• 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
    • Frosting
    • Cupcakes
    • Ice Cream
    • Vegan
  • Tutorials
  • Book
  • Blog
  • About

How To Make A Spatula Painted Cake

August 13, 2018 · In: Featured, Tutorials

A few months ago, I got the opportunity to try this spatula painted buttercream technique on a wedding cake and it was so much fun! I had a beautiful buttercream color palette to work with (terracotta + blush + cream + burgundy) and wanted to create something eye-catching and different. Using this technique turned out to be so easy and beautiful and I couldn’t wait to try it again. So naturally, after getting my hands on this amazing AmeriColor Nifty Fifty color gel kit, the first thing I thought to do was create a spatula painted cake with another fun color palette!

I am absolutely over the moon for these color gel pastes and they deserve an entire post all their own. The kit comes with (you guessed it) fifty different colors, and they’re all so good that I probably will never have to spend time mixing custom colors ever again – something I had to do all the time before. Here’s a little video I whipped up to show you the color palette I chose with the spatula painted technique before you read all about it:

Disclaimer: this post does contain some affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you click them and purchase items I’ve recommended. Using these links won’t cost you any extra money, but they do help to keep Sugar & Sparrow up and running. Thank you for your support!

You Will Need:

  • A cake that’s been frosted with smooth buttercream and chilled
  • A few cups of tintable buttercream (like vanilla or another light-colored flavor)
  • Food color gels of your choosing
  • Small icing spatula (I use this one)

Step 1: Start With A Chilled Buttercream Cake

This technique looks beautiful on top of a smooth buttercream surface, especially when you’re only doing it partially down the sides like I am. If you’re planning on covering the entire cake with swipes of buttercream, you could technically start with a crumb coated cake since the entire surface will be covered. Either way, starting with a chilled cake is essential.

how to get wrinkles out of buttercream

Make sure the cake you’re decorating has been chilled for at least 30 minutes and is firm to the touch as a starting point. This way, the swipes of buttercream will adhere perfectly without affecting the buttercream underneath.

Step 2: Mix Up Your Color Palette

Divide your buttercream into separate bowls and tint them with food color gels until you achieve the perfect color palette. The color palette for this specific cake consisted of just five AmeriColor colors that I thought would look pretty together: navy, turquoise, lemon yellow, electric purple, and fuschia. I love the way it turned out!

americolor gel pastes and buttercream

Feel free to get creative with your color palette, because you can’t really go wrong with this technique! I’ve seen it done beautifully with a monochromatic color palette and the first time I created a cake like this I used varying shades of terracotta, blush, cream and burgundy. Total magic.

Step 3: Apply Your Paint Strokes

One color at a time, use your icing spatula to swipe paint strokes onto the cake in an upward motion. You’ll want them to overlap some, but all in a random pattern.  

painting buttercream onto cake

buttercream cake decorating techniques

how to paint a cake with buttercream

When you’re applying the buttercream paint strokes to the top of the cake, swipe the spatula from the outer edge toward the center of the cake and keep the strokes pointed toward the same direction. Like this:

spatula painted buttercream cake by sugar and sparrow

In this particular cake design, I stopped my buttercream paint strokes halfway down the side of the cake with the exception of some smaller, random strokes further down. You can use this technique on the entire cake as an alternative, or just do the sides of the cake and decorate the top with other elements, like a floral arrangement. Whatever look you’re going for, this is such a fun and easy way to add an eye-catching artsy effect! It’s one of my new favorite techniques, and I can’t wait to try it in other color schemes.

painted buttercream cake by sugar and sparrow

Ready to give this technique a try? Tag me on Instagram and show me what you end up creating. I can’t wait to see what fun color palettes and designs you come up with!

