Sprinkles these days aren’t what they used to be (in the best way). I remember swooning over the little vials of rainbow jimmies and sugar sprinkles in the baking aisle as a kid – little did I know that a few decades later sprinkles would come in all shapes and sizes and colors and textures with names like Bombshell and Party Monster and Unicorn Barf. You can find a sprinkle blend to match any color scheme you could dream of, and I think dressing up cakes with them is one of the easiest ways to add intrigue.
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:
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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. Sprinkle Pop has lots of other mixes to choose from or you can check out other brands like Sweetapolita or the offerings in your local grocery store’s baking aisle.
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.
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!
Hi! This is so helpful, thank you! Any thoughts on how much you would need for a three layer 9” cake? Thanks!
I’ve ordered a Nothing but Bundt cake for my son’s birthday. I want to add sprinkles to the top after I get it home. Is there a safe method to get the sprinkles to stick after all that frosting has set up?
Hi Gidget! If the frosting/glaze is sticky then you can just sprinkle them right on and they should stick. If the frosting is set up you could probably still press them in, I’m not entirely sure because I’ve never had a Nothing Bundt Cake and don’t know what the frosting is like 🙂
Hello! Where are your sprinkles from used on this cake?
Hi Yvonne! I used the “Hey Sugar” sprinkle mix by Sprinkle Pop: https://amzn.to/3ge8ZOS
This tutorial is so helpful!
I have a major lack of time and want to cheat with store bought can frosting (Duncan Hines or pillsbury, etc). Will this work with those? If not ideal is there anything I can do to doctor those up to make it work? Thanks so much!
Yay, Jess! I think this tutorial will work with store bought frosting. My only thought is that store bought is a little more sticky than homemade buttercream, so if the frosting is too sticky you can always refrigerate it for about 10 min after frosting the cake to take away a little bit of the stickiness away (but still have it be sticky enough for the sprinkles to adhere). Hope that helps!
This is a beautiful cake! My question is about using sprinkles without the frosting. Do I have to have frosting? I want to put sprinkles on a quick bread.
Hi Holly! You can use sprinkles on pretty much anything, but if you want them to stick in a certain way they’ll need something to adhere them to the quick bread (like a frosting or glaze). If you’re just sprinkling them over the top you should be fine though!
Hi Whitney, if you decide to add sprinkles once the final buttercream layer has been chilled, what’s the best way to get them to stick? Would it work to lightly dampen the buttercream in a band around the bottom to do this?
Hi Helen! You could add a super thin layer of fresh buttercream around the bottom of the cake and stick the sprinkles to that. I’ve done that with success before. Hope that helps!
Hello,
I have a quick question about sprinkles. I am making pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I will decorate with fall colored sprinkles, the little balls. Can I add them to the cake and then refrigerate the cake? Will they bleed in the refrigerator? Or will they bleed when I remove the cake from the refrigerator? I’m taking this to a family dinner, I didn’t want the sprinkles to bleed into the frosting.
Thank you
Hi Lil! The sprinkles shouldn’t bleed in the refrigerator or when taking the cake out of the refrigerator. I’ve never had that happen, even after storing a cake with sprinkles in the refrigerator for several days before a photoshoot. Hope that helps!
How far in advance of serving the cake can you put the sprinkles on without them getting soft? I have been tasked with making a wedding cake (will use your fault line cake design) and I will want to have the cake finished and fully decorated a day or two before the wedding day.
Hi Madhu! I have never had sprinkles get soft when making a cake ahead. What kind of sprinkles are you using? If you’re using SprinklePop or Fancy Sprinkles, in my experience I have been able to add sprinkles to a cake up to 3 days ahead and they’ve held their color and texture. Hope that helps!
Can I add color/texture between layers by putting sprinkles in when I’m layering? Something not too hard, like jimmies or quins?
You can totally add some sprinkles in with the filling between layers!
Hello Whitney, have you been successful using a cream cheese icing rather than a buttercream? My recipe is 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.
Thank you for all your video’s, I believe they will take a lot of frustration from my cake decorating. Cheers, Jelly
Hi Jelly! This technique totally works with cream cheese buttercream. As long as you can easily frost your cake smooth with it, you’ll be able to add sprinkles using this tutorial.
Hi Whitney,
I love your site. I have learned so much from you and appreciate all your detailed instructions.
I have made two 6” cakes now and my buttercream seems to be so much thicker than yours. My cakes have not turned out nearly as smooth as your samples. I am using room temperature ingredients. Any idea what I am doing wrong?
Thanks!
Brenda
Hi Brenda! If your buttercream is turning out too thick, it’s an easy fix – just add a little more liquid to the buttercream to thin it out. I would recommend starting with 1 Tbsp of extra milk and see if it needs more from there. Your cakes will be much easier to frost when the icing is thinner consistency 🙂 hope that helps!
Hello! Any workaround for those of us with acrylic nails? I attempted this technique recently both with and without gloves and there were little crescent moon nail marks everywhere
Hi Betty! You could try using tweezers instead. It will take more patience to place them but other than being extra slow/careful placing them by hand there really aren’t any other options I can think of.
You can take a tiny piece of unflavored dental wax on the tip of a skewer to place the individual sprinkles.
How do you get the cake from turntable to cake drum or serving plate? Assume you have a thin board underneath it already??
Looks beautiful!
Hi Sadie! I’m actually working on a Cake Basics post/video about this! First, make sure the cake is chilled for about 20-30 minutes on the turntable, then heat up an angled spatula under hot water and dry it with a towel. Run the spatula around the bottom edge of the cake to create a clean separation from the turntable, then slide it underneath the cake board and lift. From here you can slide a hand beneath the cake and balance it with the spatula to guide it to the serving plate. Hope that helps! I’ll have a video coming soon 🙂
Hi, would you put the cake back in the fridge after putting sprinkles (and ganache drip) on, or leave it on the benchtop? Thanks!
Hi Sally! If you’re serving it right away you can keep it out, but I usually store my decorated cakes in the refrigerator until about 1-2 hours before serving. Although refrigeration isn’t required, it does help preserve the decorating. Hope that helps!
My sprinkles ran and went soggy after being in the fridge? Does the type of buttercream used make a difference?
Oh no, Kieren! The buttercream type shouldn’t matter, but the sprinkle type does. If the sprinkles don’t have a waxy coating (most do, but some don’t) you will risk the color running when they come into contact with moisture. What kind of sprinkles did you use?
I love all of your designs! What americolor tent is the base of this cake? Teal?
Hi Callie! Thank you so much! The base color of this cake is Americolor Turquoise.