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Sugar & Sparrow

Lifestyle and Cake from Portland Oregon

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My Favorite Tools

vegan vanilla buttercream recipe by sugar and sparrow

The right tool can be the difference between a cake and a caketastrophe.

These are all of the caking and content creation tools I’ve come to love over the years and use on the daily. Whether you’re brand new to cake baking or a seasoned pro, you’ll find something on this page to help on your journey.

Visit my Amazon Store

I’ve set up an Amazon Store that collects all my favorite tools in an up-to-date storefront.

VISIT THE STORE

Tool Section Shortcuts

Baking Tools
Decorating Tools
Piping Tools
Content Creation Tools

Baking tools

kitchenaid stand mixer in pistachio

5-Quart KitchenAid Mixer

The perfect all-purpose stand mixer for whipping up layer cakes, cupcakes, and up to three batches of buttercream.

Buy on Amazon
kitchenaid 7 quart stand mixer in milkshake

7-Quart KitchenAid Mixer

The perfect large batch stand mixer for whipping up layer cakes, cupcakes, and up to eight batches of buttercream.

Buy on Amazon
kitchenaid paddle attachment

KitchenAid Paddle Attachment

The ideal attachment for mixing cakes, cupcakes, and buttercream. Designed for perfect results.

Buy on Amazon
kitchenaid whisk attachment

KitchenAid Whisk Attachment

The ideal attachment for whipping cream and meringue. Designed to incorporate lots of air.

Buy on Amazon
4 inch cake pans

4-inch Cake Pans (Set of Four)

A set of four mini cake pans that have a removable bottom for easy release! Perfect for my small batch cake recipes.

Buy on Amazon
6 inch cake pans

6-inch Cake Pans (Set of Four)

My go-to for party cakes, as three layers will serve up to 18. I recommend having at least three of these pans.

Buy on Amazon
8 inch cake pans

8-inch Cake Pans (Set of 2)

A double-layer 8-inch cake is a great size for a party. I recommend having at least two of these pans.

Buy on Amazon
24 cup cupcake pan

24-Cup Muffin Pan (for Cupcakes)

A great pan for baking two dozen cupcakes at once, which is a life saver if you’re making larger batches!

Buy on Amazon
OXO kitchen scale

OXO 11-Pound Kitchen Scale

My recipes are written in American Cups and metric measurements, and it’s always more precise to bake by weight.

Buy on Amazon

Decorating tools

norpro icing smoother

NorPro 6-Inch Icing Smoother

This is my favorite tool for frosting smooth buttercream cakes.

Buy on Amazon
wilton icing spatula set

Wilton Icing Spatula Set of 3

Three essential icing spatulas in one set! I love the gold/navy color combination of these.

Buy on Amazon
wilton cake leveler

Wilton Adjustable Cake Leveler

The easiest tool for leveling your cake layers or torting them horizontally.

Buy on Amazon
13 inch icing spatula

13-inch Angled Icing Spatula

My go-to icing spatula for applying buttercream to cakes and smoothing the top.

Buy on Amazon
9 inch straight icing spatula

9-inch Straight Icing Spatula

This straight icing spatula is the perfect size to spread filling in between your cake layers.

Buy on Amazon
9 inch angled icing spatula

9-inch Angled Icing Spatula

The best size icing spatula for creating sharp edges on your buttercream cakes.

Buy on Amazon
cake turntable

Cake Turntable

A turntable is necessary for frosting smooth buttercream cakes, and this is a great budget-friendly option.

Buy on Amazon
ateco turntable

Ateco Turntable

A high quality turntable that will last a lifetime. It comes with a non-slip pad to place under your cakes.

Buy on Amazon
icing comb set

Icing Comb Set

My preferred way to add decorative texture to your buttercream cakes with minimal effort.

Buy on Amazon

Piping tools

disposable piping bags

Disposable Piping Bags

A pack of 100 disposable piping bags that are high quality (nice and thick).

