wilton Tip 12 and piped dots along the top edge of the cake.

dot border with buttercream

If your dot border looks more like chocolate chips than dots, you can always wet a small paint brush with a little bit of water and gently reshape the peaked top until it looks more round. You can also do this with any of your embroidery piping to get rid of unwanted peaks. 

I piped just a few more tiny flowers on the very top of the cake and had to stop myself there because it is so easy to want to keep on piping! Definitely follow your heart when it comes to this design, but also try to leave plenty of white space to let the embroidery elements shine!

piping buttercream embroidery cake

Just look at how adorable this embroidery cake turned out! I am so happy I finally tried these techniques and that my local JOANN had the perfect supplies to make it exactly how I imagined.

embroidery cake by sugar and sparrow

Be sure to check out your local JOANN to see their amazing cake decorating tool selection! Their Spring collection is so fun and inspiring, but they’re also my year-round go-to for local food crafting supplies (and so much more – if you’re anything like me you’ll probably also leave with armfuls of other crafts and home decor). And if you don’t live near a JOANN store, you can also shop their vast collection of products online

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

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

 

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Buttercream Knitted Sweater Cake Tutorial https://sugarandsparrow.com/buttercream-knitted-sweater-cake/ https://sugarandsparrow.com/buttercream-knitted-sweater-cake/#comments Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:00:25 +0000 https://sugarandsparrow.com/?p=31554 I don’t know about you, but every time I go to a JOANN store I end up wandering down all the aisles and tossing things into my cart that I...

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I don’t know about you, but every time I go to a JOANN store I end up wandering down all the aisles and tossing things into my cart that I did not expect (but am pleasantly surprised!) to find. Things like the perfect throw pillows for my couch, pretty pots for my plant babies, and just the other day, I wandered down the yarn aisle and stumbled upon this wool yarn by a brand called Buttercream. It felt like fate, because I want to learn to knit irl and was in need of some Fall cake inspiration. I may not be able to knit a cozy sweater yet, but I sure can make a buttercream cake look knitted with the right piping tips!

knitted buttercream cake tutorial

After the impulse Buttercream yarn purchase and a bit of research on knitted buttercream piping techniques, I decided to order all of the supplies on JOANN’s website and use their in-store pickup option just to see what it was like. I was so happy with how convenient it was! Did it stop me from wandering down the aisles and impulse buying some Fall home decor? Absolutely not. But it is so nice to know that the items I needed were ready and waiting for me at the checkout counter.

JOANN cake decorating supplies

This cake requires just three piping tips (Wilton 1M, 4B, and 3) and an extra dose of patience, which is so worth it for this end result! There’s a major pro tip in the tutorial below that details how to get the knit lines so straight. I ended up using the Wilton Color Right system to create the purple buttercream color so that it matched the yarn perfectly. And as an optional cake topper, I found the perfect bamboo knitting needles to finish the look. I love everything about this cake.

How to make a knitted buttercream cake
sweater cake tutorial

Here’s a quick video to show you all the tips and techniques before you read all about them below:

If you’re into video tutorials like this, be sure to check out my YouTube channel. There are tons of videos there to inspire you and show you the ropes of cake decorating! And I’m always rolling out new ones, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.

You Will Need

  • 6 inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
  • 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream 
  • Food color gels of your choice (optional)
  • Cake turntable
  • Angled spatula
  • Icing Smoother
  • Wilton Icing Comb
  • Wilton Tips 1M, 4B, and 3
  • Piping bags 

Step 1: Color the Buttercream (optional)

You can choose to leave the buttercream white or tint it with some food color gels of your choice. I ended up using the pink and blue gels from the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System to create this warm purple tone that matches the Buttercream yarn as closely as possible! 

how to color buttercream with wilton color right system

I love how easy it is to create totally custom colors with these food color gels, and it comes with a handy guide in case you aren’t sure about color theory. 

Step 2: Frost the Cake

Before we start piping, I find it best to frost a thin layer of smooth buttercream beneath the piped finish. This way any spaces that peek through your piped patterns will match exactly, making the texture look flawless. With your chilled, crumb coated cake on the turntable, smooth a thin layer of buttercream on top of the cake using your angled spatula, then cover the sides with buttercream. 

how to frost a cake with buttercream
how to frost a cake

Next, use your icing smoother to create a smooth, even buttercream finish. No need to worry about small imperfections, but make sure the sides are as straight and level as possible.

how to frost a cake with smooth buttercream

You’ll notice a little crown appear around the top edge as you smooth the sides of the cake, and you can use your angled spatula to drag those edges inward to create sharp edges. 

