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Everything I Baked in June

June 30, 2026 · In: Featured, Lifestyle

June was such a productive month for me! I felt so motivated to bake, inspired by Summer flavors, and couldn’t keep up with myself when it came to editing and publishing the recipes. Still, I ended up publishing 7 new recipes to my site, celebrated my birthday with the cookie dough ice cream cake of my DREAMS, baked the cutest construction truck cake for my littlest son’s third birthday, and filmed/photographed 5 recipes that I’ll be adding to my site asap.

whitney depaoli of sugar and sparrow june baking blog

New Recipes

Here are the recipes that went live on my site in June:

no-churn cookie dough ice cream cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake

This was the birthday cake of my DREAMS: creamy no-churn chocolate and vanilla ice creams swirled together with chunks of cookie dough in every bite, set on a delicious Oreo cookie crust and topped with chocolate ganache.

Get the Recipe

chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, marshmallow filling, mini marshmallows, and chopped almonds

Rocky Road Cupcakes

Inspired by the classic ice cream flavor! These rocky road cupcakes are moist and decadent chocolate cupcakes filled with easy homemade marshmallow creme, then topped with fudgy chocolate buttercream, mini marshmallows, and chopped almonds. 

Get the Recipe

blackberry lavender cake with lavender buttercream and blackberry cake filling

Blackberry Lavender Cake

This blackberry lavender cake is the kind of dessert that adds a bit of magic to any ordinary gathering! Featuring layers of soft vanilla cake with swirls of blackberry baked in, homemade blackberry filling, and perfectly flavored lavender buttercream, it’s elegant yet earthy and effortlessly Summer.

Get the Recipe

homemade blackberry cake filling recipe

Homemade Blackberry Filling

This blackberry cake filling is bright yet earthy, the perfect amount of sweet-tart, and ideal to pair with a variety of cake flavors (my favorites are listed below)! It comes together easily with simple ingredients and ends up a nice, thick consistency for filling cakes.

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berries and cream sheet cake by sugar and sparrow

Berries & Cream Sheet Cake

This berries & cream sheet cake is deliciously light and refreshing, so pretty to look at, and couldn’t be easier to throw together! The recipe starts with baking my extra soft and moist bakery-style white cake in a 9×13 pan, then topping it with billowy whipped cream frosting and fresh summer berries. 

Get the Recipe

strawberry shortcake frosted sugar cookie bars recipe

Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Bars

I discovered that strawberry shortcake toppings on a soft sugar cookie bar is WAY BETTER than traditional shortcake! These strawberry shortcake cookie bars combine a thick, soft sugar cookie with cloud-like whipped cream cheese frosting and homemade strawberry sauce and the result is absolutely HEAVENLY! 

Get the Recipe

whipped cream frosting with cream cheese

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Deliciously light, the ideal silky consistency for cake decorating, and so easy to make! I love that it comes together with just four ingredients in about five minutes. It’s a not-too-sweet frosting that’s perfect for anyone who proclaims they’re “not a frosting person.”

Get the Recipe

Construction Truck Birthday Cake

This month was also my littlest son’s birthday so I whipped up my easy chocolate sheet cake recipe and combined it with this construction truck cake tutorial by Beyond Frosting. The only difference is I added rainbow sprinkles spilling out of the trucks. It turned out SO CUTE and I love that the construction trucks double as toys afterward.

easy construction truck birthday cake tutorial
construction truck birthday cake

Recipes Coming Soon:

Here are the recipes that are finalized and photograph but have yet to be published! All of these should be available at some point in July:

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake

The BEST no-churn cookies & cream ice cream loaded with Oreo cookie chunks, set on an Oreo cookie crust and topped with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream frosting. Truly hard to stop eating this one!

oreo cookies and cream ice cream cake recipe

Black Forest Sheet Cake

I made a sheet cake variation of my beloved black forest cake! It’s decadent chocolate sheet cake brushed with homemade cherry syrup, topped with fresh cherry filling and whipped cream frosting.

black forest sheet cake recipe

Berries & Cream Layer Cake

I loved my berries & cream sheet cake so much that I had to try it as a layer cake. Turns out that the whipped cream cheese frosting works amazingly well as a filling and frosting for a layer cake! This is the perfect easy-yet-classy cake that’s deliciously light and not too sweet.

berries and cream layer cake recipe

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I whipped these up for a BBQ using my chocolate chip cookie cake as a starting point and they disappeared in minutes! The brown butter gives them notes of nutty caramel which is so irresistible. They’re so quick and easy to make, so fudgy, and perfect for literally any gathering.

brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars recipe

Homemade Strawberry Sauce

This is the sauce I used to top my strawberry shortcake sheet cake and strawberry shortcake cookie bars! It’s also delicious on ice cream, waffles, pancakes, etc. and it definitely deserves its own post.

homemade strawberry sauce recipe

I hope you love these new recipes! I had a blast making them. If there are any dessert recipes you’re craving, leave me a comment and they might make it onto my baking list!

whitney depaoli sugar and sparrow holding berries and cream layer cake

By: Whitney · In: Featured, Lifestyle · Tagged: everything I baked

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Whitney DePaoli Sugar & SparrowEverything I Baked in April
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Comments

  1. Ann says

    August 8, 2026 at 6:45 am

    Hello ,
    Your cake recipes are AMAZING; I have shared your website with friends around the world. I do have a question about size of cake pans. I only own the 9″ ones and have simply used your recipe for 8″ pans, yet the layers are just a bit thin. Could you let me know how to adjust your cake recipes to get taller/thicker layers using 9″ pans?

