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

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

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

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

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

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

Chocolate Ganache Drip Cake Tips

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

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

Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe

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

Spatula Painted Cake Tutorial

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

Milk & Cereal Cake Recipe

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

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

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

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe

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

How To Frost A Smooth Buttercream Cake

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

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

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I wanted to share a little bit about myself so you can get to know the lady behind all the buttercream. My name is Whitney and my love for baked goods started decades ago, side by side with my momma in the kitchen. She had a real knack for making whatever she baked taste so special (she would say it was the love she put in – total mom thing to say). From Christmas cookies to lemon squares and apple crisp, I was glued to her side, mixing up the dough and sneaking the occasional spoonful.

After completely nerding out and attempting to bake every recipe in her Jean Parè baking books, I stumbled upon a little show called Ace of Cakes and I was instantly captivated, to say the least. I wondered if I could make art out of cakes like that and was determined to at least try. I headed to my local craft store, bought myself some tools, and started teaching myself the art of cake decorating via TV shows and YouTube.

My first cakes were mediocre at best but I was obsessed regardless, and kept at it until I started surprising myself. I’d make cakes every chance I could – the neighbor’s 50th birthday, a coworker’s baby shower, a wedding cake for a complete stranger, you name it. And you know what? People started asking me to make cakes on the regular. I decided to get my domestic kitchen licensed, whip up a few business cards, slap together a website, and called it Sparrow Cakes. Those were the years I worked a day job full-time and came home to get creative with cakes till midnight. Wake up, repeat.

Although those years completely burned me out, they taught me SO MUCH about baking, cake decorating, and the science of edible art. I had my fair share of aggravating cake fails and delightful successes. I experienced the agony of staying up till 3:00am decorating, the anxiety that comes with transporting cakes that took hours to create, and the joys of delivering them to happy clients at grand events. Through it all, I’ve continued to be fascinated by baking and how creative it can be, which is what led me to launch Sugar & Sparrow. It’s for you to learn, get inspired, and hopefully share a few laughs with me along the way.

In addition to my love for all things baking, here are 10 things about me that you might not know, in no particular order:

1. I’m a born and raised Portlander (Oregon), and I could easily see myself living here for the rest of my life.
2. I’ve been a singer for as long as I can remember. Started in the gospel choir as a kid, joined a ska band at one point (teenage angst), led worship for many years, and am currently putting the final touches on a synth-punk record with The Bell Jar. 
3. My favorite dessert is Baked Alaska, but I’ve never attempted to make it (bucket list).
4. I want to read every Stephen King book on his list of novels. I’m currently seven novels in – The Shining, Carrie, The Mist, IT, Cujo, Bag of Bones, and The Long Walk. Only 88 to go! 
5. When I was eight I won a rock paper scissors competition at a summer camp.
6. My husband is my best friend and he also happens to be a professional graphic designer. When we collaborate on cakes, magic happens (mostly because he knows how to take my chaotic idea and turn it into something more visually perfect). He’s an inspiration to me and can make me laugh like no other. A win win.
7. We just bought our first house and we’re working really hard to remodel it all ourselves. We’ve had a lot of fun and I’m amazed at what we’ve been able to do (thanks to YouTube and Home Depot).
8. My favorite colors to look at are turmeric, seafoam green, and raspberry. My favorite color to wear? Black.
9. Running is my brain’s happy place. My mind is pretty wild, always busy with ideas and thoughts, and running is the one scenario where I can clear my head. In addition to my neighborhood jaunts, I’ve run a couple half marathons and a Hood To Coast relay and I’d love to do more races at some point.
10. I’ve played HQ trivia everyday, sometimes twice a day, for the past six months. I’ve only won two times (in the amount of exactly $2.05) but someday I’m convinced I’ll win a fortune.

Well enough about me, already. I want to get to know YOU! Feel free to tell me a little about yourself and your baking journey in the comments below!

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