Step 3: Create the Guidelines

If you’re wondering how to get the knitted piping perfectly straight horizontally, this is my favorite hack. I used the square tooth comb from the Wilton Icing Comb set to gently create evenly spaced horizontal lines around the cake. Just turn the cake while you gently comb the sides.

how to use an icing comb on buttercream cake

And for the top, I placed the same icing comb onto the center and swirled it around to create lines there too. These lines are the perfect piping guide! 

how to use an icing comb

Once your cake finish is perfectly striped, pop the cake into the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes while you practice your piping.

Step 4: Practice Piping Techniques and Make a Plan 

While your cake is chilling, it’s best to prepare your piping bags and make a plan before you begin piping on the cake. Count how many rows (the lines from step 3) you’ve got on your cake and draw them out on a piece of paper. I had 17 rows to fill in, and knowing that helped me plan out which piping techniques I wanted to use on each section of the cake. Feel free to copy the pattern in step 5 if you have 17 rows, adjust it to fit more or less rows, or draw out your own design!  

I came up with three different techniques for the knitted piping, shown in the photo below. If you want to practice them before you start on the cake, you can pipe them out on a piece of wax paper to get the hang of it. 

buttercream piping techniques

Technique 1 (the top row above) is made with Wilton Tip 4B and simply involves piping stars. 

Technique 2 (the middle row above) is a cable knit texture created with Wilton Tip 1M. You can get the look by piping a braided pattern, or piping a series of v shapes that overlap. 

Technique 3 (the bottom row above) is your basic small knit texture, created with Wilton Tip 3. It’s similar to the technique above it, but instead of piping v shapes, you’ll be piping x shapes that overlap. This way, the top of each x looks like a v. Continue until you have a series of knits that look like the bottom row in the photo.

Step 5: Pipe the Sides of the Cake

Using the techniques shown above, I started at the bottom of the cake and piped a row of stars with Wilton Tip 4B, then filled in the subsequent three rows with Technique 3 (tiny knits):

knitted sweater cake tutorial

I piped Technique 1 to fill in the next two rows, then Technique 2 to fill in the subsequent four rows:

knitted buttercream cake tutorial
cable knit buttercream cake tutorial

The cable knit piping is basically the middle of the cake, so I repeated those techniques in reverse order to reach the top:

how to make a knitted buttercream cake
how to make a sweater cake with buttercream
knitted buttercream piping techniques

Step 6: Pipe the Top of the Cake

Similar to the planning session for the sides of the cake, count how many rows you’ve got on the top of your cake and decide how you want to fill them in. I started my design with one open star in the middle of the cake, then filled in the next four rows with Technique 3.

how to make buttercream look like yarn

Then, I finished the top with another round of cable knit piping using Technique 2.

how to make a cable knit buttercream cake

This part is totally optional, but I thought it would be so fitting to top the cake with these bamboo knitting needles once I was done with all that piping:

buttercream cake inspired by knitted sweater

You might need a hand massage after this one, but this knitted buttercream texture is unreal and totally worth it!

Knitted sweater buttercream cake by Sugar and Sparrow
buttercream sweater cake by Sugar and Sparrow

Whether you’re in need of the perfect piping tips for this cake design, some cozy wool yarn for your next real life knit, the prettiest home decor for Fall, or all of the above, JOANN is my go-to place for all of it. Be sure to check out their website and try the BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) feature if you want next level customer service! I can’t promise that it will stop you from wandering the aisles and impulse buying other things, but it’s great to have everything you need ready to go at the checkout counter. 

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

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Sprinkled Cactus Cupcakes Tutorial https://sugarandsparrow.com/cactus-cupcakes-tutorial/ https://sugarandsparrow.com/cactus-cupcakes-tutorial/#comments Wed, 24 Jul 2019 15:00:51 +0000 https://sugarandsparrow.com/?p=31081 A few years back, the ultra-creative Alana Jones-Mann popularized the cactus cupcake trend and it was one of the earliest cupcake projects I tried. I’ve gotten to make the design...