    Thanks so much!!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      August 8, 2026 at 9:21 pm

      I’m so happy you love these recipes, Ann! To make two taller 9-inch layers with my recipes you can make 1.5x the recipe and just be sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full. Hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Ann says

        August 9, 2026 at 7:19 am

        Thanks so much for your speedy reply! Just in time for Fall baking!!!

        Reply

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@sugarandsparrowco

TOP 10 FALL CAKES 🍂 These are not only MY favorite TOP 10 FALL CAKES 🍂 These are not only MY favorite Fall cake recipes, they’re yours too! 🥰

Comment “FALL” and I’ll send you all of the cake recipes shown here and all 36+ of my favorite Fall baking ideas – classic cakes like pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, spice cake, and cranberry orange cake, more complex flavor combinations like chocolate pecan pie cake with salted caramel and apple crisp cake, and cozy recipes like no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, homemade salted caramel, and my favorite brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars. 

https://sugarandsparrow.com/fall-baking-recipes/

#pumpkincake #applecake #fallcake #cakeinspiration #cakeideas
The BEST pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting 🧡 The BEST pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting 🧡 this pumpkin layer cake is easy to make, perfectly spiced, so moist, irresistible with cream cheese frosting, and uses the ENTIRE 15oz can of pumpkin (no awkward leftovers!). Top it with pretty piped pumpkins to make it extra cute 🥰

Comment RECIPE to get the full recipe (with frosting + cake decorating tutorial) or find it linked in my bio and at https://sugarandsparrow.com/pumpkin-layer-cake-recipe/

INGREDIENTS
2 Cups (265g) all-purpose flour
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 (200g) packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 Cup (240ml) vegetable oil or melted butter
4 large eggs, room temp
15 Oz (425g) canned pumpkin puree
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and line three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil (if using melted butter in place of the oil, cool it for 5-10 minutes prior to adding here), eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until uniform, then add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
4. Pour the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Cool the cakes completely to room temp before frosting!

#pumpkincake #creamcheesefrosting #layercake #cake #fallbaking
EASY HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL✨(recipe below) even i EASY HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL✨(recipe below) even if you’ve never made salted caramel from scratch before, this recipe is VERY beginner friendly + nearly fail proof! There are only 4 ingredients involved, no candy thermometer required, and takes just 10 minutes to make 👏🏽 this is my go-to caramel for drip cakes, drizzling desserts, flavoring coffee, adding it to buttercream, and so much more! 🍯  
 
Full recipe (with video + detailed instructions) linked in my bio or at https://sugarandsparrow.com/salted-caramel-recipe/
⁣ 
SALTED CARAMEL 
Yield: 1.25 Cup⁣s
⁣⁣ 
Ingredients:⁣⁣ 
1 Cup (200g) white granulated sugar⁣⁣ 
6 Tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes⁣⁣ 
1/2 Cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature⁣⁣ 
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt⁣⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
Instructions:⁣⁣ 
1. Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 5-6 minutes. ⁣⁣ 
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, 2-3 minutes. ⁣⁣ 
3. Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt. ⁣⁣ 
4. Let the caramel cool to room temperature before using it in a cake recipe or as a drip. If you’re using it to drizzle over ice cream or warm baked goods, you only need to cool it slightly (20 minutes or so). It will thicken as it cools. ⁣⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
#caramel #saltedcaramel #bakedfromscratch #caramelcake #caramelsauce
SPICE CAKE 🤎 filled + frosted with brown butter cr SPICE CAKE 🤎 filled + frosted with brown butter cream cheese frosting for the dreamiest Fall cake!! These spice cake layers are perfectly moist with the ideal amount of spice, and the rich nutty caramel notes combined with the classic tang of cream cheese frosting take the flavor beyond.

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it right to you! Or find the full recipe linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/spice-cake-recipe/

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 Cups (298g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 3/4 Cups (350g) packed brown sugar 
3/4 Cup (180ml) vegetable oil
1 Cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Cup (240ml) buttermilk, room temp

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and line three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the brown sugar, vegetable oil, and unsweetened applesauce. Whisk together until uniform, then whisk in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.
4. Whisk in half of the dry ingredients, followed by all of the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. 
5. Pour the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely before frosting (full recipe with brown butter cream cheese frosting linked in my bio)

#spicecake #cakedecorating #layercake #cakelover #creamcheesefrosting
PUMPKIN CUPCAKES 🧡 topped with spiced cream cheese PUMPKIN CUPCAKES 🧡 topped with spiced cream cheese frosting to give every bite the most heavenly pumpkin spice flavor! The perfect cupcakes to kick off your fall baking 🍂

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it right to you!

You can also find the link in my bio (or google ‘Sugar and Sparrow Pumpkin Cupcakes’) 

#pumpkinspice #pumpkincake #pumpkinseason #falldesserts #creamcheesefrosting

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