Tag: cake recipes

Orange Creamsicle Cake Recipe

July 16, 2021

by Whitney

orange creamsicle cake by sugar and sparrow

Here’s a little behind the scenes secret: when I was trying to create this watercolor cake tutorial, I actually started with an all-orange color palette and it did not turn out the way I wanted. The flowers didn’t go with it, so I thought I’d start over with a different color scheme. It was a happy accident though, because the cake reminded me of an Orange Creamsicle and I thought, hey, that would make an amazing cake flavor. And I considered it perfect timing because Summer is in full swing and what’s more Summer than an Orange Creamsicle anyway?

Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

March 22, 2021

by Whitney

comments 16

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I know I’m not alone when I say my love for chocolate cake runs DEEP. I’ve just always had a soft spot in my heart for a good chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (bonus if it has sprinkles!). So when I went about making this Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe, I made sure it had all the essentials: extra moist, rich chocolate flavor, just the right balance of sweet and decadent, and has that melt-in-your-mouth crumb we all want in a chocolate cake. It’s a true rival to my (full-dairy) One-Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe and I could not be more satisfied with how the vegan version turned out!

Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe

March 12, 2021

by Whitney

comments 31

vegan vanilla cake with vegan vanilla buttercream by sugar and sparrow

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Ever since I published my favorite fluffy Vanilla Cake Recipe, I’ve gotten lots of questions about how to make it eggless or full-on vegan. The truth is, I’d been wanting to make a vegan vanilla cake for years, but everything I read about vegan baking scared me into thinking it was going to be a huge mountain of recipe testing I was going to have to climb (spoiler alert: it was). Still, I kept it on my list, mainly because I wanted an option to offer those asking for the vegan version of my vanilla cake recipe. But it wasn’t until I had my son and had to cut out dairy shortly after that it moved from the bottom of the list to the top. I rolled up my sleeves, put on my apron, and began my absolute OBSESSION with creating the perfect, fluffy, easy, flavorful, can’t-even-tell-it’s-vegan cake recipe. I can say with assurance after what seems like a hundred recipe tests that this is the one.

Sugar & Sparrow’s Best of 2020

December 30, 2020

by Whitney

comments 2

My, what a year it’s been! 2020 was hard, weird, tragic, wonderful, and just all the things at once. It’s the year I became a mom to the sweetest baby boy and the year I launched Cake Basics after dreaming about launching a series like that for so long. I’m thankful to be welcoming a brand new year and starting on some fresh goals, but first, I want to share this year’s greatest hits from my Instagram! These are the recipes, tutorials, and cake designs that you all loved the most:

Peppermint Mocha Cake Recipe

December 18, 2020

by Whitney

comments 4

peppermint mocha cake recipe by sugar and sparrow

Now that I’ve shared my Eggnog Cake Recipe and my Hot Cocoa Cake recipe, it’s only fitting that I close out my 2020 holiday cakes with another that’s based on a festive drink: this decadent Peppermint Mocha Cake! This one may be my favorite one of all and it even impressed my husband, who is not a coffee drinker or a big fan of peppermint. We could not stop tasting it and talking about how good it was, so I am confident that you’ll love it too. Oh, and just look at that candy cane drip.

Festive Eggnog Cake Recipe

November 16, 2020

by Whitney

comments 13

Of all the years, 2020 has everyone ready to kick off the Holiday season earlier than ever. It almost feels like the last chance we have at a little magic and I am here for it. So much that as soon as I felt like I made it out of the newborn haze of maternity leave (and realized I could wear Bubs around the kitchen in my Solly Wrap), I got inspired to start testing all the Holiday cake recipes I’d been dying to try since last Christmas. First on the list: this tasty and festive Eggnog Cake!

Basic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

May 21, 2020

by Whitney

comments 290

vanilla buttercream recipe by Sugar and Sparrow

I’ve tested a ton of buttercream recipes in my day, but my go-to is a super simple American buttercream recipe that I’ve tweaked to my liking. I’ve used this recipe for frosting countless cakes and cupcakes and I’m a big believer that a good vanilla buttercream is something every baker should have in their recipe box. There’s nothing fancy about the way this recipe is made, but it will certainly taste like you whipped up something special!

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Oreo Buttercream

April 16, 2020

by Whitney

comments 106

Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake recipe by Sugar and Sparrow

I’ve been wanting to create vegan versions of my cake recipes for awhile now, but vegan baking is one of those fascinating things that takes a ton of research. It felt a bit intimidating to scour the internet for the dairy-free substitutes, so I just kept putting it off. But with ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter in short supply due to the pandemic, I think now is the perfect time to offer you a cake recipe that uses ingredients you can (hopefully) find! Whether you’re vegan, dairy-free, or you simply need a cake recipe with limited ingredients, this Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake is so easy to whip up and tastes amazing! Perfect for celebrating a #QuarantineBirthday or just making a cake for the fun of it.

The Fluffiest Yellow Cake Recipe + Chocolate Frosting

March 25, 2020

by Whitney

comments 51

yellow cake recipe with chocolate buttercream

When you think of the most classic birthday cake ever, what comes to mind? For me, it’s always been yellow cake with chocolate frosting. All throughout my childhood, my momma used to mix up a box yellow cake, bake it in a casserole dish, smear canned chocolate frosting on top, and write Happy Birthday on it with those little tubes of icing colors you can still find at the grocery store to this day. I loved those birthday cakes. And I’m really surprised that after all my years of caking, it’s taken me this long to nail down the perfect yellow cake recipe. Well, wait no more!

Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe

November 25, 2019

by Whitney

comments 2

Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe by Sugar & Sparrow

My husband and I are big fans of the Great British Baking Show (if you haven’t seen it, power up Netflix right now!) and the other night we were watching a contestant bake a cranberry orange flavored dessert. While I’ve never really been all that intrigued to use those flavors before, my husband leaned over and said, “A cranberry orange cake would be delicious. You should make it.” It’s because of him that I found myself in the kitchen zesting oranges and rolling cranberries in sugar, wide-eyed at the Holiday scents filling the air. I ended up with a delicious orange flavored cake dotted with fresh, juicy cranberries, topped with zesty orange buttercream and tons of Christmas cheer! Thanks for the suggestion, husband. You were right.