By: Whitney · In: Featured, Tutorials · Tagged: americolor, artsy cake, buttercream cake, cake, cake decorating, cake decorating techniques, cake tutorial, frosting, icing spatula, painting with buttercream, spatula painted cake

you’ll also love

how to mix rainbow buttercream colorsThe Easiest Way to Make Rainbow Buttercream Colors
blueberry buttercream frosting recipeThe Best Blueberry Buttercream Recipe
raspberry buttercream frosting recipe by sugar and sparrowFreeze Dried Raspberry Buttercream Recipe

Join the List

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

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janice says

    October 9, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    Hi Whitney! Could I get you advise if this technique works using Italian Meringue Buttercream? Your recipes usually call for American Buttercream, but these don’t work very well in Singapore’s hot and humid climate.

    Am looking forward to decorate a cake (for a baby shower) using this technique if it works with the Italian Buttercream. 🙂

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      October 10, 2018 at 9:55 am

      Hi Janice! It would most certainly work with Italian Meringue Buttercream! Just follow the exact same steps and you’ll be good to go 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ashley says

    June 27, 2019 at 10:47 pm

    Hi Whitney,
    What can you use to spread and smooth the buttercream if you don’t have a metal/plastic smoother please?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      June 28, 2019 at 9:46 am

      Hi Ashley! I have never tried using anything to smooth buttercream except for an icing smoother/bench scraper. You can try using something like a butter knife, but it’s almost impossible to get an entirely smooth buttercream cake without the right tools.

      Reply
  3. meh says

    July 26, 2019 at 12:27 am

    hey can this be done with whipped cream instead of butter cream icing over the cake?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      July 26, 2019 at 3:15 pm

      Hi there! I’m not sure if whipped cream alone would be stable enough to frost a cake. Instead, I would find a stabilized whipped cream frosting recipe and the technique should work fine with that. I would share a recipe if I had one! Something to add to my list for developing 🙂

      Reply
  4. Alexis says

    September 21, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    How many layers and what size did you use to make this cake?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      September 23, 2019 at 9:01 am

      Hi Alexis! For this cake, I used three 6-inch layers.

      Reply
  5. Lynn says

    January 9, 2020 at 4:38 pm

    Hi! Have you ever made and/or seen a cake using this technique that starts off with a cake that has been frosted with chocolate frosting, rather than white?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      January 10, 2020 at 9:36 am

      Hi Lynn! I haven’t seen that done (yet!) but I think it could look really cool in a color palette that includes chocolate as the base!

      Reply
  6. Brooke says

    January 26, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    Could you use a cream cheese icing for this?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      January 29, 2021 at 2:24 pm

      Hi Brooke! You totally could.

      Reply
  7. Freya says

    April 17, 2021 at 9:04 am

    Hi Whitney,
    Would the whole cake need to be kept chilled after the spatula strokes are added or can it be kept ambient?
    Many thanks,
    Freya

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      April 20, 2021 at 2:42 pm

      Hi Freya, the cake doesn’t need to be refrigerated after the spatula strokes are added unless you’re using a frosting that requires refrigeration. The buttercream recipe I link to in this post doesn’t require refrigeration. Enjoy!

      Reply
  8. Bahar says

    May 19, 2021 at 10:27 am

    Hi,
    In order not to get the colors mixed, do we need to chill after each color before adding the next color? Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      May 20, 2021 at 9:32 am

      Hi Bahar! I don’t chill the cake in between colors. They don’t mix too easily when you layer them one at a time.

      Reply
  9. Dorothy says

    June 26, 2021 at 3:43 pm

    Do you use a stiff icing

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      June 27, 2021 at 9:09 pm

      Hi Dorothy! For this technique I use my vanilla buttercream recipe as-is: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe it’s not super stiff, more of a medium consistency. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  10. Dorothy says

    June 28, 2021 at 10:09 am

    Thank you we are having trouble with the strokes. The tutorial was so fast it was hard to tell how you applied it. Is it more of a swiping stroke

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      June 28, 2021 at 8:57 pm

      Yes, the strokes are like a swiping motion. You’ll add some buttercream to your spatula/palette knife and press it to the cake while swiping upward. Hope that helps!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

