And just like that, I have a one year old (my blog baby, of course)! I canāt believe itās only been a year since I launched Sugar & Sparrow, and I am so, so happy I pressed the publish button back then. Itās been such a joy to share my recipes and cake decorating tutorials with you, and Iām looking forward to all thatās to come! Iāve just got all the feels about this.
A little over a year ago, my husband kept pushing the idea of turning my love for cake into a blog and although I liked the idea of it, I was absolutely terrified of the idea at the same time. Iād never had a blog before, never taken photos with a DSLR camera (so happy I upgraded to this one from my iPhone though!), and had never shared my recipes with anyone. What if they only worked in my own kitchen and were a disaster everywhere else? Somehow, I pushed the fear aside and got to work on what is now Sugar & Sparrow. What a wild ride itās been!

I want to thank you A MILLION for following along and cheering me on with all this cake stuff. I couldnāt do any of it without you and am so amazed to find myself part of such a kind, inspiring community of bakers. Iām blessed by you all and consider you a huge part of my journey as a cake maker and recipe writer. Youāve grown my confidence a ton and I hope that youāre feeling more confident in the kitchen too!

That being said, to celebrate my blogiversary, Iāll be hosting a few giveaways on my Instagram channel over the next few weeks to give you all a chance to win some of my canāt-live-without cake decorating supplies. I hope they bring you even more kitchen confidence! Here are the details:
- This week: $100 worth of SprinklePop sprinkles (hello!) for making those cakes pop
- Next week: an Americolor Heavenly Seventy kit with (you guessed it!) seventy different soft gel pastes for making the most beautiful buttercream colors on earth.
Details to come on all of those things, be sure to follow along on my Instagram so you donāt miss any of it!

And for a trip down memory lane, here are some of my favorite recipes and tutorials from the past year:
Chocolate Ganache Drip Cake Tips
This is the perfect chocolate ganache recipe for dripping cakes, plus all of my best tips for achieving drip cake greatness!

If youāre working with milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate, this one is the best ratio. If youāre more of a white chocolate ganache drip caker, this one is my favorite ratio.
Salted Caramel Buttercream Recipe
The perfect buttercream recipe for every salted caramel lover! It all starts with a batch of my easy four-ingredient salted caramel, then Iāll show you how to whip it up into tasty buttercream for filling and frosting cakes.

Spatula Painted Cake Tutorial
One of the easiest ways to decorate a colorful, eye-catching cake. Just mix up your favorite color palette, grab a small icing spatula, and go crazy!

Milk & Cereal Cake Recipe
This oneās for all the cereal lovers and it pairs perfectly with your Saturday morning cartoons. The best part about this recipe is it works with any cereal, so grab a box of your favorite and Iāll show you how to turn it into a tasty Milk & Cereal cake, plus how to make the perfect white chocolate milk splash to top it!

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
One of the number one recipe requests I get is for my basic vanilla buttercream. Itās perfect for piping buttercream flowers, topping cupcakes, and frosting smooth buttercream cakes.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe
A decadent, moist chocolate cake thatās almost as easy as whipping up a box of cake mix! All of the ingredients go into one bowl, making the mixing process totally failproof, and from start to finish you’ll have the perfect chocolate cake batter in about five minutes.

How To Frost A Smooth Buttercream Cake
This tutorial will walk you through all my tips and techniques for frosting a super smooth buttercream cake finish. Youāre gonna want to know these tricks!

Thanks again SO MUCH for all of your support and Iām looking forward to all thatās to come in year two and beyond!
I love your cake designs. I’m a grandma that makes cakes for grandchildren’s birthdays. I’m not trained but just love baking cakes. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Hi Deborah! Thanks so much for the kind words about my cakes š I’m so happy to hear you’re loving the recipes and am cheering you on in your love for baking!
Hello! What kind of sprinkles did you use for the teal striped birthday cake? Iām making one almost similar and would love to use those exact sprinkles!!
Thank you!!
Hi Kati! I used the Rainbow Road sprinkle mix by SprinklePop (fave sprinkles of all time!): https://sprinklepop.shop/products/rainbow-road-sprinkle-mix
Hello Whitney,
can you recommend a specific diameter for the cake tin? I would love to try to make a cake like yours for my daughters first birthday!
Regards from Munich,
Elena