Watercolor buttercream is the perfect base for all sorts of cake designs, whether you want something simple or elegant. The cakes shown below are actually the same cake decorated two different ways! And as far as buttercream types go, any kind of buttercream that you can tint to your desired colors will work with this tutorial (I’m using my favorite Vanilla Buttercream Recipe).

Most of the watercolor buttercream tutorials out there show you adding all of the colors at once and then smoothing them all together. With this technique, I find that the result ends up being more streaky in nature than I like. So, I usually start out with that technique and then go on to add and smooth the colors one by one to better control the outcome. All of this is shown in the video below, so give it a watch before you move on to the written tutorial below:

If you’re into cake decorating tutorials like this one, head on over to my YouTube Channel. You’ll find all sorts of cake decorating tutorials, recipes, and my entire Cake Basics series in video format. I’m always adding new videos there, so be sure to hit the subscribe button so you’ll always be the first to know about a new one. 

You Will Need

• A cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled (mine is a three layer 6 inch cake, but any size will do)
• 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream
• Food color gels of your choice (mine are varying amounts of AmeriColor Fuchsia and Orange)
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Angled spatula
• Icing smoother
• Cake turntable

Step 1: Frost the Cake with a Base Color

First, frost the cake. You don’t need to worry about getting it super smooth this go round, but you will want to make sure it’s nice and level to serve as a base for the colors that will go on top. With your chilled and crumb coated cake on the turntable, add some buttercream to the top and smooth it down with your angled spatula until it’s level and reaches beyond the edges of the cake. 

Next, add a thin layer of buttercream to the sides of the cake and smooth it with your icing smoother as you turn the cake on the turntable. 

When the sides are level and smooth, you should have a little crown of buttercream that has formed along the top edge. Use your angled spatula to swipe that buttercream toward the top center of the cake to create sharp edges all around.

If you want to improve your cake frosting skills, check out this guide that shows everything you need to know about creating a smooth buttercream finish. 

Step 2: Color the Buttercream

Divide the excess buttercream into bowls, one for each color you’re planning on mixing. Add your desired amounts of food color gel to each bowl and mix it up until you’ve got the color palette you’re imagining. 

I mixed up four different colors using AmeriColor Fuchsia and Orange. The lighter pink is just a tiny amount of AmeriColor Fuchsia, while the darker pink is a little more of that added. I did the same with the Orange color – added a tiny amount for the light orange and more for the dark orange. If you want to learn more about buttercream color mixing, here is a post on how to get the colors you’re going for.  

Step 3: Add and Smooth the Colors

I start off the traditional watercolor buttercream way by adding all of the colors at once and then smoothing them with my icing smoother.

With this technique, the colors end up being pretty streaky, but make a good base for the next step where we’ll add more color and definition.

Step 4: Add More Colors One by One

To turn this streaky watercolor cake into a masterpiece, we’ll need to add the colors one by one. I like to add big blobs of one color (I started here with the dark fuchsia on top of those streaks), and smooth it all down before moving onto the next.

After smoothing down the dark fuchsia, I moved on to adding big blobs of dark orange wherever I felt like, then smoothed those colors down. Don’t even worry about mixing colors on top of one another here – blending those colors is what makes the finish look like a watercolor masterpiece.

 Next, I added the light orange and smoothed it down, followed by the light pink. 

You can continue adding and smoothing colors until it looks just right. 

Step 5: Continue Decorating (Optional)

From here, you can keep on decorating the cake however you want! This watercolor base is perfect as-is or with some simple piping on top (as shown below using Wilton Tip 4B).

Or you can go more elegant and add a chocolate ganache drip and some fresh flowers like I did here: 

It’s all up to you! This watercolor look can be dressed up or dressed down depending on what you want to do. 

Did you make this watercolor cake? I want to know how it went and what colors you used! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post Watercolor Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I am so, so happy with how this cake turned out! The vast majority of terrazzo cakes I’ve seen before have been made with fondant (and they do look amazing!), but since I’m such a buttercream nerd I really wanted to see if I could create the look entirely with frosting. I’m glad I challenged myself, because I figured out a technique that works so well! By creating the print with buttercream on parchment paper, I was able to transfer it onto the top and sides of my cake and get a smooth terrazzo print all over. Just imagine all the amazing color palettes this design will work with!