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A few years back, the ultra-creative Alana Jones-Mann popularized the cactus cupcake trend and it was one of the earliest cupcake projects I tried. I’ve gotten to make the design for a handful of events, and they’re so much fun to create every time. So when I saw the gorgeous Cactus Flower sprinkle mix by SprinklePop, I instantly thought of re-creating the cactus cupcake design with a more sprinkly aesthetic. They added such a celebratory element to the look:

cactus cupcakes by Sugar and Sparrow

The first time I tried this cactus cupcake design, I shaped the base of each cactus with a big hunk of fondant, then covered it with buttercream piping to add detail. While it looked great, I realized how terrible it is to bite into the cactus and end up with a mouth full of fondant. No thank you! Since then I decided that creating a cake ball base (a mix of cupcake crumbs and buttercream) is much more tasty, sturdy, and easy to mold into cactus shapes.

succulent cupcakes tutorial
succulent cupcakes by sugar and sparrow

The Cactus Flower mix is the perfect color scheme to pair with these pretty green cacti. It’s basically all the colors you’d find in a lush succulent garden and adds so much pretty texture to these cupcakes. If you’re wanting to recreate the look with this sprinkle mix, don’t forget to use my code SUGARANDSPARROW15 at checkout to get 15% off your SprinklePop order. I don’t get any kickback from that code, it’s just a little something special for you. You’re welcome!

how to make cactus cupcakes

Before you get started with the tutorial below, here’s a quick video of the process I whipped up for you visual learners:

You Will Need

  • 18 baked cupcakes (12 for decorating and 6 chopped into bits)
  • 1 batch of vanilla buttercream
  • Green food color gel
  • Purple food color gel
  • Bowls and spoons for mixing
  • Baking sheet
  • Wax paper
  • 4 oz bottle of Cactus Flower sprinkles
  • Small icing spatula
  • Piping Bags  
  • Wilton Tips 4B, 352, 3, and 109 (or any drop flower tip)

Step 1: Prep The Materials

Before you get started, it’s best to get all your materials prepped and ready to go. Divide your buttercream into three different bowls: add about ¼ cup of the buttercream to a small bowl and keep it uncolored and add another ¼ cup of buttercream into another small bowl and color it with purple buttercream. Divide the rest of the buttercream into two separate bowls and color one a darker shade of green and one a lighter shade of green. I used different amounts of Americolor Forest Green for these two shades.

ingredients for cactus cupcakes

Next, pour the Cactus Flower sprinkles into a small bowl, then chop up six of the baked cupcakes into smaller bits and add them to a medium sized bowl.

Step 2: Make The Cake/Buttercream Mixture

Add about ¼ cup of either of the green buttercreams to the bowl of chopped up cupcake bits. Then, use a rubber spatula or spoon to mix it all together until it’s uniform in consistency.

how to make cake balls

When you’re finished mixing, the result should be moldable when you try to shape it with your hands. If it’s not sticking together enough, just add a little bit more buttercream until it’s easy to mold with your hands.   

Step 3: Create The Cactus Shapes

There are two different styles I love when it comes to cactus cupcakes. The first is a traditional elongated shape and the other is more spherical. Before you start shaping, fit a piece of wax paper onto a baking sheet. Then, roll a little bit of the cake/buttercream mixture into 1 inch spheres using your hands and place them one by one onto the baking sheet. You’ll want to make 6 of these.

cake balls tutorial

To make the elongated shape, roll the cake/buttercream mixture between your hands to make more of a rod shape. They should each be about 1.5-2 inches tall and about an inch wide. Place them one by one onto the baking sheet until you have 6 of them.

cactus shaped cake balls

When you’re finished making your cactus shapes, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to let them firm up for about 20 minutes. They’ll be much easier to work with that way!

cactus cake pops

Step 4: Create The Sprinkled Cupcake Surface

Using the bottom of one of your piping tips, create a small cutout in the center of each cupcake to give the cactus shapes a nice foundation to sit on later.

how to make a hole in cupcake

Use a small icing spatula to frost the surface of the cupcake, excluding the small hole you created.

cupcake frosting

Then, dip the surface of the cupcakes into the Cactus Flower sprinkles. Repeat until you have all of the cupcake surfaces covered in sprinkles.

dipping cupcakes in sprinkles

Step 5: Decorate The Spherical Cacti

For the spherical cacti, add the refrigerated cake/buttercream balls to 6 of the cupcakes.

cake pops on cupcakes

Prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 4B and filling it with the lighter green buttercream. Cover the surface of each spherical cactus in open stars.

buttercream succulent tutorial

Next, prepare a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 109 (or any drop flower tip) and fill it with purple buttercream. Pipe a drop flower onto the top of each one.

