• Cake
  • Frosting
  • YouTube
  • My Favorite Tools
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
    • Cake
    • Cupcakes
    • Frosting
    • Ice Cream
    • Vegan
  • Cake Basics
  • Tutorials
  • Blog
  • About
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

Sugar & Sparrow logo in script font

Sugar & Sparrow

Lifestyle and Cake from Portland Oregon

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
    • Cake
    • Cupcakes
    • Cookies & Bars
    • Filling
    • Frosting
    • Ice Cream
    • No-Bake
    • Small Batch
    • Vegan
  • Tutorials
  • Book
  • Blog
  • About

Everything I Baked in September

October 2, 2026 · In: Lifestyle, Recipes

Now that my kids are back in school and I have the kitchen all to myself, I’m getting back into my GROOVE! I spent this month making a couple new recipes like small batch pumpkin cake and caramel apple cupcakes, and lots of my time was dedicated to revisiting some older recipes to add new photos and make some helpful updates. I also started working on some Halloween recipes that I can’t wait to share!

Whitney DePaoli of Sugar and Sparrow holding a cupcake

New Recipes

Here are the recipes that went live on my blog in September:

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Deliciously moist, perfectly spiced apple cupcakes topped with a swirl of salted caramel buttercream and drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce – these are the ideal Fall cupcakes if you ask me! 

Get the Recipe

small batch pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting recipe by sugar and sparrow

Small Batch Pumpkin 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

Recipe Updates

These are the recipes I revisited this month, mostly to update photos and add helpful info to the blog posts:

easy salted caramel sauce recipe

Easy Salted Caramel

While making this for my caramel apple cupcakes, I snapped some much-needed new photos! Readers already love this recipe for how beginner-friendly it is – comes together in minutes with only 4 ingredients, simple techniques, and no candy thermometer needed!

Get the Recipe

Salted Caramel Buttercream

This buttercream is flavored with the salted caramel above!

One reader says: “Oh. My. Goodness!! Earlier I made the salted caramel (and left rave reviews) and I just finished making this to frost my dark chocolate cake and it is perfection! I could literally eat this buttercream by itself!” ★★★★★

Get the Recipe

mascarpone whipped cream frosting recipe for cakes and cupcakes

Whipped Mascarpone Frosting

Re-tested and updated this recipe to make it more pipeable and easy to work with for cake and cupcake decorating. It comes together in minutes with a handful of ingredients and is the ideal “not too sweet” frosting.

Get the Recipe

pumpkin layer cake slice

Pumpkin Layer Cake

My first proper Fall bake of the season was my go-to pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese frosting! I added more slice photos to the blog post to better capture the perfectly moist texture.

Get the Recipe

vanilla buttercream for layer cakes recipe by sugar and sparrow

Vanilla Buttercream

My most popular recipe deserved a photo update!

One reader says: “I’ve been making buttercream for some time now but wanted to see if I could make it better, creamier and less sweet. This recipe was just that! So creamy, light, fluffy and the perfect amount of sweetness. Best recipe I have found!”  ★★★★★

Get the Recipe

black velvet cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Black Velvet Cake

Re-made this recipe and added some helpful info to the blog post! Can you believe this is made without any food coloring?!

Get the Recipe

dye free black buttercream easy recipe

Dye-Free Black Buttercream

I made this recipe a lot for upcoming Halloween recipes. It’s made using black cocoa powder, so there’s ZERO food coloring to create that pitch black color! Also tastes like Oreos + won’t turn your mouth black (or anything else for that matter).

Get the Recipe

Coming Soon

Here’s what I’ve been working on for October:

black velvet cake baked in a 9x13 pan decorated with black buttercream and googly eyes

Black Velvet Sheet Cake

My favorite black velvet cake recipe, baked in a 9×13 pan to serve a crowd! Perfect for a Halloween party.


Halloween cupcakes by sugar and sparrow

Halloween Cupcakes

I made a few new easy Halloween cupcake designs and can’t wait to show you how to replicate them!


I hope you love these new recipes + updates and I can’t wait to share more in October! If there’s a recipe you’ve been wanting to see on my blog, let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to add it to my baking list.

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

you’ll also love

everything I baked in June Sugar & SparrowEverything I Baked in June
whitney depaoli of sugar and sparrow in her kitchenEverything I Baked in May
Whitney DePaoli Sugar & SparrowEverything I Baked in April

Join the List

Stay up to date & receive the latest posts in your inbox.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Sugar & Sparrow

Welcome to Sugar & Sparrow

Helping you whip up pretty desserts with confidence and creativity. And hopefully sharing a few laughs with you along the way!

Learn More

Connect

let’s bake!