This terrazzo technique is super easy, but I will admit that using it on both the top and sides of the cake can be a little time consuming. It essentially involves creating large buttercream transfers (one for the top and one to wrap around the sides) and ironing them onto the cake with a Wilton fondant smoother. Most of your time is spent waiting for those transfers to firm up in the refrigerator until they’re just the right consistency to work with. If you’re short on time, using this technique on only the sides will give you that same terrazzo look while saving you half the time! Either way, this terrazzo technique is going to make your cake next level.

Here’s a quick video of the decorating process for you to visualize the technique before you read all about it below:

If you’re into cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! You’ll find tons of videos to inspire you there, and make sure you never miss a new one by clicking the Subscribe button.  

You Will Need: 

• 6-inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
• 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream
• Wilton Color Right Food Color System 
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing 
• Parchment paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• A ruler and a piece of string for measuring
• 6-inch cardboard cake circle
• Wilton Tip 2 (x5) 
• Piping Bags 
• Angled Icing Spatula
• Wilton Fondant Smoother

Step 1: Create a Buttercream Color Palette

Reserve 2.5 Cups of buttercream and divide the rest evenly amongst separate bowls, one per color of your terrazzo tiles. I decided to use five different colors in my design, so I divided my buttercream into five different bowls and used the Wilton Color Right System to color each one.

The Wilton Color Right System is best for creating custom colors, and it comes with a handy chart to help you mix just the right amounts to get the color you have in mind. For example, to get the muted pink tone I mixed a little of the Pink with the tiniest bit of Brown to create more of a dusty rose color. 

Mix away until you’ve got the ideal color palette, then add each color into a separate piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 2. 

Step 2: Measure and Cut the Parchment Paper

Before you start piping away, you’ll first need to cut out parchment paper to fit the top and sides of your cake. Measuring the top is easy if you have a cardboard cake circle that’s the same size as the diameter of your cake. Simply trace the cake circle onto a piece of parchment paper and cut it out. 

For the sides, you’ll need a ruler and a piece of string. Measure the height of your cake with the ruler, then wrap a string around your cake and mark where it comes together before measuring it with the ruler. This will give you the height and circumference of your cake’s sides. Add about ½ inch to the height measurement and 1 inch to the circumference measurement, then trace the dimensions onto wax paper and cut it out. You’ll now have a strip of parchment paper that’s sized just a tiny bit bigger than you need (trust me on this!) to create your terrazzo pattern on. 

Step 3: Pipe the Terrazzo Colors

Starting with the circular piece, use your piping bags to create random terrazzo-inspired shapes all over the parchment paper. Be sure to leave some blank spaces in between to give the shapes just the right amount of space. It helps to pull up some images of terrazzo patterns for inspiration.

Once your terrazzo tiles are piped on, place the parchment into the refrigerator to firm up for about 20 minutes. This part is important for making sure the tiles maintain their perfect shapes during the next step. 

Step 4: Frost the Parchment Paper 

When your terrazzo tiles are nice and firm, spread the reserved buttercream over top of them, creating a ¼ inch thick layer of frosting over the entire piece of parchment paper. Make sure the buttercream is as smooth as possible and don’t be afraid to apply a little pressure to help fill in all the spaces between the color tiles.

Then, place the frosted parchment pieces back into the refrigerator for another 10 minutes, but no longer. You want to make sure the buttercream is firm enough to work with, but not so firm that it doesn’t adhere to the cake easily. 

Step 5: Transfer the Terrazzo Pattern to the Top

Add a super thin layer of fresh buttercream frosting to the top of the cake to act as glue, then place the circular Terrazzo parchment on top, buttercream side down.

Use the Wilton Fondant smoother to press the parchment down so it adheres to the top of the cake perfectly, then place the cake back into the refrigerator for another 10 minutes. If you feel like the top needs to be flatter, you can put a weight (like a couple soup cans) into a cake pan that’s the same diameter as your cake and place it on top. This will keep just the right amount of pressure on it while it sets in the fridge.

After it’s firmed up, carefully peel back the parchment paper to reveal your beautiful buttercream terrazzo!

Step 6: Create the Terrazzo Pattern on the Sides

Repeat steps 3 and 4 using the strip of parchment paper you previously prepared for the sides of the cake.

After its last trip to the refrigerator, where it’s semi-set, apply a thin layer of fresh buttercream to the sides of the cake for glue.

Wrap the parchment (buttercream side down) around the circumference of the cake and be sure to pull it as tightly as you can so it makes contact with every inch of those sides. You can secure the parchment with binder clips if you need to, but mine really stayed put once I had it wrapped.

