Whitney, Author at Sugar & Sparrow

All posts by Whitney

Floral Sheet Cake Tutorial

June 13, 2019

by Whitney

My momma was the queen of birthday sheet cakes. She baked them in her favorite casserole dish and served them up for every one of my birthdays as a kid, always covered in canned frosting and that grocery store tube gel for writing out Happy Birthday. It’s so nostalgic for me to see those little gel tubes hanging at the grocery store nowadays! I think casserole dish sheet cakes might have been a 90’s thing, but I want to bring them back in a big way. After a trip to my local JOANN store, I found the perfect piping tip set to make it happen!

Banana Split Cupcakes Recipe

June 12, 2019

by Whitney

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Hooray that it’s nearly summertime! It’s my favorite time of year, mainly because Portland gets sunny and so picturesque. I just want to be outside 24/7 soaking it all up! Since ice cream is such an iconic summer treat, I wanted to use it as inspiration for these Banana Split Cupcakes. There’s no actual ice cream involved, just tons of cuteness and flavors that are so perfect together.

Sprinkle Fault Line Cake Tutorial

May 30, 2019

by Whitney

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There’s a serious sprinkle trend happening on Instagram, and I’m not even sure who came up with it! I’ve been marveling over sprinkle fault line cakes for weeks now, and I finally got the chance to try it for myself. I was so excited to use the technique with the Vintage Rose Gold sprinkle mix by SprinklePop because the sprinkles alone are stunning, but the fault line style really makes them pop! I just love the way they look peeking through that buttercream:

Bee Themed Cake with Thistle & Lace Cake Toppers

May 29, 2019

by Whitney

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Whether you’ve got a wedding, birthday, anniversary, or anything to celebrate with cake, one thing is for sure: a custom cake topper will make it extra special, effortlessly! My favorite place to find cake and cupcake toppers for special occasions is a sweet online shop called Thistle & Lace. From ready-to-order cake toppers to completely custom toppers like monograms, names, and sayings, Thistle & Lace has the perfect cake topper for any event, all designed and handcrafted with love. And great new: you can use my code SUGAR15 to get 15% off your order, valid until June 30th!

Buttercream Painted Floral Cake

May 27, 2019

by Whitney

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It’s no secret that I love painting with buttercream. It makes the perfect medium for spatula painted cakes, abstract styles, and this entirely new artistic expression (for me): impressionist florals. This little cake is pretty as a painting, right? Only 100% tastier than a painting!

Striped Buttercream Circus Animals Party Cake

May 20, 2019

by Whitney

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pink and white striped circus cake with sprinkles

This tutorial was originally a guest post I wrote for SprinklePop’s blog. It’s too good not to re-share here, mostly because these Circus Animals-inspired sprinkles are so nostalgic and they were the perfect finishing touch for this party cake. Enjoy!

In my memories of childhood snacks, Circus Animals were an extra special treat. My eyes still get wide when I see the iconic pink and white frosted cookies covered in sprinkles, so when I found out that this A Frosted Affair sprinkle mix by SprinklePop was largely inspired by them, my heart definitely soared! I just knew I had to create a fun pink and white sprinkled cake with major Circus Animal cookie vibes to celebrate my love for all of it.

Mini Geode Cupcake Toppers Tutorial

May 13, 2019

by Whitney

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I’m really dazzled by geodes (who isn’t?!) and have been dying to make some sort of geode-inspired edible creation for quite some time now. So when JOANN sent me these Sweet Tooth Fairy Rock Candies in the prettiest jewel-toned colors, I considered it the perfect opportunity to bring my creative vision to life! After some experimentation, I found an easy way to whip up these tasty mini geode cupcake toppers and I couldn’t be more happy with how they turned out. Just look at these gorgeous little toppers:

Lemon Layer Cake With Blueberry Buttercream

May 9, 2019

by Whitney

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blueberry buttercream recipe by Sugar and Sparrow

As I was perusing the freeze dried fruit section of my local Trader Joe’s, I stumbled upon a bag of freeze dried blueberries and just had to add them to my cart. It’s no secret that I love adding freeze dried fruits to buttercream (case in point: this delicious Raspberry Buttercream Recipe), and could imagine how amazing both the color and the flavor would be with these bluebs added. With my buttercream flavored set, I started thinking on cake flavors to pair it with, and that’s how this lemon cake recipe was born.

Sugar & Sparrow Is ONE!

May 2, 2019

by Whitney

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And just like that, I have a one year old (my blog baby, of course)! I can’t believe it’s only been a year since I launched Sugar & Sparrow, and I am so, so happy I pressed the publish button back then. It’s been such a joy to share my recipes and cake decorating tutorials with you, and I’m looking forward to all that’s to come! I’ve just got all the feels about this.

Pastel Rainbow Birthday Cake Tutorial

April 24, 2019

by Whitney

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Something totally magical happened this week – I got the opportunity to do an Instagram takeover for the one and only Wilton! They’ve been my favorite supplier of cake decorating tools for forever, so to say I was elated would be an understatement. For my takeover tutorial, I showed how to create a whimsical birthday cake that’s as easy to make as it is eye-catching, and I want to share it in blog post form for you here. This fun cake design will make any birthday feel extra special: