Category: Seasonal

Ruby Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

February 6, 2020

by Whitney

Ruby chocolate buttercream recipe by sugar and sparrow

I’ve been curious about ruby chocolate for awhile now, mostly because of its gorgeous, all-natural mauve coloring. So when I saw these Chocolove Ruby Cacao bars at my local New Season’s, I almost squealed! I thought it was a super rare find but it turns out you can find ruby chocolate bars at most grocery stores now, especially around Valentine’s Day. It’s the latest chocolate confection since the invention of white chocolate, only it’s made from the ruby cocoa bean with no added flavoring or food coloring.

Painted Buttercream Cake Tutorial

January 6, 2020

by Whitney

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Painted buttercream cake by Sugar and Sparrow

Let me tell you about the most freeing cake project I’ve ever created: I had a smooth, frosted cake on the turntable as my blank canvas, a pretty buttercream color palette set before me, and absolutely no vision of what the cake would look like in the end. The only thing I was sure of was that I was going to play with some bold buttercream colors. With a great album on in the background to keep me company, I started by adding a big color swatch onto the cake, then a few more, then spatula painted the buttercream wherever I felt like, and ended it all with a good splatter painting sesh. It was the first time I truly let myself go in a cake decorating session with no real expectations or rules, and that’s exactly why I want to share the process with you!

Festive Christmas Wreath Cupcakes Tutorial

December 13, 2019

by Whitney

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buttercream holiday wreath cupcake decorating tutorial

As I was out for a wintery walk the other day, I couldn’t help but notice pretty Christmas wreaths adorning the doors in my neighborhood and it dawned on me – I’ve never made any wreath inspired cake projects before! So when The Cake Blog asked me to create a Holiday inspired project this month, I knew just what to do. I put on my Christmas playlist, poured a cup of cocoa, and got to work piping these three different Christmas wreath designs. Behold these festive cuties:

Sprinkle Gingerbread House Kits + Decorating Tutorial

December 5, 2019

by Whitney

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sprinkle gingerbread house by sugar and sparrow

Way back in July, I got this amazing opportunity to design a sprinkley gingerbread house for SprinklePop using their Sprinkle Gingerbread House Kit. It was so much fun to create (truly felt like Christmas in July!) and also, my festive little gingerbread creation ended up on the package itself! I was so starry-eyed over all of it then and now that the Holidays are in full swing, I’m swooning all over again. If you’re looking for the perfect gingerbread house kit to decorate with family and friends, this one is my pick!

My Ideal Hot Cocoa Bar Setup

December 4, 2019

by Whitney

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Hosting a Holiday party can be a whole lot of work. From curating the perfect playlist to decorating, planning out your tablescape, and coming up with fun activities, your to-do list can get long real quick. I’ve got one idea for you that’s guaranteed to be a hit for your guests of all ages: a festive hot cocoa bar! Not only is it a whole lot of fun and tasty as can be, setting it all up requires very minimal effort.

How To Make Mini Christmas Tree Cakes

December 4, 2019

by Whitney

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Some people love to decorate gingerbread houses for the Holidays, but I think these mini Christmas tree cakes are such a fun alternative! Not only are they quicker and easier to assemble than a gingerbread house, they double as the perfect, edible Holiday centerpiece for your dessert table. Whether you’re throwing a Holiday party this year or you just want a festive project that’s fun for all ages, these mini Christmas tree cakes are a hit!

Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe

November 25, 2019

by Whitney

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Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe by Sugar & Sparrow

My husband and I are big fans of the Great British Baking Show (if you haven’t seen it, power up Netflix right now!) and the other night we were watching a contestant bake a cranberry orange flavored dessert. While I’ve never really been all that intrigued to use those flavors before, my husband leaned over and said, “A cranberry orange cake would be delicious. You should make it.” It’s because of him that I found myself in the kitchen zesting oranges and rolling cranberries in sugar, wide-eyed at the Holiday scents filling the air. I ended up with a delicious orange flavored cake dotted with fresh, juicy cranberries, topped with zesty orange buttercream and tons of Christmas cheer! Thanks for the suggestion, husband. You were right.

Buttercream Knitted Sweater Cake Tutorial

November 13, 2019

by Whitney

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buttercream knitted sweater cake by Sugar and Sparrow

I don’t know about you, but every time I go to a JOANN store I end up wandering down all the aisles and tossing things into my cart that I did not expect (but am pleasantly surprised!) to find. Things like the perfect throw pillows for my couch, pretty pots for my plant babies, and just the other day, I wandered down the yarn aisle and stumbled upon this wool yarn by a brand called Buttercream. It felt like fate, because I want to learn to knit irl and was in need of some Fall cake inspiration. I may not be able to knit a cozy sweater yet, but I sure can make a buttercream cake look knitted with the right piping tips!

How To Make Sprinkled Caramel Apples

October 31, 2019

by Whitney

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When it comes to Fall flavors, caramel apple is one of my very favorites. I was so inspired by the combo of salted caramel and tangy apple that I created this Caramel Apple Cake recipe last year (so good!) and topped it with a homemade caramel apple because yum. Instead of cake today though, let’s talk about caramel apples. Particularly, caramel apples dipped in this #Blessed sprinkle mix by SprinklePop:

Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe

October 28, 2019

by Whitney

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pumpkin layer cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

These past few months have been crazy. Between the demands of the holiday season coming up and working on a never-ending list of house projects, I am feeling perpetually frazzled these days. Despite the chaos, I thought a little recipe creating sesh would be perfect for me because baking does something good to my soul. I was right. I put on some Springsteen and decided to try my hand at creating the perfect pumpkin layer cake. Five rounds of bakes and a handful of albums later, I am so thrilled with how this Pumpkin Layer Cake turned out.