how to pipe a buttercream flower

Continue decorating with spherical sprinkles from the Cactus Flower mix wherever you’d like.

succulent cupcakes with sprinkles

Step 6: Decorate The Elongated Cacti

For the elongated cacti, add the refrigerated cake/buttercream rods to 6 of the cupcakes. Prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 352 and filling it with the darker green buttercream. Then, pipe a series of vertical lines around the surface of the rods.

how to make buttercream cactus

Use the purple buttercream bag to pipe a drop flower on top of each of the cacti. Then, prepare a piping bag fitted with Wilton tip 3 and fill it with the remaining white (uncolored) buttercream. Pipe a series of dots onto every other line on the cactus. These are meant to look like the spines of a cactus.

buttercream cactus tutorial

Use your lighter green buttercream to pipe a couple open stars next to the elongated cacti, then continue decorating with spherical sprinkled from the Cactus Flower mix wherever you’d like.

buttercream cactus cupcakes

Aren’t these sprinkled cactus cupcakes the cutest thing? They’re perfect for any Summer gathering and are sure to impress.

buttercream cactus cupcakes by sugar and sparrow
buttercream succulent cupcakes by Sugar and Sparrow

If you’re inspired to make these sprinkled cactus cupcakes, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram so I can see! I love seeing what you create.

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Buttercream Flower Wreath Cake Tutorial https://sugarandsparrow.com/buttercream-flower-wreath-cake/ https://sugarandsparrow.com/buttercream-flower-wreath-cake/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2019 15:00:11 +0000 https://sugarandsparrow.com/?p=30568 I dream of Spring all Winter long, and now that it’s only a few days away I can literally feel my excitement level going up! My favorite thing about Spring...

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I dream of Spring all Winter long, and now that it’s only a few days away I can literally feel my excitement level going up! My favorite thing about Spring is the flowers start blooming again, which always gets me in the mood to incorporate buttercream flowers into my cake designs. They’re so easy to whip up with the right piping tips, a few flower nails, and some pre-cut parchment paper squares – all of which I found at my local JOANN store! With such a great selection of craft and cake decorating supplies, I always find what I’m looking for.

JOANN cake decorating supplies

There are three types of buttercream flowers involved in this wreath cake topper: roses, ranunculus, and camellias. Although they may look intricate, they’re easy to make with a little practice and the right materials. They look so pretty all on their own, but it’s really fun to arrange them into a flower wreath as a cake topper. Total showstopper!

buttercream flower wreath cake by sugar and sparrow
buttercream flower wreath cake tutorial

I whipped up a quick video to show you the process of making the buttercream flowers and assembling them onto the cake, so have a look before you read the tutorial below:

You Will Need:

Step 1: Color The Buttercream

Divide your buttercream into different bowls and mix up the color scheme you’d like your flowers to be. I went with a dark brick red and light purple for the roses, fuschia ranunculus with peach centers, and white camellias with yellow centers, but these buttercream flowers can be made in any color scheme you’d like.

wilton color right system

You’ll also need a few shades of green for the buttercream leaves, a little yellow for the centers of the camellias, and about ½ cup of plain white buttercream reserved. For all of the shades I created for this cake, I used the Wilton Color Right System from JOANN. It comes with a handy guide for mixing up any shade you could think of!

Step 2: Make The Buttercream Roses

To make the buttercream roses, fit a piping bag with Wilton Tip 104 and fill it with the buttercream color of your choice. Pipe a small dot of frosting on top of the flower nail, holding it in the hand you’re not piping with. Press a parchment paper square on top.

With the larger end of Tip 104 touching the flower nail and the skinny end pointed upwards, pipe the center bud as you twirl the flower nail 360 degrees. Pipe petals around the bud as you rotate the flower nail – shorter petals in the beginning and longer petals as you reach the edge of the flower nail.

buttercream rose tutorial

When your buttercream rose is finished, carefully drag the parchment paper square off the flower nail and onto a flat surface. I placed a piece of wax paper onto a baking sheet for this part. Repeat until you have 5-6 buttercream roses, and feel free to pipe smaller sizes for variety.

Step 3: Make The Buttercream Ranunculus

To make the buttercream ranunculus, fit a piping bag with Wilton Tip 104 and fill it with the peach buttercream (or color of your choice for the center of the flower). Prepare the flower nail by placing a dot of buttercream on top, then pressing a parchment paper square onto it.