Buy on Amazon
Wilton Tip 1m

Wilton Tip 1M

The perfect tip for piping rosettes and swirls on cakes and cupcakes.

Buy on Amazon
wilton tip 4b

Wilton Tip 4B

My go-to piping tip for decorating cakes and cupcakes with open stars.

Buy on Amazon
wilton tip 104

Wilton Tip 104

The perfect tip for piping buttercream flowers and ruffles.

Buy on Amazon
wilton 352

Wilton Tip 352

My go-to tip for piping leaves to accent buttercream flowers and succulents.

Buy on Amazon
Wilton Tip 2D

Wilton Tip 2D

A great tip for piping realistic rosettes on cakes and cupcakes.

Buy on Amazon
Wilton Tip 233

Wilton Tip 233

The best tip for piping shag buttercream (or grass, or fur textures).

Buy on Amazon
Wilton Tip 2

Wilton Tip 2

The perfect size for writing a message on your cake or piping small dots.

Buy on Amazon
Wilton Tip 3

Wilton Tip 3

Slightly larger opening than Tip 2. Perfect for writing and piping dots.

Buy on Amazon
americolor heavenly seventy

AmeriColor Heavenly Seventy Set

70 highly concentrated colors for tinting your buttercream any color you can imagine.

Buy on Amazon
wilton color right food color gels

Wilton Color Right System

8 concentrated food color gels with instructions for custom mixing any color you want.

Buy on Amazon
sprinkle pop sprinkles

Sprinkle Pop Sprinkles

My favorite brand of sprinkles for decorating cakes. There are so many options for any color palette, theme, or season.

Buy on Amazon

Content Creation tools

If you’re wondering what tools I use for food photography and videography, here are some of my essentials. You’ll find even more in my Content Creator Tools list on Amazon.

canon 800d t7i

Canon 800D/t7i

This was my very first DSLR camera and I still use it to this day. It made the transition from iPhone to real camera pretty seamless. Very beginner-friendly and takes amazing photos and video.

Buy on Amazon
canon 50mm lens

Canon 50mm Lens

The ideal lens for food photography and portraits. I researched lenses a TON and this was the one recommended across the board. The nifty fifty.

Buy on Amazon
canon rp

Canon RP

This is a full-frame camera that’s very user friendly. I used it for a lot of my book photography and still use it as a secondary camera. It also shoots video in 4K.

Buy on Amazon
fifine usb microphone

Fifine USB Microphone

This is the microphone I use to record all of my voiceovers for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. It has amazing sound quality and is so user (and budget!) friendly.

Buy on Amazon

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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!

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How To Frost A Flawless Semi-Naked Cake

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@sugarandsparrowco

Y’all have been asking for gluten-free cake reci Y’all have been asking for gluten-free cake recipes for awhile now, which makes me EXTRA excited to finally share this gluten-free chocolate cake!! After tonnns of recipe testing, this cake is so rich and fudgy (yet somehow not too dense!), has an amazing chocolate flavor, is irresistible with chocolate buttercream, and truly doesn’t taste gluten-free. It low key might be my favorite chocolate cake recipe of all (and I’ve had a LOT of them) 🤎 
 
Get the recipe link in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/gluten-free-chocolate-cake/ 
 
#chocolatecake #glutenfreecake #glutenfree #cakesofig #birthdaycake
VANILLA CUPCAKES 🧁these from-scratch vanilla cu VANILLA CUPCAKES 🧁these from-scratch vanilla cupcakes are super soft and moist, have the perfect vanilla flavor, and are perfect for any celebration with a swirl of vanilla buttercream + pretty rainbow sprinkles! I originally published this recipe in 2018 and it’s become a reader fave ever since 🙌🏼 
�Full recipe (with frosting) is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-cupcake-recipe/ 
 
