• 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
    • Sheet Cakes
    • Cookies & Bars
    • Filling
    • Frosting
    • Ice Cream
    • No-Bake
    • Small Batch
    • Vegan
  • Tutorials
  • Book
  • Blog
  • About

buttercream piping

vintage halloween lambeth cake

September 5, 2023 · In: Featured, Halloween, Seasonal, Tutorials

Vintage Halloween Lambeth Cake Tutorial

Halloween is such a fun time of year to get creative with cake decorating! While I love taking inspiration from the spookiness of the season, this year I couldn’t stop…

Read More

March 21, 2023 · In: Featured, Tutorials

Buttercream Embroidery Cake Tutorial

Textiles have always been a big source of inspiration for my cake making (a couple cases in point: this knitted buttercream cake and this fiber art inspired cake), and creating…

Read More

shag cake by sugar and sparrow

September 20, 2019 · In: Fall, Featured, Seasonal, Tutorials

Autumn-Inspired Shag Cake

I’ve been swooning over shag cakes for years now, so when The Cake Blog asked me to do an autumn-inspired shag cake I was all about it! Heavily inspired by…

Read More

cactus cupcakes tutorial

July 24, 2019 · In: Featured, Seasonal, Summer, Tutorials

Sprinkled Cactus Cupcakes Tutorial

A few years back, the ultra-creative Alana Jones-Mann popularized the cactus cupcake trend and it was one of the earliest cupcake projects I tried. I’ve gotten to make the design…

Read More

floral sheet cake tutorial

June 13, 2019 · In: Featured, Seasonal, Sheet Cakes, Spring, Tutorials

Floral Sheet Cake Tutorial

My momma was the queen of birthday sheet cakes. She baked them in her favorite casserole dish and served them up for every one of my birthdays as a kid,…

Read More

pastel rainbow birthday cake

April 24, 2019 · In: Featured, Seasonal, Spring, Tutorials

Pastel Rainbow Birthday Cake Tutorial

Something totally magical happened this week – I got the opportunity to do an Instagram takeover for the one and only Wilton! They’ve been my favorite supplier of cake decorating…

Read More

sugarbear hair vitamins

January 24, 2019 · In: Featured, Lifestyle

SugarBearHair Vitamins Cake Collaboration

When you think of hair vitamins, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? I’ve always thought swallowing a big, chalky pill was the only way to get all the…

Read More

merry and bright cake

December 10, 2018 · In: Featured, Holiday, Seasonal, Tutorials

Merry & Bright Christmas Cake

How are the Holidays treating you? I’m in full on Christmas spirit mode over here, with so many ideas for festive Holiday cakes and no time to do them all!…

Read More

christmas floral cake tutorial

December 3, 2018 · In: Featured, Holiday, Seasonal, Tutorials

Holiday Floral Buttercream Cake Tutorial

I’ve been in the Holiday spirit since before Thanksgiving, which is about the time all the cute decorations hit the shelves and the Christmas music started flooding the radio stations….

Read More

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next →

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

christmas tree cake by sugar and sparrow

How To Make A Christmas Tree Cake

new years cake

New Years Goals (Not Resolutions)

lemon cream cheese buttercream for cakes and cupcakes

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

Search

Archives

Follow Along

@sugarandsparrowco

ALMOND JOY CAKE 🤎🥥 this tastes just like an Almond ALMOND JOY CAKE 🤎🥥 this tastes just like an Almond Joy candy bar in cake form: layers of soft, fluffy coconut cake with silky chocolate ganache, sliced almonds, and the dreamiest coconut-almond buttercream! 

Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it on over! Or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/almond-joy-cake-recipe/

#almondjoy #coconutcake #almondcake #cakedecorating #candycake
You butter believe I made myself the Halloween cos You butter believe I made myself the Halloween costume of my dreams!! 🧈 

#diyhalloweencostume
#foodcostume #halloweencostume #handmadecostume #bakerlife
MELTED CANDLE CUPCAKES 🖤🕯give me a few cupcakes, s MELTED CANDLE CUPCAKES 🖤🕯give me a few cupcakes, some dye-free black buttercream, and black chocolate ganache and watch me transform them into the spookiest edible centerpiece! 