Hold Tip 104 at a 45 degree angle, with the larger end of the piping tip touching the flower nail and the skinny end pointed toward the center of the flower nail. Pipe a swirl of buttercream as the base for your center bud as you twirl the flower nail 360 degrees. Then, create overlapping layers of buttercream as you rotate the flower nail. Imagine that you’re piping small rainbows over the center bud as you go around.

buttercream ranunculus tutorial

Next, switch to your main ranunculus buttercream color (I used fuschia for this), still using Wilton Tip 104. Continue the overlapping motion for the petals all the way around the bud. When you’re finished, carefully slide the parchment paper onto your baking sheet so the flower can begin to dry. Repeat until you have 5-6 different ranunculus flowers, and remember to create a variety of sizes.

Step 4: Make The Buttercream Camellias

To make the buttercream camellias, place your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 104 (I’m using white for these, but you can use any color!). Fit another piping bag with Wilton Tip 3 and fill it with yellow buttercream. The second piping bag will help create the flower centers. Prepare your flower nail by placing a dot of buttercream on top and pressing a parchment paper square onto it.

Starting on the outer edge of the flower nail with Tip 104 flat (the larger end toward the center of the flower nail and the skinny end pointed outwards), pipe a row of petals as you rotate the flower nail. When you’ve created a circle of outer petals, pipe a second row of petals with the same motion, only point the piping tip at a 45 degree angle so the inner row of petals stands up. Then, use your yellow buttercream to fill in the center of the petals with dots.

buttercream camellia tutorial

When you’re finished, carefully slide the parchment paper onto your baking sheet so the flower can begin to dry. Repeat until you have about 4-5 camellias.

Step 5: Refrigerate The Buttercream Flowers

Place your baking sheet with all of your beautiful buttercream flowers into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to let them firm up before assembling the buttercream flower wreath.

how to make buttercream flowers

After the refrigeration process, they should be firm to the touch and really easy to handle. Although you might be tempted to place them in the freezer to speed this part up, I have not had good luck with the freezer. I know some bakers swear by it, but in my experience, the refrigerator is better when it comes to these delicate buttercream flowers.

Step 6: Assemble The Buttercream Flower Wreath

Prepare a piping bag by filling with your reserved ½ cup of white buttercream and snipping off a 1-inch opening. On a cake that’s been frosted and chilled for at least thirty minutes, pipe a circle of white buttercream about ½ inch from the edge of the cake. This will help create height for your flower wreath.

how to make a flower wreath cake topper

Next, assemble your chilled buttercream flowers on top of the circle of buttercream, pressing them in and angling them outward and inward for variety.

how to arrange buttercream flowers on cake
how to make buttercream flowers

Feel free to overlap some of the flowers and don’t worry about small empty spaces – we’ll fill those in next!

Step 7: Pipe The Buttercream Leaves

Fit a piping bag with Wilton Tip 352 and fill it with green buttercream. I ended up fitting another piping bag with Wilton Tip 3 and using the lighter green buttercream to pipe dotted foliage around some of the flowers, but feel free to stick with leaves if that’s your jam.

buttercream leaf piping tips

Wherever there’s an empty space (aka the white buttercream is showing through), pipe leaves to fill in the gaps. Feel free to pipe green dots like I did or designs to fill in those empty spaces and complete your floral wreath cake.

how to pipe buttercream flower cake

And there you have it – the perfect cake for Spring! Remember that with more practice, your buttercream flowers will be so easy to whip up you’ll want to put them on everything. And if you’ve got a JOANN store in your area, be sure to check out their cake decorating supply selection! I’m always so impressed with their collection of Wilton products, cake pans, decorating tools, and all the things. And best of all, they always have great coupons if you download their mobile app. That way you can get what you need and save money while you’re at it!

buttercream flower cake by sugar and sparrow

Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN for my work of creating this cake, 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.

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Merry & Bright Christmas Cake https://sugarandsparrow.com/merry-christmas-cake/ https://sugarandsparrow.com/merry-christmas-cake/#respond Mon, 10 Dec 2018 16:00:36 +0000 https://sugarandsparrow.com/?p=30242 How are the Holidays treating you? I’m in full on Christmas spirit mode over here, with so many ideas for festive Holiday cakes and no time to do them all!...

