• 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

cake decorating tutorial

watercolor cake tutorial by sugar and sparrow

June 24, 2021 · In: Featured, Tutorials

Watercolor Cake Tutorial

I’ve always been inspired by painterly textures when it comes to my cakes, and although watercolor buttercream has been around for quite some time, it hasn’t gotten old in my…

Read More

buttercream terrazzo cake tutorial

March 16, 2020 · In: Featured, Tutorials

Buttercream Terrazzo Cake Tutorial

Terrazzo patterns seem to be everywhere these days, and I am all for it. These pretty mosaic prints were originally popularized in the early 1900’s as a trendy floor tile…

Read More

monster cake by sugar and sparrow

October 1, 2019 · In: Featured, Halloween, Seasonal, Tutorials

Spooky Black Buttercream Halloween Cake

This was originally a guest post that I wrote for SprinklePop’s blog. It’s too good not to re-share over here, because this Halloween cake is such a fun and easy showstopper…

Read More

marbled chocolate sail tutorial

April 11, 2019 · In: Decorations & Garnishes, Featured, Recipes, Tutorials

Marbled Candy Melt Chocolate Sail Tutorial

I’ve been an admirer of cakes topped with colorful chocolate sails for years, but it wasn’t until just recently that I tried my hand at making my own! I’m so…

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

rainbow cupcakes

July 9, 2018 · In: Featured, Tutorials

10 Easy Ways To Frost A Cupcake

When I first started baking cupcakes, frosting them was as simple as using a butter knife to heap the buttercream on top. Sure, you can do some cool stuff with…

Read More

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

milk and cookies cake

Milk & Cookies Cake Recipe

vegan chocolate oreo cake by sugar and sparrow

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Oreo Buttercream

buttercream floral cake tutorial

Buttercream Painted Floral Cake

Search

Archives

Follow Along

@sugarandsparrowco

CHAI CUPCAKES 🫖🍂these moist and fluffy cupcakes ha CHAI CUPCAKES 🫖🍂these moist and fluffy cupcakes have the perfect chai flavor from steeping chai tea in the milk portion of the recipe + adding homemade chai spice mix to the dry ingredients AND buttercream. If you love chai tea, these are going to be your new favorite cupcakes!! 

✨Comment RECIPE to get the full recipe (with frosting) or find it linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/chai-cupcakes/
⠀
CHAI SPICE MIX⠀
2 tsp ground cinnamon⠀
1 tsp ground ginger⠀
1/2 tsp ground cardamom⠀
1/4 tsp ground allspice⠀
1/8 tsp ground cloves⠀
⠀
CHAI CUPCAKES⠀
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp (150ml) whole milk⠀
1 chai tea bag⠀
1 1/4 Cups (132g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes⠀
1 1/2 tsp baking powder⠀
2 tsp chai spice mix (recipe above)⠀
1/2 tsp salt⠀
1 /2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature⠀
1 Cup (200g) granulated white sugar⠀
1 large egg + 1 large egg white, room temperature⠀
1/4 Cup (60g) sour cream, room temperature⠀
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract⠀
⠀
INSTRUCTIONS⠀
1. Mix together the chai spice mix ingredients and set aside.⠀
2. Place the chai tea bag into a jar. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer, then pour it over the chai tea bag. Steep for 15 minutes, then remove the chai tea bag and cool to room temperature. ⠀
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177ºC) and line a cupcake pan with liners.⠀
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, 2 teaspoons of the chai spice mix, and salt. Set aside.⠀
5. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer and large bowl), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Turn mixer to low and mix in the egg and egg white until combined, then add vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high. ⠀
6. Add the dry ingredients all at once, then mix on low. When it starts to combine, add the (room temperature!) chai milk mixture and mix until incorporated.⠀
7. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 14-18 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then frost with chai buttercream (full recipe with frosting is at https://sugarandsparrow.com/chai-cupcakes/)⠀
⠀
#chai #cupcakes #baking #chaicake #teac
THICK CARAMEL CAKE FILLING ✨this is the BEST caram THICK CARAMEL CAKE FILLING ✨this is the BEST caramel  filling recipe for cakes and cupcakes that’s extra thick, creamy and spreadable, and irresistibly gooey with just the right vanilla-caramel flavor. I’ve used it in recipes like my Millionaire Cake, Milky Way Ccake, Snickers Cake (with peanuts added!), and Twix cake, but it will pair well with any cake flavor that could use some gooey caramel in between the layers.

Find this recipe in my bio + all the cake recipes mentioned at https://sugarandsparrow.com/thick-caramel-filling/

THICK CARAMEL FILLING 
Yield: 2 Cups (enough to fill a triple layer cake + use as a drip) 

INGREDIENTS 
1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter 
1 Cup (200g) packed brown sugar 
2/3 Cup (210g, 160ml) sweetened condensed milk 
1/3 Cup (80ml) light corn syrup 
5 Tbsp (75ml) heavy whipping cream 
1 tsp salt 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

INSTRUCTIONS 
1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the sweetened condensed milk, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy whipping cream, and salt. Stir with a rubber spatula constantly until the mixture is fully combined and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. 
2. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the caramel begins to thicken, 6-7 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you’ll want to cook this until it reaches 225F (107C). That is the temperature that will thicken the caramel while keeping it nice and soft at room temperature. 
3. Remove the caramel from the heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Pour into a separate container and let the caramel cool completely to room temperature before using it to fill the cake. After pouring mine into a 2-cup measuring cup and refrigerating, it took about 2 hours to cool but it will thicken significantly.

#caramel #caramelcake #cakes #cakedecorating #homebaked
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

Footer

On the Blog

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
  • Tutorials

Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure

stay in the know

Copyright © 2026 · Theme by Sugar & Sparrow