Full tutorial is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/melting-candle-cupcakes/ but I have a condensed version below: 
 
SUPPLIES: ⁣ 
-9 cupcakes⁣  (made these with my small batch black velvet cake recipe!) 
-1 batch of dye-free black buttercream 
-boba straws or skewers (for stabilizing the taller candles) ⁣ 
-icing smoother + turntable ⁣ 
-black ganache for dripping⁣ 
-3 birthday cake candles⁣ 
-matches ⁣ to light them
⁣ 
INSTRUCTIONS: ⁣ 
1. Fill and stack the cupcakes: one stack of 2 cupcakes, one stack of 3 cupcakes, and one stack of 4 cupcakes. For the two taller cupcakes I inserted a boba straw through the middle to stabilize the stack for frosting. ⁣ 
2. Frost the stacked cupcakes with smooth buttercream and keep the top edge raw. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to let the frosting firm up. ⁣ 
3. Transfer the frosted cupcake candles  onto a small plate and pipe ganache around the edges and tops to look like melted wax. ⁣ 
4. Insert a birthday cake candle into each cake candle (keep the wick about 1/4 inch from the cake surface) and light! ⁣ 
⁣ 
#candlecake #halloweencake #cupcakes #blackvelvetcake #blackbuttercream
BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTERCREAM 🤎 this delicious frosti BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTERCREAM 🤎 this delicious frosting is flavored with Biscoff cookie butter and goes with literally ANY Fall cake recipe 🙌🏼 So far my favorite cake flavors to pair it with are pumpkin cake, banana cake, chocolate cake, coffee cake, and spice cake, but I am also testing a full-on Biscoff cake this week!! 

Full recipe + my favorite cake pairing suggestions are at https://sugarandsparrow.com/biscoff-buttercream/ 
⁣⁣ 
INGREDIENTS⁣⁣ 
1 Cups (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature⁣⁣ 
1/2 Cup (94g) Biscoff cookie butter⁣⁣ or spread
3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar⁣⁣ 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract⁣⁣ 
2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature⁣⁣ 
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste⁣⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
INSTRUCTIONS⁣⁣ 
1. Cream the butter and Biscoff cookie butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand mixer and large bowl). Mix on medium-high until creamy and well combined, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.⁣⁣ 
2. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after mixing in each addition. Add the vanilla, milk, and salt and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and combined, 1-2 minutes.⁣ 
⁣⁣ 
#biscoffcake #biscoff #buttercream #frosting #cakedecorating
DYE-FREE BLACK VELVET CUPCAKES 🖤 These all black c DYE-FREE BLACK VELVET CUPCAKES 🖤 These all black cupcakes use black cocoa powder (and NO food coloring!) to achieve that rich black color for the cupcakes + black buttercream. That means they won’t turn anyone’s mouth black AND they taste like Oreo cookies in deliciously moist cupcake form 👻

✨Full recipe (with dye-free black buttercream) is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-velvet-cupcakes/ 

BLACK VELVET CUPCAKES
Yield: 14 cupcakes

1 Cup (132g) all purpose flour
3/4 Cup (150g) granulated sugar
1/3 Cup (38g) black cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 Cup (120ml) full-fat buttermilk*
1/2 Cup (120ml) hot coffee or hot water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. Place all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot coffee (or hot water) and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin. 
3. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners (no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Cool completely before frosting with dye-free black buttercream (full recipe linked in my bio).

*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (I rarely do!), use 1/2 Cup whole milk mixed with 1 1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice. 

#blackcupcakes #blackbuttercream #blackcocoapowder #halloweencupcakes #halloweenbaking

Footer

On the Blog

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
  • Tutorials

Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure

stay in the know

Copyright © 2026 · Theme by Sugar & Sparrow