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How are the Holidays treating you? I’m in full on Christmas spirit mode over here, with so many ideas for festive Holiday cakes and no time to do them all! I like to really sink into this season because there are so many fun things to do with friends and family, and although I love decorating Holiday-themed cakes I try not to spend too much time in the kitchen this time of year because I don’t want to miss any festivities. This Merry & Bright cake was at the tippy top of the list though – it’s the second year in a row I’ve made this design, and I just had to share it with you because it’s so easy to recreate!

merry and bright christmas lights cake by sugar and sparrow

The term “Merry & Bright” is a snippet of a lyric from one of my favorite Bing Crosby holiday songs (White Christmas). It’s also a great movie if you’re looking for a seasonal classic to watch this year, or every year! The cool thing is, you can really pipe any Christmassy saying or song lyric onto the top of the cake and get the same vibe with this technique. Here’s a super quick video to show you how it’s done:

Having a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 3 is essential to piping clean lines for the lettering and the rest of the Christmas light cords. I like to have a handful of these tips on hand for the individual Christmas lights as well, because it makes piping dots more precise. You can use any color combination you’d like for the little light bulbs, but I’ve gone with a colorful scheme using my Americolor gels (the exact colors are detailed below).

christmas lights cake tutorial by sugar and sparrow

how to pipe christmas lights with buttercream

As long as you have all of your colors mixed and piping bags ready to go, you can create this design in about ten minutes from start to finish! That makes this one of the quickest and easiest Holiday cake designs ever, and in this busy time of year, saving yourself some time is everything.

You Will Need:

  • At least one Wilton Tip 3 (I’ve used 6 to pipe all these colors)
  • Piping bags
  • A cake frosted with smooth buttercream
  • ½ batch of vanilla buttercream (or other light-colored buttercream)
  • Americolor Super Black color gel
  • A few other color gels of your choice for the light bulbs
  • Bowls and spoons for color mixing
  • A cake turntable

Step 1: Chill Your Buttercream Cake

Whenever I pipe designs onto buttercream cakes, I like to start with a chilled finish. This way, I never have to worry about accidentally smudging the buttercream during the decorating process.

How to frost a smooth buttercream cake

After you’ve frosted your cake with a smooth buttercream finish, pop it into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or until it’s firm to the touch.

Step 2: Mix Up Your Colors

Divide the vanilla buttercream into separate bowls (one for each color you’re mixing), then create black buttercream for the Christmas light cords and other colors for your light bulbs.

Americolor gel paste for buttercream

For my color scheme, I used Americolor Super Black for the cord and Americolor Fuschia, Lemon Yellow, Sky Blue, Mint Green, and Violet for the Christmas lights. When you’re finished with your color mixing, place the buttercream into individual piping bags fitted with Wilton Tip 3. If you only have one Wilton Tip 3, use it for piping the cord and snip a tiny opening off of each of the other piping bags you’ll be using for the light bulbs.

Step 3: Pipe Your Christmas Quote

Now that your cake is nice and chilled and your piping bags are prepped, it’s time to write out the quote on the top of the cake. If you want to plan this part out ahead, you can always write the quote out on wax paper and then use the end of a wooden skewer to imprint the tracing onto the cake (like I did in this tutorial).

how to pipe words with buttercream

Since the lettering is meant to look really wild and script-y, like you wrote it out with Christmas light cords, you can totally freehand this part too!

Step 4: Pipe the Christmas Light Bulbs

Next, pipe multi-colored dots in a random pattern along your lettering from Step 3 to light the quote up!

holiday cake tutorial by sugar and sparrow

This part is my favorite, because it really makes everything come to life in just a few minutes.

Step 4: Pipe The Sides Of The Cake

Now that the top is finished, repeat the process of piping cords and light bulbs all over the sides of the cake. It looks best when you continue the cord from the top of the cake and loop it all around the sides with a random pattern.

wilton tip 3 buttercream piping

It also really helps to have a good cake turntable for this part, because you can just spin as you pipe!

holiday cake ideas by sugar and sparrow

And there you have it – the quickest and easiest Holiday cake you’ll make all season:

merry and bright cake tutorial

holiday cake by sugar and sparrow

What are some of your favorite Christmas song lyrics and/or sayings? I would love to see this cake design with some of them! Let me know if you try this technique by tagging me on Instagram. I absolutely love to see what you create. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Disclaimer: this post does contain some affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you click them and purchase items I’ve recommended. Using these links won’t cost you any extra money, but they do help to keep Sugar & Sparrow up and running. Thank you for your support!

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