I absolutely love the details on this cake, from the pretty piping to the spooky sprinkles and a touch of sparkle created with this gold shimmer dust. It would be so stunning on any Halloween party table! And it’s delicious too – underneath all that pretty piping is my favorite black velvet cake recipe.

JOANN has an incredible selection of Halloween food crafting items like sprinkles, molds, cake pans, toppers, and really everything you could need to spook up your party table. It’s really a one-stop shop for all things Halloween though – from frightening home decor to the perfect fabric for any costume. I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing some extras like these skull shaped ice cube molds and this pretty pumpkin scented candle. 

Lambeth Cake Tips for Success

If you’ve never made one before, a Lambeth cake may look a little intimidating. Since the style involves over-piping (aka you can never pipe too many details), it ends up being a really forgiving design. Here are some of my best tips to set you up for success: 

Start with a chilled cake. Before you pipe any details, make sure that your smooth buttercream finish is nice and chilled (firm to the touch). This helps keep the buttercream finish intact while you pipe on top and will help any piping set quickly because of the cold surface. 

Place a larger cake circle underneath. Since you’ll be piping details onto the bottom border of the cake, it will save you a lot of stress to make sure the cake is sitting on a cake circle that’s larger than the cake and any piping. This way you can just lift the whole cake off of the turntable while keeping all the piping perfect. For example, since my cake layers are 6-inches in diameter, I decorated my cake on an 8-inch cake circle for easy transfer. 

Plan out your piping. It’s not enough to know what kinds of designs you want to pipe on a Lambeth cake. You have to know where to pipe them. This is where a template comes in handy, and I’ll show you how to make the most simple template ever in this tutorial below. 

Create the ideal buttercream consistency. Piping looks its best when you’re using buttercream that is the right consistency. Not so thick that there are crinkly edges, but not so thin that you can’t see detail and the designs are drooping. You want a stiff consistency buttercream, and this post will show you how to create it with my American buttercream recipe. 

Here’s a video tutorial that will walk you through how to create this Halloween Lambeth Cake from start to finish. Give it a watch before you read through the detailed steps below!

If you love cake decorating tutorial videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.

You Will Need

• 6-inch cake that’s been frosted smooth and chilled
• 8-inch cake circle to decorate on
• 6-inch cake pan (for tracing)
• Wax or parchment paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Toothpick
• 2 ¼ inch round cookie cutter 
• Scotch tape
• 1 batch (3 Cups) of vanilla buttercream 
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring
• 2 Tablespoons Black cocoa powder or regular cocoa powder
• Cake turntable
• Wilton tips 104, 4B, and 32
• Piping bags
• STIR Halloween Sprinkle Mixes
• STIR Edible Shimmer Dust in Gold 

Step 1: Make the Lambeth Template + Mark the Cake

The Lambeth technique is all about symmetry. The best way to keep your piping symmetrical is to make a template to mark out equal sized sections on your cake. To make the template, flip a cake pan (the same size as your cake layers) upside down onto a piece of parchment paper. Trace around it with a pencil and cut out the circle. Flipping the pan upside down and tracing around the lip helps account for the frosting on the sides of the cake when measuring the true diameter.

After cutting out your parchment paper circle, fold it in half three times to create 8 equal-sized sections.

Place the template on top of the chilled cake and mark each crease with a toothpick (a). Find a round glass or cookie cutter that’s the same diameter as the sections in your template and place a piece of scotch tape across the middle to create a half circle (b). This will help you line it up with the top of your cake as you press it into the sides (c) to indicate where each garland will go.

Step 2: Mix the Color Palette

Divide the 3 Cups of buttercream equally amongst three separate bowls and mix in the color gels of your choosing. I used the Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring set to custom mix these colors. In the first bowl, I mixed in 5 drops of Orange. In the second bowl, 5 drops of Pink and 2 drops of Blue to create a warm purple tone.

To create the black color in the last bowl, I first mixed in 2 Tablespoons of black cocoa powder to create a dark brown color, then mixed in 3 drops of Black. This way, I didn’t have to use nearly as much food coloring. If you don’t have access to black cocoa powder, you can use regular cocoa powder instead but note that you’ll need to use a few more drops of Black. 

Step 3: Prepare the Piping Bags

Fit two piping bags with Wilton Tip 104 and add half of the black buttercream into one and half of the purple buttercream into another. Fit two piping bags with Wilton Tip 4B and add the rest of the black buttercream and the rest of the purple buttercream. Fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 32 and add the orange buttercream. 

