Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, Singles Awareness Day – no matter what you’re celebrating this month, I’ve got the perfect thing to make it all the more special: cake. I’ve gathered all of my favorite love-themed designs and sensual cake recipes just in case you want to impress a special someone, need a fun cake project, or just want to eat some delicious cake. If you want to take things to the next level, you can even combine these decorating tutorials with any of the tasty recipes below. So many possibilities here!
Read MoreTag: cake recipes
Gingerbread Latte Cake Recipe
It’s that time of year when all the coffee shops start selling lattes with festive flavors. Anytime I see a Holiday drink menu roll out I can’t help but get inspired to translate those flavors into cake form (see also: my Peppermint Latte Cake and Hot Cocoa Cake recipes). I thought it was about time for a delicious Gingerbread Latte Cake and to my complete satisfaction (and after lots of recipe testing), this one checks all the boxes!
Read MoreChocolate Pecan Pie Cake with Salted Caramel
One of my very favorite pies to make for Thanksgiving is a chocolate pecan pie topped with salted caramel. The crunch of the pecans, richness of the chocolate, and sweetness of the caramel together are next level. I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to translate that flavor palette into cake form, but I’m beyond pleased with how it turned out – it’s the perfect pie alternative for your Thanksgiving feast and just an all-around amazing holiday flavor combo!
Read MoreOrange Creamsicle Cake Recipe
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?
Read MoreVegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
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!
Read MoreVegan Vanilla Cake Recipe
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
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:
Read MorePeppermint Mocha Cake Recipe
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.
Read MoreFestive Eggnog Cake Recipe
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!
Read MoreBasic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
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!