Smooth the terrazzo wrap with the Wilton Fondant smoother and place it back into the refrigerator for a final 10 minutes.

Now that the wrap is nice and set, gently peel the parchment paper off the cake to reveal those gorgeous terrazzo sides.

Finally, use a paring knife to cut away the excess buttercream around the top edge. This part is essential for making sure you’ve got perfect, sharp edges.

Just look at that pretty buttercream terrazzo transfer!

This technique works in all sorts of color palettes and cake sizes, so let your imagination run wild with this one. And if you’re in need of a few things on the list, be sure to check out the amazing selection of cake decorating supplies at your local JOANN store or shop their online collection! It’s a one stop shop for everything you need for this cake design and then some. Happy National Craft Month, everyone! 

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.

The post Buttercream Terrazzo Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I’m one of those people who starts making big plans for costume ideas months ahead of time and watches all the scary movies as soon as they hit Netflix. So when I saw some sneak peeks of SprinklePop’s Halloween sprinkle lineup, I couldn’t help my brain from bursting with spooky cake ideas! I got my hands on the Monster Mashup sprinkle mix as soon as it hit the shelves and got right to work on planning the ultimate Halloween cake.

The Monster Mashup sprinkle mix is just what it sounds like: a fun collection of monster-esque sprinkles mixed up with some pretty Halloween colored awesomeness. It’s well-saturated with cute candy mummies, googly eyes, and ghosts. Just look at the variety of shapes and colors you get:

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided that the perfect backdrop for these Monster Mashup sprinkles is black buttercream. Pitch black buttercream to be exact. Using a floating technique for placing the sprinkles, it almost looks like those googly eyes, mummies, and ghosts are levitating in the dark! To add to the spook-factor, I’ve also topped the cake with some white cotton candy that’s reminiscent of cauldron smoke.

And because I’m an ultra Halloween nerd, I also tinted the vanilla cake with orange food color gel underneath it all. Everyone knows orange and black are the signature colors of this horrifying holiday. Muah ha ha ha.

I’ve included a full written tutorial below for how to make and assemble this cake, from achieving pitch black buttercream to perfectly placing your Monster Mashup sprinkles. First, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the decorating process: 

Whether you’re in need of a Halloween party showstopper or you just want to make something for the love of spooky cakes, this one’s for you!

You Will Need:

• Chocolate buttercream (here’s the recipe I use)
• 2 tsp Americolor Super Black food color gel
• A great vanilla cake recipe
• A few drops of orange food color gel, optional
• Icing spatula and scraper
• SprinklePop Monster Mashup Sprinkles
• Piping Bag
• Wilton Piping Tip 1M (or another favorite piping tip)
• White cotton candy

Step 1: Make The Chocolate Buttercream

Going from large amounts of white buttercream to black is near impossible. I’ve successfully tinted small quantities before, but in my experience, the easiest way to turn large amounts of buttercream pitch black is to start with your favorite chocolate buttercream recipe. Since brown is not far from black on the color wheel, you won’t have to use a ton of food coloring to get there.

If you don’t yet have a favorite chocolate buttercream recipe, I’ve got a great one for you here! You’ll want to double that recipe to have enough for filling and frosting this cake.

Step 2: Tint The Chocolate Buttercream Black

To get the best consistency of black buttercream, you need a food color gel that’s so concentrated you don’t need to use the entire bottle. My absolute favorite food color gel for the job is Americolor Super Black. It’s a water-based gel and is so powerful you’ll only need a little bit of color! And best of all, it doesn’t affect the taste of your buttercream at all. Not even a little bit.

Once you’ve made your chocolate buttercream, add 2 tsp of Americolor Super Black and make sure it’s fully incorporated. I add it at the end while my buttercream is still in the stand mixer and let the paddle attachment do all the hard work for me.

Step 3: Let The Buttercream Set Overnight

After adding your food color gel, note that your chocolate buttercream won’t be pitch black right away. It’ll probably look a bit like dark concrete. The missing ingredient here is time. In order to let that food color gel work it’s magic, you’ll need to add your buttercream to an airtight container and stick it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, bring it back to room temperature and whip it all back up in your stand mixer.

What you’ll end up with is pitch black buttercream magic!

Step 4: Bake And Cool The Cakes

While your buttercream is setting in the fridge, whip up your favorite vanilla cake recipe and add a few drops of orange food color gel at the end to tint the cakes.