Step 4: Create the Bottom Border

Starting at the bottom edge of the cake, pipe a shell border with Wilton Tip 4B using the black buttercream. To pipe a shell border, hold the bag at a 45 degree angle and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream fans out and forces the tip upward (a). Gradually relax pressure as you lower the tip and pull the bag toward you to create a tail (b). Pipe the next shell directly onto the tail of the first (c).

Continue piping shells all the way around the bottom edge of the cake, until you reach the very first shell you piped.Using the same technique, pipe a smaller shell border on top of the first using Wilton Tip 32 and the orange buttercream.

Place purple eyeball sprinkles onto the shell border as accents. I placed mine directly below where each of the indented semi-circles from the template connected.

Step 5: Create the Ruffle Garlands + Accents 

Onto each of the semi-circle indents you created in Step 1, use the black buttercream-filled piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 104 to create the ruffle garland. To create a ruffle, hold the piping bag at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the cake with the skinny end of the tip facing away from the cake (a). Squeeze the bag as you move your hand slightly up and down to create the ruffle texture as you pipe (b). Release pressure on the bag once you’ve ended the ruffle where you desire (c).

Continue piping black ruffles along the semi-circle indents until you reach the first one you piped.

Using the piping bag filled with purple buttercream and fitted with Wilton Tip 104, pipe a second set of purple ruffles directly onto each black ruffle.

Use the orange piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 32 to pipe a small shell with the tail pointed upwards where each of the ruffle sets connect. Place a black spider sprinkle onto the top of the middle shell.

Pipe a purple star about an inch beneath each space where the ruffles connect using Wilton tip 4B. Place a skull sprinkle on top of each star. Gently press a pumpkin sprinkle about ½ inch beneath each skull-topped purple star.

Step 6: Decorate the Top of the Cake 

On the top edge of the cake, pipe a shell border with Wilton Tip 32 and the orange buttercream. Pipe another shell border directly next to it using Wilton Tip 4B and the purple buttercream.

Place skull sprinkles in between the two shell borders.

Use the black piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B to pipe swirls next to the purple shell border and place an orange eyeball sprinkle on top of each swirl.

Step 7: Spray with Shimmer Dust 

For a little extra shine on all this pretty piping, I spritzed this Gold Edible Shimmer Dust all over the cake. It gives a really subtle finish of gold luster and was really fun to use! I want to top every cake with this stuff now.

And there you have it! The perfect Halloween showstopper cake for your party table, regardless of the average age on your guest list. Even if you’re not throwing a Halloween party this year, it’s a really fun cake design to whip up this spooky season!

I hope you love making this colorful, vintage-inspired Halloween lambeth 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.

The post Vintage Halloween Lambeth Cake Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

While rustic swirls are easy to create, they do require a little bit of strategy. The first time I tried this look, I found myself spending way too much time trying to perfect each and every swirl. Turns out that in order to get that carefree look, you have to let loose a little bit. Once you get to the point of wild abandon, your cake will look amazing! 

This technique works with any kind of frosting and color scheme, but I really love it with chocolate buttercream. The texture of the swirls makes a chocolate cake just look extra delicious. Here’s a quick video I whipped up of the technique so you can see it in action before you read the step-by-step below. 

If you love cake decorating tutorial videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.

You Will Need:

• One 6-inch or 8-inch layer cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
• 3 Cups of frosting (here’s the chocolate buttercream I used)
• Cake turntable
• Icing smoother
• Angled icing spatula 

Step 1: Frost the Cake

Start with your chilled, crumb coated cake on the turntable. Add a few scoops of buttercream to the top of the cake and smooth it down with your angled icing spatula until it’s nice and level. 

Next, add buttercream to the sides of the cake and glide your icing smoother over them while turning the turntable to create level sides. Fill in any gaps in the finish with more buttercream and continue smoothing until the sides are level.

Don’t worry about achieving a super smooth finish – the goal here is to make the sides look straight and even. 

Step 2: Create the Rustic Textures

Immediately after frosting the cake, swipe your angled icing spatula through the buttercream to create the rustic texture all over the sides. Remember, we’re going for a perfectly imperfect look, so try not to overthink this part. 

I like to use a combination of quick swipes, C-Shapes, and S-shapes for my rustic swirls. You can always re-texture some areas that you’re not entirely satisfied with. 

Step 3: Decorate the Top

When you’re satisfied with the texture on the sides of the cake, continue those same techniques on top of the cake until it’s all filled in with beautiful rustic swirls. 