Get my very best recipes, baking tips, and decorating tutorials sent to your inbox

Featured Posts

rafaello cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Rafaello Cake Recipe

Whitney DePaoli Sugar & Sparrow

Everything I Baked in April

vintage heart cake with pink piping

Vintage Heart Cake Tutorial

Search

Archives

Follow Along

@sugarandsparrowco

MONSTER HALLOWEEN CAKE 👀 🥳 give me a handful of pi MONSTER HALLOWEEN CAKE 👀 🥳 give me a handful of piping tips and some googly eyes sprinkles and this is what happens 😆 I love this cake design so much because you can truly go with the flow with your buttercream piping. The googly eyes will make that piping come alive! 
⁣
The full tutorial is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/buttercream-monster-cake-tutorial/
⁣
👩🏽‍🍳 buttercream recipe: my vanilla buttercream at https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe/
🎨 frosting colors: @americolor Electric Green, Electric Purple, Orange, and Deep Pink + added black cocoa powder for the black piping⁣
✨piping tips: @wiltoncakes 1M, 104, 4B, 233, 10, and 16 ⁣
👀 eye sprinkles: @michaelsstores
⁣
#monstercake #halloweencake #cakedecorating #halloweenparty
#buttercream
APPLE CRISP CAKE 🍏I took everything I love about a APPLE CRISP CAKE 🍏I took everything I love about apple crisp and turned it into the ultimate layer cake with deliciously moist spiced apple cake, homemade apple pie filling, buttery crumble topping, and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. This cake is packed with warm fall flavors, incredible textures, and truly tastes like apple crisp in cake form! 🙌🏽

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it to you! Or find it linked in my bio + https://sugarandsparrow.com/apple-crisp-cake-recipe/

#applecake #layercake #cakedecorating #fallbaking #applecrisp
CARAMEL APPLE CUPCAKES 🍏deliciously moist, perfect CARAMEL APPLE CUPCAKES 🍏deliciously moist, perfectly spiced apple cupcakes topped with a swirl of salted caramel buttercream and drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce – these are the ideal Fall cupcakes if you ask me! 

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it to you! Or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/caramel-apple-cupcakes/

#applecupcakes #saltedcaramel #caramelcupcakes #fallbaking #caramelapple
DYE-FREE BLACK BUTTERCREAM 🖤 (recipe below) there DYE-FREE BLACK BUTTERCREAM 🖤 (recipe below) there is ZERO food coloring in this black buttercream recipe which means it won’t turn your mouth black (or anything else 💩) + it tastes like Oreo cookie butter so it’s a win all around!! The key is to use EXTRA dark black cocoa powder, which also comes in handy in my black velvet cake recipe 🙌🏼 ideal secret ingredient for your Halloween cakes! 
⁣
Full recipe (and the black cocoa powder I use!) is linked in my bio and at https://sugarandsparrow.com/dye-free-black-buttercream/
⁣
DYE-FREE BLACK BUTTERCREAM⁣⁣
Yield: 2.5 Cups⁣⁣
⁣⁣
INGREDIENTS:⁣⁣
1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/2 Cups (300g) powdered sugar⁣⁣
1/2 Cup (56g) EXTRA DARK black cocoa powder⁣⁣*
1 tsp pure vanilla extract⁣⁣
2 Tbsp whole milk, room temp
pinch of salt⁣⁣
⁣⁣
INSTRUCTIONS:⁣⁣
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, 4 min. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low until just combined, then add the rest of the powdered sugar. With the mixer still in the off position, sift in the black cocoa powder and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.⁣⁣
2. Place the buttercream in an airtight container and allow the color to deepen for 24 hours or more. ⁣⁣

*I use a brand called The Cocoa Trader that I get on Amazon. It’s the darkest black cocoa powder I’ve seen so far!!
⁣⁣
#blackbuttercream #naturalfoodcoloring #blackcake #buttercream #blackcocoapowder
SMALL BATCH pumpkin cake with cream cheese frostin SMALL BATCH pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting 🧡 This mini cake is a scaled down version of my favorite pumpkin cake recipe + makes the perfect amount for 2-4 people! Bake it as a 4-inch mini layer cake or a single layer 6-inch cake, either way is absolutely delicious and the perfect for date night, a small gathering, or any time you’re craving pumpkin cake without having to make a huge dessert 🙌🏽

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send you the full recipe (with thick and stable cream cheese frosting!) or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/small-batch-pumpkin-cake/ 

INGREDIENTS 
2/3 Cup (88g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/3 Cup (67g) packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp (25g) granulated sugar
1/3 Cup (80ml) vegetable oil or melted butter
1 large egg, room temp
1/2 Cup (125g) canned pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and line three 4-inch cake pans or one 6-inch cake pan.
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 medium bowl, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vegetable oil (if using melted butter in place of the oil, cool it for 5-10 minutes prior to adding here), egg, 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 pan(s). If using 4-inch cake pans, bake for 22-26 minutes. If using a 6-inch cake pan, bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting (full recipe with cream cheese buttercream is linked in my bio!)

#pumpkincake #smallbatchcake #minicake #creamcheesefrosting #fallbaking

Footer

On the Blog

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
  • Tutorials

Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure

stay in the know

Copyright © 2026 · Theme by Sugar & Sparrow