Sprinkle Bakes 2016 Year in Review!

Goodbye, goodbye 2016! Let’s savor that for a moment and perhaps throw some confetti. There’s never been a year that’s made me feel my humanity – our humanity – more than this one. It felt more heavy than light, and that made me dive head first into my favorite distractions: Netflix marathons of Sci-Fi and Fantasy TV shows and too many baking books – but I was no slouch! It was my 8th year of making sweet things for this blog and I worked more than ever! I felt lucky to collaborate with the likes of HGTV and Food Network and so many others. Here are some highlights and happenings from my 2016.

The year started with this Bourbon Vanilla Cake that I still dream about, so I feel like it’s worth a mention here. It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes. It was a delicious, warming way to start the year. Have you tried it? You should!

In February I partnered with Better Homes and Gardens for their month of chocolate, and I furthered my studies in sugar paste flowers as evidenced by these Dozen Rose Cupcakes. Ah, ever the girly-girl. I will never tire of edible flowers.

These Candy Terrariums lit up the net after they were posted to The Etsy Blog. Everyone seemed to love them (even Food and Wine Magazine !) and I can affirm that they are as tasty as they are quirky. It was around this time that I started blogging for Go Bold With Butter, and you check out all of my recipes using real butter RIGHT HERE!

My favorite project of the entire year was probably this Black Velvet Nebula Cake. I was absolutely floored by the attention it received from the media, but I was even more pleased that many readers tried their hand at the technique and totally crushed it! Thank you, thank you for giving me stars in my eyes.

I hosted a Halloween Treats Workshop at HGTV this summer. We’d been planning it for months, and if you’re in online content publishing then you know having Halloween in July is completely the norm! Unfortunately when I woke up the morning of the workshop my ailing 17 year-old cat had passed away. I still went to the workshop and by no small miracle held myself together. It was especially tough because I had made these Lucky Black Cat treats for the workshop that were inspired by Lola cat. I miss her. The workshop was a total success though, and being around all those creative types really lifted my spirits.

September is the month that I usually celebrate my blog’s birthday, but for the past two years I’ve missed it! And in 2014 (when my manuscript was due for Sea Salt Sweet) I accidentally celebrated it in August! Ha-ha and, good grief.  Hopefully I’ll get to celebrate it properly this year with all the bells and whistles. It will be my ninth year blogging, which makes me so thankful! I’ve said it before but it bears repeating – I appreciate everyone who visits this blog. Thank you for making my recipes, sharing, commenting and forgiving my typos and mistakes.

In fall I got to create some dreamy galleries for Food Network, like this Naked Cakes Gallery and a cozy Cider Donut Gallery.

Near-ish to Halloween I made a Stranger Things Eleven Cake which was serious fun for me. I was in full-on fan girl mode which is kind of my happy place.

Soon after, I returned to HGTV to spend some quality time cake decorating with these lovelies. 

Before Thanksgiving I was asked to make a Sweet Sixteen cake for a special girl, which was an instant YES absolutely without question. I worked hard finalizing all the recipes for my December advent of treats, so blog posts were a tad sparse in November.

In early December I hosted a second workshop at HGTV, which was all about Christmas Treats and gave my holiday spirit a real kick start! This was also the month that I blogged advent treats every day for 24 consecutive days, which, for me is a real stretch! I am so nit-picky when it comes to my photography, and so for those 24 days I had to ignore my super critical nature and just POST. I’m so glad I did because it seems like there were quite a few of you who were able to make use of those recipes.

So, what’s in store for 2017? I have lots of plans, wishes and resolutions for this blog and I can’t wait to share some of my upcoming projects with you in the months to come. For now I can say that I plan to bring lots of fun and colorful eye candy, unique ideas, original recipes and other content that you’ll find inspiring and useful. And sprinkles! ALL of the sprinkles!

xo

-h

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Giselle @ The Busy Spatula
Giselle @ The Busy Spatula
7 years ago

I am always floored by your creativity. My favorite might be your terrariums, but the rose cupcakes are a very close second. Can't wait to see what you create in 2017!

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago

Thank you for the kind words, Giselle!

xo

Anonymous
Anonymous
7 years ago

I made a modified version, using jelly beans & homemade toffee, of the edible terrariums as a secret Santa gift & it was a hit! The chocolate cupcake recipe was perfect and it was fun to make plants of the candy melt. Thanks for the idea!

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Your toffee version sounds DELISH! Thanks for trying the recipe!

Charlotte @ What Charlotte Baked
Charlotte @ What Charlotte Baked
7 years ago

I remember that Vanilla Bourbon Cake when it was first posted, and I couldn't believe how gorgeous it looked. All your bakes and photos are so pretty – but that space cake is a whole new level! I'm so excited to see what you create in 2017 🙂

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago

Aaah, thank you-thank you Charlotte! Happy New Year!

Roshini
Roshini
7 years ago

Wishing you a wonderful 2017! I love your blog and I'm looking forward for this years lovely and tasty posts yet to come.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago
Reply to  Roshini

Thank you Roshini! Happy 2017!

Julia @ HappyFoods Tube
Julia @ HappyFoods Tube
7 years ago

I enjoyed reading this post! 🙂 All your sweet creation look so delicious! Those candy terrariums are so cute! Brilliant idea!

Antojo en tu cocina
Antojo en tu cocina
7 years ago

So beautifull!! Happy new year 🙂

Unknown
Unknown
7 years ago

Of all the blogs that I read, I find I'm always most inspired by yours. The style of the goodies you create is always so fun, but still polished and so well executed. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in 2017! Happy New Year!

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago
Reply to  Unknown

Amanda! Thank you for the kind words. I feel encouraged. Happy New Year to you!
xo

Joan-My Cookie Clinic
Joan-My Cookie Clinic
7 years ago

I enjoy your blog and beautiful sweet creations. Congrats on your success in 2016 and wish you a happy 2017!

Mellybrown
Mellybrown
7 years ago

I love your blog — your creativity is amazing, but more importantly everything tastes wonderful. I also appreciate this year that you didn't turn your blog into a platform to talk about politics. That was a real annoyance of mine in 2016 .. just give me the recipes! 🙂 Keep up the good work and happy new year!

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago
Reply to  Mellybrown

Haha! Thanks for the kindness, Melly. I'm more than happy to keep this site a politics-free zone. 😉

Happy New Year! xo