And that’s it! You can keep the cake as-is or continue decorating by adding fun birthday candles, fresh (edible) flowers, sprinkles, or whatever you’d like! However you choose to decorate (or not), your cake is going to look downright delicious with all that texture. 

I hope you have the best time with this classic cake decorating technique! If you found this tutorial helpful, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post How to Frost a Cake with Rustic Texture appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

This daisy cake design would make the sweetest birthday party cake (just imagine it with cute birthday candles on top!) or the centerpiece for any special gathering. I’m thinking of Mother’s Day, a picnic in the park, a Sunday brunch, or any happy event on your calendar. You can use any of my cake recipes as the base of the cake and any light colored buttercream for the topping. Here are some of my suggestions, but feel free to use your favorite type of buttercream that’s pipeable and easy to color: 

• Vanilla Buttercream
• Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
• White Chocolate Buttercream
• Cream Cheese Buttercream
• Lavender Buttercream (it’s white if you don’t add the lavender color gel!)

The best part about this daisy cake is that the technique for piping the flowers is so easy. All you need is Wilton Tip 104 for the petals and Tip 10 for the centers. Watch this quick video tutorial to see how it’s done: 

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

• A layer cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled (mine is 6” diameter)
• Cake turntable
• Icing smoother
• Angled spatula 
• 3 Cups of light colored buttercream (I’m using one batch of this vanilla buttercream recipe)
• AmeriColor Egg Yellow (or yellow color gel of your choice)
• Wilton Tip 104
• Wilton Tip 10
• 2 piping bags 
• Palette knife or small food-grade paint brush (optional)

Step 1: Color the Buttercream

Reserve about ⅓ Cup of buttercream for piping the daisies, then add 3-5 drops of AmeriColor Egg Yellow (or other yellow food color gel) to tint the rest of the buttercream a medium yellow color. 

Step 2: Frost a Smooth Buttercream Finish

Place your chilled and crumb coated cake on the turntable and use the yellow buttercream you tinted in the previous step to 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. Next, add buttercream to the sides of the cake and glide your icing smoother over them while turning the turntable to create smooth sides.

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.

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 3: Pipe the Daisies

Place the white buttercream you reserved in Step 1 into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 104. Add another drop of AmeriColor Egg Yellow to any leftover yellow buttercream and mix it to make a slightly darker yellow for the daisy centers. Add this darker yellow buttercream to a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 10. 

Starting with the white frosting, hold the piping bag so that Tip 104 is parallel to the side of the cake, angled so that the larger part of the opening is the tip of each daisy petal and the smaller part of the opening is the center of the flower. Hovering the piping tip about ⅛ inch from the surface, pipe the first daisy petal by squeezing the bag and quickly releasing pressure once you see a petal shape form. Repeat piping the petals in a circular formation, rotating your hand slightly after piping each petal. 

Repeat piping the clusters of daisy petals 1-2 inches apart, all over the sides and top of the cake. 

Pipe a dot of the darker yellow buttercream in the very center of each daisy petal cluster to finish each flower.

Step 4: Smooth the Centers (Optional) 

If the centers of the daisies are too peaked, you can smooth them down using either a small angled spatula or palette knife, or a small paint brush dipped in a little bit of water. Simply swipe the peaks with the palette knife or use the small paint brush (dipped in water) to gently press each peak down. 

And that’s it! The happiest little cake for your next Spring celebration and it couldn’t be easier to whip up with the right tools and a sunny color palette!

I hope you have the best time making this daisy cake! If you do end up making it, let me know what you’re celebrating in the comments below + be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create! 

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

When I think of Easter desserts, I think of two cakes first and foremost: carrot cake and coconut cake. You’ll find my mega-delicious carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting in my book, Anyone Can Cake, and if I wouldn’t have waited so long to develop this coconut cake recipe it would be in my book as well. Instead, it’s right here and let me tell you: when I tasted this cake my first thought was “now I know what’s been missing from my life.” I know that sounds dramatic but IT’S SO GOOD! I truly could not resist this one.

These coconut cake layers are perfectly soft and moist, packed with just the right amount of coconut flavor, and have an amazing texture from the shredded coconut baked right in. The cake flour and egg whites in the recipe keep it light and fluffy, while the sour cream and canned coconut milk balance it all with the ideal amount of moisture. I was originally going to top it with regular ol’ coconut buttercream, but then I heard about coconut cream cheese buttercream and I couldn’t stop myself from trying it. Spoiler: it turned out insanely good. It felt like a mic drop moment. 

