This monster shag cake is perfect for a Halloween party table and will work in any color scheme you can think of. I used five colors here: AmeriColor Super Red, Egg Yellow, Orange, Turquoise, and Sky Blue. To make your life easier, plan on using one shag piping tip per color in your palette. Sure, you can get away with using couplers to swap piping tips between colors, but the piping process will be much more enjoyable if you have as many piping tips as colors. 

Tips for Piping a Shag Cake 

Working with Wilton Tip 233 to create shag texture is a whole lot of fun, but there are a few keys to success that I want to mention:

1. Make sure your buttercream is medium consistency. I used my favorite Vanilla Buttercream recipe for this cake and it worked perfectly. It’s an American Buttercream but any type of buttercream will do for this piping technique as long as it’s not too thick or too thin. 
2. Practice first. If this is your first time piping shag, don’t be afraid to practice before you start piping directly onto the cake. You can pipe onto the side of a glass or jar to get the hang of it – basically hover the tip close to the surface and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream starts to make contact. Continue squeezing the piping bag while you pull away from the surface to create length, then quickly release pressure to end the shag. 
3. Start with a chilled buttercream cake. After crumb coating your layer cake, chill it for 20-30 minutes (or until firm) in the refrigerator. This will create the perfect surface for piping. 
4. Keep your hands cold. Run your hands under cold water and dry them thoroughly before piping. You’re going to be handling the piping bags quite a bit and the heat of your hands could start melting the buttercream inside. If it does start to become runny due to heat, you can place your piping bag in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, then gently massage the bag to mix up the buttercream and continue piping. 

Here’s a quick video of the process before you read all about making this monster shag cake 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! 

You Will Need

A 6-inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled

3 Cups of medium consistency buttercream (I used this Vanilla Buttercream)

Bowls and spoons for color mixing

5 color gels of your choice 

5x Wilton Tip 233 

5 piping bags

Candy eyeballs in various sizes (I used this set) 

Step 1: Color the Buttercream

Divide the buttercream evenly between 5 bowls. Mix the color gels into each bowl to mix up the color palette of your choice. I used AmeriColor Super Red, Orange, Egg Yellow, Turquoise, and Sky Blue for this color palette (about 3 drops per color). 

Once your buttercream colors are looking good, add each color into a separate piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 233. 

Step 2: Pipe the Shag

Starting on the bottom third of the cake, pipe the first shag monster. It should be an imperfect, blob-like color block. To create the shag, hover the piping tip close to the surface of the cake and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream makes contact with the surface of the cake, then pull the tip away from the cake while you release pressure. This can take some practice, so feel free to perfect your shag piping on a glass or jar before piping directly onto the cake. 

Pipe the next shag monster in a different color directly next to the first. Feel free to make this one a little taller or shorter than the first shag monster for variety. 

Repeat adding the shag monster color blocks all around the bottom third of the cake.

Add a second row of shag monsters on top of the first row. Be sure to leave enough room for a third row of shag monsters. 

Add the final row of shag monsters on the top third of the cake and continue the shag onto the very top. Keep going until you’ve got color blocks covering every inch of the cake.

Step 3: Add the Candy Eyeballs 

Add a set of candy eyeballs to each shag color block to bring the monsters to life. Some could have just one eyeball, others could have five eyeballs or more. Feel free to use your imagination here and create some variety! 

This set of Wilton candy eyeballs really came in handy for this cake. It comes with three different sizes of eyeballs!

When you’re finished adding eyeballs to each and every monster, you’ll have the cutest Halloween cake ever. I love how this cake looks like the monsters are having a cozy little snuggle sesh. 

Did you make this monster shag cake? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave me a comment below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post Monster Shag Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This Holiday Bake-Along begins on December 1st and ends on December 24th, 2021. Here’s everything you need to know if you want to participate:

1. Make a mini Christmas tree cake using this tutorial. 
2. Decorate it however you’d like. I’ve posted pictures of a few different ideas below.
3. Post a photo on Instagram and tag @sugarandsparrowco in the image so I can see and share it. 
4. Use the hashtags #SugarAndSparrow and #HolidayBakeAlong so you can see everyone else’s cakes and cheer each other on! 
5. Check my Instagram Stories all throughout December to see your photos featured. I’ll be posting photos of your creations on my blog as well (all with your permission, of course!). 

Since there are countless ways you can decorate these mini Christmas tree cakes, I’m really looking forward to seeing your creativity! Here’s a video showing a few ideas I’ve come up with to inspire you:

Traditional

This is the very first Mini Christmas Tree Cake design I created and it’s so simple to replicate. I piped green buttercream with Wilton Tip 4B to get the leaf texture, then added sprinkles all over. Since it’s the same design from the original Mini Christmas Tree Cake tutorial, you can follow the step by step here to get the look. 

Retro Shag

There’s nothing more fun than a shag Christmas tree, and this design will work in any color you want. You’ll just need Wilton Tip 233 (the grass tip), some fun sprinkles, and you’re good to go. 

Glitzy & White 

No food coloring necessary for this one! You’ll just need some white frosting (here’s the Vanilla Buttercream recipe I use), Wilton Tip 4B, and pretty sprinkles. Make it even more glam with some gold luster dust!

Merry & Bright

This design is so satisfying to create and to look at. It uses Wilton Tip 32 to pipe overlapping vertical lines starting at the bottom of the cake and working your way up.

Snowy Swirls

The best thing about this design is you don’t need any piping tips. You can get this look by swirling a small spatula (or a butter knife!) through the frosting. Add a little powdered sugar “snow” for some Winter wonderland vibes!

I am so excited to see your Mini Christmas Tree Cake designs! Let me know if you have any questions below. And if not.. Ready, set, BAKE.

The post Holiday Bake-Along: Mini Christmas Tree Cakes appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

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

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

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