Bake the cakes according to your recipe instructions and let them cool completely before torting the layers to your desired height.

Step 5: Fill And Frost With Black Buttercream

Once your cakes are completely cool and leveled, fill and frost them with your black buttercream. I’ve created a smooth black buttercream finish as the backdrop for my sprinkles.

I use an offset icing spatula and bench scraper to achieve the perfect smooth buttercream finish, and if you need additional tips on how to create this look, you can check out this blog post on how to get the smoothest finish ever.

Step 6: Apply The Monster Mashup Sprinkles

Now for the fun part: adding the sprinkles! To achieve the floating monster sprinkle look, reserve some of the googly eyes, mummies, and ghosts from your Monster Mashup sprinkle mix and set them aside. While the buttercream is still soft enough for the sprinkles to adhere, pour a handful of the Halloween colored sprinkles into your hand and place them around the bottom of the cake.

Cover the entire bottom third of the cake this way, making the top edge of the sprinkle border slightly uneven as you go around.

Once your sprinkle border is complete, take the monster sprinkles you’ve reserved and place them one by one around the top two thirds of the cake. It looks best when there are more monsters toward the bottom and less toward the top. I’ve also chosen to add some of the colored jimmies one by one to fill in some of the blank spaces.

Step 7: Decorate The Top Of The Cake

When your spooky Monster Mashup sprinkle placement is complete, prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 1M or another favorite piping tip of yours. Fill the piping bag with black buttercream and pipe a border around the top of the cake. I’ve chosen to pipe a few swirls around the top of the cake and sprinkle with more Monster Mashup sprinkles.

Stretch out the white cotton candy so it looks a little more like cauldron smoke and less like a clump of cotton, then place it on the top of your cake.

How cool is this cake? Definitely a showstopper for your Halloween festivities! This design will work with any of SprinklePop’s Halloween sprinkles, but I think the Monster Mashup does the trick quite well. Happy Halloween month to all!

The post Spooky Black Buttercream Halloween Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

The best things about using Candy Melts for creating sails is there’s no tempering necessary and the colors are already so vibrant. While they have the look and consistency of chocolate, Candy Melts aren’t a true chocolate and are designed in such a way that they can be melted down without having to worry about tempering. And with such a wide range of colors, you never have to worry about adding food coloring. In the past, I’ve had problems with white chocolate seizing when adding food color gel, but it’s so nice to not have to add a drop of that to Candy Melts.

It was so hard to decide what colors to choose for my sail, but in the end I decided on Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White. I wanted to create a marbled effect, and these three colors paired so well together. I’m sure this chocolate sail technique will work with so many color combinations, but you could also just use one color if you don’t want the marbled look. Either way, here’s a quick video of the technique so you can see how it works before you read all about it below:

You Will Need:

• 8 oz of Candy Melts (I used a combination of Royal Blue, Turquoise, and Bright White)
• Bowls for and spoons for melting and mixing
• A microwave (a double boiler will work as an alternative)
• Parchment paper
• Binder clips or clothespins

Step 1: Melt The Candy Melts

Divide the Candy Melts into separate bowls and microwave one at a time according to the instructions on the package: one minute on high, stir, microwave for 30-second intervals and stir after each round until fully melted. In my experience, it took two 30-second intervals (after the one minute) to fully melt the Candy Melts.

Alternatively, there are instructions on the Candy Melts package for melting them in a double boiler if you don’t have a microwave.

Step 2: Spoon Onto Parchment Paper

Spread out a sheet of parchment paper on a moveable flat surface (like a baking sheet). Then, spoon a little bit of each Candy Melt color onto the parchment paper.

The more you add, the larger your sail will end up being, so it’s best to just eyeball how much you’re adding.

Step 3: Create The Marbled Effect

Once the Candy Melts have been added, grab the edges of the parchment paper and gently rotate it around at different angles to help it spread and marble.

You’ll want it to be about ¼ inch thick before shaping, but you might end up with thicker areas once you shape it and that’s ok!

You can also tap the baking sheet on a hard surface to flatten out the Candy Melts on top.

Step 4: Shape The Sail

When you’re happy with the marbled effect, use some binder clips or clothespins to crinkle and pin the parchment paper together, shaping your sail as you go. There’s no right or wrong here, and you can feel free to use things like small rolling pins and bowls to place underneath your sail to shape it.

I didn’t really have an end shape in mind when I set out to create this Candy Melt sail, I just kindof went with the flow and kept shaping until I liked what I saw.