While the coconut cream cheese buttercream is supremely tasty, it will be a little on the softer side to work with. I do have a couple stabilizers I recommend to make it much easier for cake decorating: cornstarch and full-fat block-style cream cheese. Cornstarch will add stability to the frosting just like adding more powdered sugar would, only it won’t flavor the buttercream or add any extra sweetness. And full-fat block-style cream cheese is a must. It turns out that cream cheese spread has a lot of added liquid, which will make your frosting super runny. 

TIP: If you live in the UK and don’t have access to block-style cream cheese, I hear that Longley Farm cream cheese is the best to use because it doesn’t have additional liquid in it. For other parts of the world without access to full-fat block-style cream cheese, you may need to search your area for cream cheese brands that don’t add extra liquid or for alternative recipes from people in your area. 

After filling and frosting this coconut cake with coconut cream cheese buttercream, I added a coating of sweetened shredded coconut over the whole thing (as is pretty much tradition with a coconut cake). You can either roll the cake through the coconut after the frosting is firm to the touch like what I did with this Rafaello cake recipe or you can press the coconut onto the cake by hand while the frosting is still slightly tacky. I pressed it on by hand this time, but only because I wanted to try an alternative to rolling the cake. Either way works like a charm! 

To finish the look, I added a swirl border to the top of the cake with Wilton Tip 4B and sprinkled it with a little more sweetened shredded coconut. I wanted a little pop of color and realized I had these cute pastel rainbow candles on hand, so on they went. They’re perfect for dressing this cake up for Spring or Easter festivities! 

However you choose to decorate, I think this recipe is what coconut cake dreams are made of and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Print

Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Layers of fluffy, moist coconut cake with decadent coconut cream cheese buttercream, topped with shredded coconut to make it classic. It's what coconut cake dreams are made of!

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Coconut Cake

• 3 Cups (315g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/3 Cup (76g) sour cream, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 Cup (240ml) canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
• 1 Cup (78g) shredded sweetened coconut

Coconut Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 8 Cups (960g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup (32g) cornstarch (optional)**
• 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 Oz (339g) full-fat cream cheese, block-style***, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp coconut extract
• 2 tsp canned full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
• pinch of salt, or to taste

Garnish

• 1 1/2 Cups sweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

Make the Coconut Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/177ºC. Prepare three 6-inch (15cm) or two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan.
• Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high for two minutes until it’s light and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing until well combined. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and coconut extract and mix for one minute on high. Scrape down the bowl and paddle once more. It will look curdled at this point but don’t worry – it will look like smooth cake batter by the end!
• Turn the mixer to low, add in the dry ingredients all at once. When they’re just beginning to combine, add the canned coconut milk in a slow, steady stream. Continue to mix on low until incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure there are no large lumps, then gently fold in the shredded coconut.
• Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling.

Make the Coconut Cream Cheese Buttercream

• Sift together the powdered sugar and cornstarch (if using) and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about 5 minutes.
• Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the vanilla extract, coconut extract, coconut milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute, until fully combined and smooth.

Assembly

• Once the coconut cakes are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of coconut cream cheese buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake layers with coconut cream cheese buttercream, then crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of coconut cream cheese buttercream. Place the crumb coated cake in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
• To create the look pictured, frost a smooth buttercream finish with coconut cream cheese buttercream. Place the cake back into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, until the frosting is slightly set but still tacky, then gently press the shredded coconut onto the sides and top of the cake.
• Once the sides and top of the cake are covered in coconut, place the remaining coconut cream cheese buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 4B. Pipe a swirl border on top of the cake and finish with pastel rainbow candles if desired.

Notes

*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. 

**Cornstarch helps thicken the consistency of the cream cheese buttercream without adding any flavor/extra sweetness. I highly recommend it if you’re using this frosting to pipe intricate details.

***It’s important to use block-style cream cheese in this recipe because cream cheese spreads contain a lot more liquid and will make your buttercream runny. 

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The coconut cake layers can be baked, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and left out at room temperature up to two days ahead of decorating. Unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and frosting.
2. The coconut cream cheese buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer to bring it back to piping/frosting consistency.

 

The post The Dreamiest Coconut Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & 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.

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:

• A chilled, crumb coated cake (mine is three 6” layers)
• 4-5 Cups of vanilla buttercream (about 1.5 batches)
• Cake turntable
• Icing Smoother
• Angled Spatula
• Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring Set 
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Large floral cookie cutters
• Small floral cookie cutters
• Piping Bags
• 8x Wilton Tip 2 or 3 
• Wilton Tip 12
• Small paint brush (optional)

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.

