Painting with buttercream has become one of Sweet Heather Anne's signature techniques, offering a freeing way to transform cakes into edible canvases without the precision of fondant. This post showcases favorite painted buttercream creations from over the years, including the viral table runner cake, while exploring how this versatile technique continues to evolve. Plus, details about the Painting with Buttercream Online Course, currently on sale through October 31.

Bringing together cake designers from diverse backgrounds—hobbyists to industry veterans—created magic beyond what I could teach alone. The energy of sharing techniques in person, troubleshooting challenges together, and celebrating each other's unique approaches reminded me why community matters so much in our craft. There's something special about being surrounded by people who truly understand the satisfaction of pushing creative boundaries.

Recent years have seen significant changes in cake design, and I embrace these trends! I predict that 2025 will feature several captivating styles ranging from minimalist designs with subtle textures to bold colors on playful statement cakes and personalized cakes that will push cake artistry forward.

The buttercream that we use for all of our cakes is an adapted version of Swiss Meringue Buttercream that is slightly less sweet with a more nuanced flavor. It holds up well for large stacked cakes and is a dream base for our buttercream fillings.

There have been some pretty big shifts in cake design in the last few years, and I have to say that I’m here for it! As a professional cake designer and educator, these I’m predicting we’ll see more of these cake styles in 2024.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve decorated thousands upon thousands of holiday cookies at this point and having a good recipe for royal icing makes it so much more enjoyable. I like this one, because it works great and tastes delicious (thanks to a surprising secret ingredient)!

We found the perfect solution for mixing perfectly smooth buttercream, even if you just need a small batch to cover a one or two-tier cake! This genius little mixer has become a staple in our studio kitchen, because it gives us that ultra-smooth and bubble-free whip we love!

This month, I’m sharing my favorite cake recipe, our Almond Olive Oil Cake. This cake is a citrusy almond cake made with olive oil instead of butter. The texture is light and spongy and the flavor can stand on its own as a coffee cake. Our team especially loves eating the extra cake tops on baking day.

Years ago, a creative friend encouraged me to build in creative time to experiment for myself and my team to create space for breakthroughs that I could then use for client work. This not only helped me to sell more interesting ideas to clients, it also nourishes my creativity and keeps me excited about my work.

Does your fondant get dry and crack before you can get that perfect sharp edge? An mix of fondant/modeling chocolate stays pliable longer so you can achieve an incredibly crisp corner. The full recipe (and a printer-friendly downloadable version!) are available here.

Passionflower Sue + Sweet Heather Anne are working on a new collaborative course on decorating cakes with fresh floral designs!

Learning to ice a flawlessly smooth cake is a labor of love, but it helps if you have the right tools to set you up for success. We like to use a variety of scrapers, depending on the size of the cake.

Molded elements have been featured in quite a few of our recent cakes, and luckily we have this efficient and effective trick to using molds. If you’ve sworn off molds because the fondant always sticks and you have to use an exacto knife to clean up the edges, then this month’s tip is for you!