Step 5: Refrigerate and Remove The Parchment

Once your Candy Melt sail is looking perfectly shaped, place it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until it’s really firm to the touch. After your sail has set in the refrigerator, carefully remove the parchment paper backing and marvel at your creation.

I ended up breaking the sail apart to create some added dimension before placing the sails on top of my cake, so feel free to get creative with that part. You can leave it as one sail or create a series of smaller ones. Either way, adding them to your cake is as simple and carefully placing them into the buttercream on top.

And there you have it! A beautiful cake topper made with marbled Candy Melt sails.

If you’ve got a JOANN store in your area, be sure to pop in and check out their cake decorating supply selection! I was blown away at the color variety of Candy Melts (in addition to their incredible selection of cake pans and decorating tools), and even if you don’t have a local JOANN store, you can always find what you need on their website. 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!

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.

The post Marbled Candy Melt Chocolate Sail Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & 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).

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.

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.

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).

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!

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.

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

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

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!

The post Merry & Bright Christmas Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

One of my favorite cake decorating techniques I learned over the last year is how to to use icing spatulas and piping tips to create floral print patterns on buttercream cakes. So when my friends over at Wilton asked me to create a cake for their Holiday campaign, (after squealing) I instantly thought of recreating the buttercream floral print look with a Holiday theme! It’s easier than it looks with the right tools, a great color scheme, and some inspiration from your favorite Holiday florals and foliage (think Poinsettias, pine sprigs, snowberries, holly, and all the flowers that make you think of this festive season).

Although I already had the essential Wilton piping tips and icing spatula on hand, Wilton was kind enough to send me the perfect Icing Color Gels and decorating brush set to create the ultimate festive cake!

Here’s a video to see the techniques and step-by-step in action, and I’ll walk you through every detail below:

You Will Need:

• A cake frosted with smooth buttercream
• 1 batch of vanilla buttercream (or other light colored buttercream)
• Wilton Icing Color Gels
• Toothpicks
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Piping bags
• Several Wilton Piping Tip #2 (one for each color you’re using)
• A small icing spatula
• Floral designs for tracing + wax paper and a pencil (optional)
• Wilton decorating brushes
• A small dish of water

Step 1: Chill Your Buttercream Cake  

It’s essential that you begin this technique with a cold buttercream cake as your canvas. That way, you won’t have to worry about accidentally smudging your smooth buttercream as you create the floral patterns.

After frosting (I’ve used a tiny amount of Wilton’s Creamy Peach to get this subtle cream shade for my backdrop), chill the cake for at least 30 minutes, or until the buttercream is firm to the touch.

Step 2: Prepare Your Buttercream Color Palette

While your cake is chilling, divide your buttercream into separate bowls (one for each color). Dip a toothpick into the Wilton Icing Color Gel of your choice and apply it to the first bowl of buttercream. Mix with a spoon and continue adding color until it’s the perfect shade, then repeat with the other colors. The color palette for this specific cake is Creamy Peach, Christmas Red, Juniper Green, Moss Green, Brown, Burgundy, White (non-colored vanilla buttercream), and Black.

When your icing color palette is looking perfect, prepare your piping bags by snipping off the end and fitting each one with a Wilton Tip 2. This will give you a small, perfectly circular opening for more precise piping. Fill each piping bag with your buttercream colors and marvel at how pretty they look all together!

Step 3: Create Floral Pattern Tracings (optional)

Since I am an ultra-perfectionist, I like to know what my floral patterns are going to look like on the cake and give myself a guide by tracing the patterns on prior to piping. I created and printed out templates of simple floral patterns and traced them onto wax paper, then used the dull end of a wooden skewer to imprint the patterns onto my cold buttercream cake.

For the tracings, you could also use floral designs from wrapping paper or doing an online search for Holiday floral patterns. If you’re more of a go-with-the-flow type of cake decorator, feel free to improvise the patterns as you go!

Step 4: Pipe Your Patterns Onto The Cake

Now for the fun part – piping the designs! Using your piping bags, outline the floral pattern tracings one by one. You’ll find that some designs (like the fir tree branches) will only require outlines, while other designs (like pinecones and snowberries) require dots. The Wilton Tip 2 is perfect for either of these techniques, as it allows you to drag the buttercream in precise lines or dot the buttercream on for circular textures.

For the flower designs, pipe the outline of the flower before filling a little bit of buttercream inside the petals. Use a small icing spatula to swipe the buttercream inward and create the look of petals.