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

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.

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:

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

If you live outside of North America, your launch day is coming SOON – by April at the latest! You can pre-order your copy here if you haven’t already, and once the worldwide launch happens you’ll be able to see my book in your local bookstores too. I’ll be sure to celebrate with you all then! 

A Taste of What’s Inside

This book was a total labor of love and I’m so thrilled for you to finally see it in person! If you’ve been following me for a while you know how passionate I am about sharing delicious yet approachable recipes and giving you all the info you need to make your cakes look as beautiful as they taste. Because of that, I wrote Anyone Can Cake as more than a collection of recipes – it’s an all-encompassing guide to baking, building, and decorating perfect layer cakes as well. 

The first half of the book will help you master baking the perfect cake layers, building them into a structurally sound layer cake, and decorating your cake with a wide variety of frosting finishes, styles and techniques. 

You’ll learn how to color the perfect buttercream palette, create a flawless drip cake, and add finishing touches like piping and sprinkles. 

The second half of the book gives you all the recipes you could need to practice with, from my collection of personal favorites to creative, book-exclusive layer cakes. 

Whether you’re brand new to baking or you’ve been at it for a while, I’m extra excited to see how this book helps level up your cakes! 

Stay Tuned on Instagram 

I’ve got some AMAZING giveaway opportunities on my Instagram in the coming weeks that you won’t want to miss! Prizes include things like an AmeriColor Heavenly Seventy Kit, Sprinkle Pop sprinkles, cake decorating tools from JOANN and Wilton, and signed copies of my book. Be sure to follow me there if you’re not already. 

AND please be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco when you post about Anyone Can Cake! I will be re-sharing ALL of your shoutouts and would love to connect with you.

The post Anyone Can Cake is HERE! appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I’m so excited to have these tools in my collection:

• Gold Whisk 
• Cake Turntable
• Measuring Cups
• Marble Silicone Spatula
• Measuring Spoons
• Icing Spatula Set

JOANN asked me to create a cake project with these baking and decorating tools and I was immediately inspired to make a marble buttercream cake with gold accents. I wanted to make a cake that captured the beauty of these tools in cake form, plus show you how fun and simple it is to make marble buttercream! These Stir products are top-notch when it comes to functionality, which made them a true joy to decorate this marble cake with.

I whipped up a quick video for this marble buttercream tutorial so you can visualize it 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

• A 6-inch cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
• Cake turntable
• 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream
• Black food color gel
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Baker’s twine
• Parchment paper
• Scissors
• Scotch tape
• Icing spatula set
• Icing smoother
• Fondant smoother
• Small food-grade paint brush
• Gold luster dust
• Clear extract (lemon or vanilla) or vodka

Step 1: Frost the Cake

With your chilled and crumb coated cake on a turntable, use the largest bowl of buttercream to frost a smooth finish onto the cake. Start by frosting a smooth layer on the very top of the cake with your angled icing spatula.

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

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.

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

Step 2: Mix the Marble Buttercream

Divide the remaining buttercream into three small bowls. Add 2 drops of black food color gel into the first bowl and gently mix it with your spatula until it’s about half mixed. You’ll want a dark grey color with some streaks of white/lighter grey in there.

Scoop out about 1 teaspoon of this dark grey marble color and mix it into the second bowl. Repeat the process of mixing until you have a light grey color with streaks of white mixed in. Keep the last bowl uncolored.

Step 3: Make the Marble Buttercream Wrap

Once your frosted cake is nice and chilled, wrap a piece of baker’s twine around it to measure the circumference. Cut the baker’s twine to mark the circumference and lay it out on your work surface. Spread a piece of parchment paper out as long as the baker’s twine and mark about one inch past the twine, then cut the parchment paper.

After trimming the parchment paper lengthwise, I marked the height at 4 ½ inches tall (almost the height of the frosted cake) and trimmed the excess. When you’re finished trimming the parchment, tape it down onto your work surface. 

Using the small angled spatula, scoop the dark grey and light grey marbled buttercream and gently apply it to the parchment paper. You’ll want to be sure not to spread or mix it up too much as you place it onto the parchment. Next, scoop the uncolored buttercream either with the same spatula (for an even more marbley look) or a clean spatula (for a cleaner look) and apply it to the parchment next to the marbled grey buttercreams.

Repeat the process of scooping and applying the buttercream until you’ve covered the length of the parchment, creating varying heights along the way. Make sure to place the highest buttercream splotches at least ½ inch down from the top of the parchment.