VANILLA CUPCAKES 
Yield: 32 cupcakes 
 
INGREDIENTS 
2 1/2 cups (265g) sifted cake flour 
2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp salt 
3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temp 
1 3/4 cup (350g) granulated sugar 
3 large eggs, room temp 
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, room temp 
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 
1 cup (240ml) whole milk, room temp 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177ºC) and line standard cupcake pan(s) with up to 32 liners. 
2. Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. 
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or w/ hand mixer and large bowl), beat the butter on high for 2 minutes, then add the sugar and continue to beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2 min. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream, then turn the mixer to high speed and mix for 1 min. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed. 
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined, then add the milk in a steady stream. Continue mixing for another 20-30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and gently mix by hand until uniform. 
5. Spoon or pour the batter into the cupcake liners until they’re about ⅔ full, then bake for 14-18 minutes, until they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
6. Top with your fave frosting (my vanilla buttercream recipe is linked in my bio)! 
 
#vanilla #cupcakes #cupcakesofinstagram #cakedecorating #fromscratch
FUDGY CHOCOLATE NUTELLA CAKE 🍫🌰 this is my a FUDGY CHOCOLATE NUTELLA CAKE 🍫🌰 this is my absolute DREAM cake + if you love chocolate and hazelnut it will be yours toothis cake is pure decadence and perfect for any chocolate hazelnut lover: layers of fudgy chocolate cake with the+ creamiest Nutella ganache and Nutella flavored buttercream. 
⁣ 
Comment NUTELLA CAKE to get the recipe sent to you 💌 it’s also linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-nutella-cake/ 
⁣ 
#nutellacake #nutella #chocolatecake #cakelover #cakes
FREEZE-DRIED CHERRY BUTTERCREAM 🍒I was so excit FREEZE-DRIED CHERRY BUTTERCREAM 🍒I was so excited to find freeze-dried tart cherries for the very first time at @traderjoes and had to try them in a buttercream recipe! Turns out they are an AMAZING way to flavor a cherry buttercream – you get incredible cherry flavor without adding any liquid, so the consistency of the frosting ends up perfect every time. I found that the KEY to amplifying the cherry flavor here is add a little almond extract ✨ trust! 
 
Full recipe with cake pairing suggestions linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/freeze-dried-cherry-buttercream/ (spoiler alert: it’s incredible on chocolate cupcakes!) 
 
CHERRY BUTTERCREAM 
Yield: 2.5 Cups 
 
INGREDIENTS 
1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temp 
3/4 Cup (34g) freeze-dried cherries 
3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temp 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp almond extract 
3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar 
pinch of salt, or to taste 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
1. With a food processor, grind the freeze-dried cherries into a fine powder. You can alternatively place the cherries in a Ziploc bag and crush them into powder with a rolling pin. 
2. Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until it’s creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the cherry powder, milk, vanilla, and almond extract and continue to mix on medium until fully combined. 
3. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low speed, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add a pinch of salt and mix on low speed until fully combined and smooth, 1-2 minutes. 
 
#cherrybuttercream #cherries #cakedecorating #frosting #buttercream
CONVERSATION HEART CAKES 💕 these mini heart cak CONVERSATION HEART CAKES 💕 these mini heart cakes turned out so cute + I love that you can write any message you want on top!! Perfect Valentine’s Day party activity and/or dessert. Details (full recipe + tutorial link is in my bio): 
 
👩🏽‍🍳Recipes: my favorite one-bowl chocolate cake + vanilla buttercream. Both are included in the link below, but you can use any cake recipe with the tutorial. 
💗Heart cake pans: I found these 4-inch heart pans on @amazon but also include instructions on how to make heart-shaped cakes starting with round cake layers in case you don’t want to add any more cake pans to your collection 
🎨Buttercream colors: @americolor electric purple, mint green, and deep pink (and super red for the writing on top) 
🥰Piping tip: @wiltoncakes tip 5 
 
Full tutorial (w/ recipes!) is linked in my bio + at https://sugarandsparrow.com/mini-conversation-heart-cakes/ 
⁣⁣ 
#minicake #heartcake #cakedecorating #chocolatecake #vintagecake

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