Repeat the process of piping and spatula painting until your entire cake is patterned with holiday florals.

Depending on the look you’re going for, you can have as many or as little designs as you’d like!

Step 5: Smooth With Paint Brushes

After all of your piping is complete, it’s time to do a tiny bit of finish work to make everything look smooth and uniform. It’s essential to have a few paintbrushes handy (I’m using Wilton’s 5 Piece Decorating Brush Set) and a small bowl of water for this part. 

Dip your paintbrush into a tiny bit of water and gently press down on any places on the cake where sharp peaks have formed. This technique helps flatten and smooth designs like branches, berries, and anywhere your piping is peaking.

I couldn’t be happier with how this Holiday Floral Cake turned out! Wilton had the perfect paint brushes and Icing Color Gels for this palette and I am so happy to add them to my already-vast collection of Wilton cake decorating products.

What kind of festive cakes are you planning this season? There are a TON of brilliant Holiday cake ideas like this one over on Wilton’s Christmas Ideas page, so be sure to check it out for some inspiration! And if you try this buttercream floral pattern technique, be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your creativity in action. Happy Holiday season to you and yours!

The post Holiday Floral Buttercream Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Here’s a little video I whipped up to show you all of the different looks you can create in minutes. Take a look for inspiration, then I’ll show you the step-by-step.

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You Will Need:

• Baked cupcakes
• Medium consistency buttercream in any color
• Piping bags
• Wilton Tips: 1M, 4B, 104, and/or 1A
• Small icing spatula

Rosette

Using tip 1M (you could alternatively use 2D to get a similar look), pipe a swirl starting in the center of the cupcake and ending on the outer edge.

This one is so classic and totally ends up looking like a little buttercream garden rose.

Open Stars

Using tip 4B, pipe open stars over the surface of the cupcake.

This is my all-time favorite design, and I often use a few different colors with this technique. It never fails to impress.

Basic Swirl

Using tip 1M, pipe a swirl starting on the outer edge and building upon each turn until you build a little mountain of a swirl. It should end up looking like a soft serve ice cream cone.

This was the very first technique I learned and it’s still such a timeless look.

Open Star Swirl

Using tip 4B, pipe a swirl starting on the outer edge and ending in the center. It looks best when you build upon each turn to create a swirly little buttercream mountain.

This look can be further enhanced with a few pretty sprinkles on top.

Pom Pom

Holding tip 104 vertically with the skinny end pointed upward, pipe a few squiggles in a swirl in the very center on the cupcake. Continue to add ruffley piping in a circular pattern around the center swirl until you reach the edge.

This is a very similar technique to buttercream carnations, and it ends up looking like a pretty little pom pom that looks great in any color!

Ruffles

Holding tip 104 flat against the cupcake with the thinner edge pointed outward and the larger edge pointing to the center of the cupcake, pipe a row of ruffles around the outer edge by moving the tip slightly up and down. For the next set of ruffles, hold the tip at a 45 degree angle and pipe the next row so that it stands a little bit taller. For the final and innermost set of ruffles, hold the tip at more of a 75 degree angle so they stand taller than the previous set.

This look is really amazing when you use different colors for each row, especially in an ombrè color scheme.

Spatula Swirl

Using a small icing spatula, place a dollop of buttercream on top of the cupcake and work it around until you’ve got an even bulb of buttercream, then use the spatula to create a swirl in the center as you slowly rotate the cupcake.

This one doesn’t involve a piping tip, but it’s such a classic look that many renowned bakeries still use on the daily.

Rounded Spikes

Using tip 1A, pipe dots all over the surface of the cupcakes. Easy as that!

When I brought all of these cupcakes over to a friend’s house, this was the one all the kids were pining over.

Round Tip Swirl

Using tip 1A, pipe a swirl starting on the outer edge and building until you get to the center.

This one is super simple and can be always be classed up with some pretty sprinkles.  

Ruffled Swirl

Using tip 1M, pipe a swirl starting on the outer edge and working your way to the center, only move your hand back and forth to create a ruffled look as you pipe and build upon your swirl.

It’s amazing how a simple move of your hand as you pipe can create such different results than a basic swirl.

The right piping tips and techniques make all the difference when it comes to creating flawless cupcakes. These are definitely the easiest looks to create, but they’re still some of my go-to’s when it comes to cupcake decorating.

Which one is your favorite look? Let me know in the comments below!

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