When you’ve finished applying the buttercream to the parchment paper, use an angled spatula to gently smooth the buttercream down until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Using gentle pressure here will prevent the marble from mixing too much underneath.

Step 4: Apply the Marble Buttercream Wrap

Place your chilled, frosted cake on the turntable. Un-tape the marble buttercream wrap from your work surface and wrap it around the cake as tightly as possible. It should stick to the cake really easily since the frosting is still very wet at this point. 

Use your fondant smoother to smooth the buttercream wrap down and adhere it to the cake, then place the wrapped cake back into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the marble buttercream firm up.

Step 5: Reveal the Marble 

Once the buttercream beneath the parchment paper is firm to the touch, gently peel the parchment away to reveal the stunning marble buttercream beneath.

I chose to keep the texture that the parchment paper created instead of smoothing it down because a) it looks amazing and b) last time I smoothed out the marble it all blended together and didn’t look as cool. 

Step 6: Paint the Gold Accents

Mix a few drops of clear extract or vodka into about 1 teaspoon of gold luster dust. Add more liquid if necessary to thin it into a paint-able consistency. When the gold paint is just right, use a small food-grade paintbrush to paint the top edge of the marble buttercream wrap.

Isn’t this marble buttercream cake so elegant? It ended up matching the gold marble Stir tools so perfectly!

This marble buttercream cake is so perfect for a wedding, fancy birthday party, anniversary, or any event that could use a little elegance. Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco and @joann_stores on Instagram if you post a pic!

And if you’re looking for beautiful baking or cake decorating tools, you must check out the Stir products exclusively at JOANN. If you’ve got a local JOANN store, you should be able to find them all in the baking section. You can also find all of these tools at JOANN.com. I was super excited to see that the Stir line also has molds, cake mixes, sprinkles, and basically everything you could need to make a creative cake (or any bake, really). 

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 Marble Buttercream Cake Tutorial Feat. the JOANN Stir Collection appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

hello! i’m Whitney

About Me

I’m a self-taught baker, cake decorator, wife, mama, and homemaker living in Portland, Oregon. When I’m not baking up a storm in the kitchen, I enjoy a good long run, traveling to new places, making music, and getting lost in a thrilling novel. Creativity is a huge driving force in my life, and while I enjoy a variety of artistic mediums, sugar is hands-down my favorite.

About Sugar & Sparrow

I inherited a love for baking from my mother, who was the queen of lemon squares and casserole dish birthday cakes. As a kid I can remember flipping through her vintage baking books and attempting to recreate every single recipe. That passion for baking evolved into a fascination with cake decorating, and I spent a good amount of years whipping up custom cakes from my home kitchen. Being self-taught every step of the way, I’ve gained quite a few tips, perfected recipes, and have overcome my fair share of kitchen fails. Sugar & Sparrow is my little space to share everything I’ve learned with you in hopes of helping you bake pretty desserts with confidence! 

Featured Partnerships

I love creating cake projects to showcase the brands I admire in a fun new way. Here are some of the brands I’ve partnered with:

Selected Features

Sugar & Sparrow has been featured in the following publications

American Cake Decorating Magazine

Green Wedding Shoes

The Preppy Baker

Cupcake Project

Tea Bar

How to Cake It

Junebug Weddings

The Feed Feed

Sift Desert Bar

Find Your Cake Inspiration

Mom Loves Baking

Tasty Channel

Pip’s Original

Sprinkled For Breakfast

Happy Little Cakers

get to know me

These are a few of my favorite things…

1. PORTLAND. I’m a born and raised Portlander (Oregon), and I could easily see myself living here for the rest of my life.
2. RUNNING. It’s my brain’s happy place. My mind is pretty wild, always busy with ideas and thoughts, and running is my favorite way to clear my head. In addition to my neighborhood jaunts with my toddler in tow, I’ve run a couple half marathons and a Hood To Coast relay and I’d love to do more races at some point.
3. VINYL RECORDS. There’s just something about the sound and feel of a vinyl record that’s magical, so if I love an album I have to own it on vinyl.
4. ROLLER COASTERS. Before I met my husband I hadn’t been on a legit roller coaster. He actually has my first ride on video and it’s pretty hilarious. Nowadays I will ride any roller coaster any chance I get.