Rainbow Funfetti Cake Recipe

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

gift ideas oreo truffles recipe

Easy Oreo Truffles (4 Ingredients!)

mini christmas tree cakes by sugar and sparrow

How To Make Mini Christmas Tree Cakes

vegan chocolate buttercream recipe

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

Search

Archives

Follow Along

@sugarandsparrowco

Yellow Cake + Chocolate Frosting (aka Classic Birt Yellow Cake + Chocolate Frosting (aka Classic Birthday Cake) 🙌🏼 🥳 this one is extra nostalgic for me because it’s what my mama made for all my birthdays growing up 💛 this recipe rivals the box mix: super moist and fluffy layers of classic yellow cake (naturally colored with egg yolks) + silky smooth chocolate buttercream. Top with rainbow sprinkles for extra fun! 🎉⁣
⁣
Find this recipe linked in my bio + on page 147 of my book, Anyone Can Cake ✨⁣
⁣
#birthdaycake #yellowcake #chocolatefrosting #chocolatebuttercream #sprinkles #layercake #cakelover #cakesofinstagram #cake #bake #bakingfun #bakedfromscratch #anyonecancake #cakeideas #cakedecorating
Ombré Rainbow Sheet Cake 🌈🥳 for St. Patrick Ombré Rainbow Sheet Cake 🌈🥳 for St. Patrick’s Day or any day, because rainbow cakes are year round if you ask me 🫶🏽⁣
⁣
🎨 colors: custom mixed with @wiltoncakes color right food coloring system ⁣
🌈 piping tips: @wiltoncakes 1M for the rosettes, 104 for the ruffles, 32 for the swirls and stars⁣
⁣
#ombrecake #rainbowcake #sheetcake #cakedecorating #rainbow #stpatricksday #buttercreampiping #pipingskills #bakingfun #satisfyingfood #bake #cakeideas #cakelovers
I wish you could see that the inside of this cake I wish you could see that the inside of this cake had crushed Cadbury Mini Eggs sprinkled between each layer 😍 best Easter candy of all (name a better one, I dare you!) 🙌🏽 ⁣
⁣
#ombrecake #cadburyeggs #cakedecorating #chocolate #ganache #dripcake #eastercake #cakeideas #cakelover #bakingfun #cake
This Mint Chocolate Chip Cake is just so dreamy 😍🫠 if you’re a fan of the ice cream (or just mint chocolate in general) it’s a must try: layers of ultra-moist mint chocolate cake, mint buttercream studded with chocolate chunks, and decadent chocolate ganache 🙌🏽 find the recipe in my book, Anyone Can Cake AND there’s a version of this recipe that incorporates @girlscouts Thin Mint cookies at sugarandsparrow.com 💚 ⁣
⁣
#mintchocolate #chocolatecake #cakedecorating #chocolate #ganache #dripcake #mintchocolatechip #cakeideas #anyonecancake #bakedfromscratch #baking #cake #cakesofinstagram
I had to see how this fiber art inspired buttercre I had to see how this fiber art inspired buttercream piping looked on a sheet cake and I think I’m in LOVE 😍 obsessed with all these textures! Details: ⁣
⁣
🎨Colors: @americolor Fuchsia, Regal Purple, and Turquoise (each color in a pastel shade + a bold shade)⁣
🎂Piping Tips: @wiltoncakes tip 1M, 104, 4B, 233, 5⁣
👩🏽‍🍳Recipes: my one-bowl chocolate cake + vanilla buttercream (both found at sugarandsparrow.com)⁣
⁣
#satisfyingfood #chocolatecake #sheetcake #satisfying #cakedecorating #fiberart #buttercreampiping #pipingskills #buttercream #frosting #cakes #cakesofig #cakeart #bakinglove #cakelover #cakeideas #undertheseacake

Footer

On the Blog

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
  • Tutorials

Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure

stay in the know

Copyright © 2023 · Theme by Sugar & Sparrow