The post About appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Every Thanksgiving, I look forward to a few things: 1) cooking all day with my mother in law with the music blasting our favorite dance-worthy hits, and 2) getting to make a delicious, eye-catching dessert that the whole family can enjoy. The Thanksgiving meal is my absolute favorite to eat too, especially when surrounded by my loved ones, so this holiday really checks all the boxes for me. And since I’m always on dessert duty (I take my role very seriously!) I’m always trying out new recipes to compliment the family favorites. This year, I thought I’d go a little above and beyond and translate the classic pumpkin pie into cake-form, which is how this Momofuku-inspired Pumpkin Pie Cake was born:

Whether I’m keeping it classic with a pie or creating something more ambitious, JOANN is always my go-to for baking supplies. They’ve got an unparalleled selection of bakeware, piping tips, sprinkles, and basically everything you could need to create the dessert you’re imagining and then some. Just look at all of these pretty cake creations I’ve made with JOANN supplies in the past. You’ll also find everything you need to make your Thanksgiving table beautiful – floral arrangements, place settings, dishes, home decor, and basically all the materials you could ever need for DIY projects.

In the case of this Pumpkin Pie Cake, I shopped my local JOANN store for acetate sheets, a springform cake pan, hefty piping bags, and the ideal piping tip to pipe that toasted meringue on top. If you don’t live near a JOANN store, be sure to check out their online collection to get what you need. 

This Pumpkin Pie Cake has layers of tasty elements going on: I used my Pumpkin Layer Cake recipe for the cake layers and filled them with Pumpkin Creme Filling, Brown Sugar Buttercream, and pie crust pieces.

Using the springform pan lined with acetate, I was to assemble this Pumpkin Pie Cake in such a way that you can see each and every layer. I love that this assembly technique is so easy to put together and you truly don’t have to fuss about decorating perfectly. The layers are the showstopper. And an extra added bonus: it’s quick. You can make all of the elements ahead and spend just a few minutes putting it all together, which we all know is a life saver when planning and cooking an elaborate Thanksgiving meal.

To top it all off, I piped my easy (only four ingredients!) Marshmallow Meringue recipe with Wilton tip 8B around the edges and toasted them with my kitchen torch. Busting out that kitchen torch might just be my favorite part of it all!

I’ll be sharing the recipes for each layer of this Pumpkin Pie Cake and all the info you need to assemble it below. First, here’s a video of the assembly process to inspire you: 

If you’re into cake 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.

Materials You Will Need:

• 6” Springform Cake Pan
• Acetate Sheets
• Scotch Tape
• Piping Bags 
• 6 inch cake board
• Small icing spatula 
• Three 6-inch pans for baking the cake layers 
• Wilton Tip 8B (or other decorative piping tip of your choice)
• A kitchen torch (if planning on toasting the meringue)
• The recipes below

Print

Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

Layers of perfectly spiced Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Creme Filling, Brown Sugar Buttercream, and crushed pie pieces. Assembled with exposed layers and topped with toasted Marshmallow Meringue for an easy, eye-catching dessert for Thanksgiving (or any special occasion!)

Servings 20 slices

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
• 1 Cup (205g) white granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Cups (12oz) pumpkin purèe
• 1 Cup (240ml) full fat buttermilk, room temperature DIY recipe in notes section below

Brown Sugar Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (95g) packed brown sugar
• 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Pumpkin Creme Filling

• 1 Cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 Cup (120g) powdered sugar
• 1 Cup (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 Cup (8oz) pumpkin purèe
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Milk Soak

• 1/3 Cup (80ml) whole milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Additional Elements

• 1 package of store bought pie crust or ½ batch of your preferred homemade pie crust recipe, baked and crushed into pieces
• 1/2 batch Marshmallow Meringue Frosting (make as a last step) Recipe linked in assembly instructions below

Instructions

Make the Pumpkin Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Measure the cake flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it. Place it into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium-high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for ten minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.

Make the Brown Sugar Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-high until it’s creamy, light, and homogenous. About 4 minutes.
• With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
• Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute until fully incorporated.

Make the Pumpkin Creme Filling

• Chill a metal mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer in the freezer for 15 minutes. Once the bowl is chilled, add to it the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. Beat with a whisk attachment (a stand mixer or hand mixer will work for this) on high until peaks form and the mixture is thick and whipped, about 5 minutes. Remove the whipped cream mixture from the mixing bowl and set aside in a separate bowl.
• Add the softened cream cheese, canned pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until it’s fully combined and there are no lumps, about 5 minutes.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream mixture into the pumpkin mixture until combined. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container if not using immediately.

Make the Vanilla Milk Soak

• Combine the whole milk and vanilla. Set aside if using right away or refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

Assembly + Make Ahead Tips are all below

Assembly 

Once the Pumpkin Cake layers are cooled completely, torte each one with a cake leveler or serrated knife to make them all the same height. 

Cut one of the 12 inch sheets of acetate into two 6 inch pieces by folding it in half and using an exacto knife (or scissors) to slice it in two. 

Line the springform cake pan with both trimmed sheets of acetate. Tape the sides together using a couple pieces of Scotch Tape on the outside to keep the acetate level during the assembly process. 

Place a cardboard cake board into the bottom of the acetate lined pan before placing the first layer of Pumpkin Cake on top. Then, brush a layer of Vanilla Milk Soak on top. 

Pipe an even layer of Brown Sugar Buttercream over the top of the cake layer and smooth it down with an icing spatula. No need to get it completely smooth, but do make sure it’s as level as possible and reaches the acetate edges.

Generously sprinkle pie crust pieces over the top of the Brown Sugar Buttercream and pat them down with the back of your hand.

Pipe an even layer of Pumpkin Creme Filling over the top of the pie crust pieces and smooth it down with an icing spatula. Again, no need to get it completely smooth, but do make sure it’s as level as possible. 

Repeat steps 3 through 6 until you’re ready to add the final layer of cake.

For the final cake layer, turn it upside down (so that the bottom of the cake is the top) before placing it on top of the Pumpkin Creme Filling. 

Pipe a final layer of Brown Sugar Buttercream on top of the final cake layer and smooth it down with your angled spatula, then pipe a layer of Pumpkin Creme filling on top. Use your spatula to create a decorative swirl on top of the Pumpkin Creme Filling.

Place the entire cake into the refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight to allow everything to set firmly. The exposed cake layers will be protected from getting dry because of the acetate siding and the Pumpkin Creme Buttercream on top. Once it’s set and ready, remove the cake from the springform pan and carefully peel away the acetate. 

Make a half batch of my Marshmallow Meringue Frosting (note that since it’s a half batch, the cooking/whipping times will be about 2 minutes each instead of 4). 

Fit a piping bag with Wilton Tip 8B before filling it with the meringue, then pipe stars with the meringue around the top edge of the cake. Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue stars.

Make Ahead Tips & Notes

*DIY Cake Flour Recipe: To make your own cake flour, spoon and level one cup of all-purpose flour and remove 2 Tbsp. Add 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. Repeat per the amount of cake flour you need, then sift the flour and cornstarch mixture 4 times (don’t skip that step!). After sifting, spoon and level to re-measure the amount of cake flour you need. 

The Pumpkin Cake Layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.

The Brown Sugar Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

The Pumpkin Creme Filling can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Give it a few stirs right before you’re ready to use it. 

The Vanilla Milk Soak can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one week (go by the expiration date on your milk though). 

For the pie pieces, I used store bought pie crusts and baked them according to the box instructions, then crumbled them up into little pieces. You are more than welcome to use your favorite from-scratch recipe as an alternative. 

The Marshmallow Meringue needs to be made as a final step in the assembly process to make sure it maintains perfect piping consistency. 

The fully assembled cake can be stored in the refrigerator (toasted meringue piping and all!) for up to two days before serving. You’ll want to wrap the sides of the cake in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. Be sure to take the cake out of the refrigerator about an hour or two before serving, because cake always tastes better at room temperature. 

If you’re looking for an easy, creative alternative to the classic Thanksgiving desserts this year, this recipe is sure to be a hit. It’s got all the Fall flavors you want in a Thanksgiving dessert, but it’s much prettier to look at and can be made in advance so you don’t have to stress about whipping it all up day-of. Regardless of what’s on your dessert menu this year, JOANN has all the tools you need to create something stunning and delicious. And remember, with a huge assortment of floral arrangements, Thanksgiving decor, and supplies you need for any DIY projects, you’ll find all of that there too (and so much more). 

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all. I hope you all have endless lists of what you’re thankful for this year and get to share it all with family and friends. And please let me know if you make this cake recipe! Leave a comment below to tell me about it or tag @sugarandsparrowco and @joann_stores on Instagram to show us – 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.

The post A Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake Recipe That’s Easy & Eye-Catching appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

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

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

What Kinds of Sprinkles Work with These Techniques? 

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

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

How Many Sprinkles Do I Need? 

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

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

When to Add Sprinkles to Your Cake

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

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

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

Here’s how: 

Step 1: Prepare Your Cake & Workspace

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

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

Step 2: Add the Concentrated Sprinkles

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Add the Individual Sprinkles

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

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

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

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

Step 4: Continue Decorating 

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

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

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

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

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

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