Edible grass is the perfect backdrop for multiple cake boards. It’s quick and effective and offsets the following cake themes beautifully:
- Sports theme cakes
- BBQ and summer picnic theme cakes
- Woodland and fairy theme cakes
- Easter theme cakes
- Sculpted animals
The great thing about grass textures is that you can change it up depending on the ‘scene’. A woodland wedding cake would benefit from a mossy textured grass with tones of brown, while a sports playing field could be less dimpled, greener in colour and could even be trimmed with painted white lines (think about a giant tennis or football cake). Or how about adding in some longer grass for a wilder look by cutting blades of green wafer paper and securing them in small mounds of fondant?
The possibilities using these edible grass techniques are endless! And the best bit is they're all achievable at home with items you’ve probably already got.
How to make edible grass for cakes
by Zoe Burmester of Sugar Street Studios.
Watch the video tutorial below or jump to the guides:
Choosing colour for your edible grass
How to make edible grass (cut)
How to make edible grass (long)
How do I make edible grass?
There are a few ways to make edible grass including piping nozzles with buttercream and royal icing, but in the following mini tutorials we’re going to focus on sugarpaste techniques which are suitable for both boards and tiers.
Choosing colour for your edible grass
A good grass colour is important. Grass isn’t just green (believe it or not!) so you’ll need to choose your tone carefully to get a realistic finish. Either go for a leaf green tone or make up your own using green paste, a blob of yellow and a dash of brown. This will create more depth and tone for maximum effect.
How to make edible moss
Mossy grass is really simple to achieve and ideal for lots of different cakes.
You will need
- Green sugarpaste
- Plastic bristle brush or a nail brush - make sure you have a brand new one, sterilised in boiling water, dried well and use it ONLY for sugarcraft
- Dusting brush (optional)
- Green and/or brown petal dusts (optional)
Method
- Push your brush into the sugarpaste and repeat to create a dimpled texture
- Once firmed up, enhance the texture by gently dusting with green and/or brown petal dusts – this will add more depth and highlight the dimples
The thicker the sugar paste the heavier you can dimple for more texture.
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How to make edible grass (cut)
Shredded dried coconut is a fantastic grass texture giving a ‘lawn’ finish.
Top tip! Adding yellow gel paste to the green creates a two-tone effect.
You will need
- Green sugarpaste
- Dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut
- Green gel paste (Zoe uses Garden Green by Magic Colours)
- Yellow gel paste
- A few drops of vodka or rejuvenator spirit/dipping solution (optional)
- Edible glue
Top tip! If you’re finding it difficult to mix the colour into the coconut, add a few drops of alcohol or rejuvenator spirit to help ease the colour in.
Method
- Colour up the coconut using green and yellow gel pastes and stir until well combined Depending on the gel colour you use you may need to add a drop of rejuvenator spirit /dipping solution or vodka to loosen the colour
- Cover your board or cake in a mid-tone grass green sugar paste
- Brush liberally with sugar glue and then sprinkle the coloured coconut grass and press into the sugarpaste
- Allow to dry and shake off any loose bits
New to cake decorating? Check out our guide on essential cake tools and equipment.
How to make edible grass (long)
This longer, messier grass texture works particularly well with animals and other characters sitting on top of it. It can also look effective with sugar flowers dotted in it.
You will need
- Green sugarpaste
- Open star nozzle tip (preferably large)
- Airbrush (optional)
- Pistachio green by Spectrum Flow
Method
- Press the nozzle into the sugarpaste at an angle and pull away to create the semblance of blades of grass being random in your application
- To accentuate the finish, use scissors to pull up the tips slightly
- Leave as it is or go over lightly with an airbrush to help pick out the blades
And there you have it… three edible grass techniques to be used on cupcakes, to decorate cake boards, wrapped around a cake as a tier or however you choose! Why not bring your grass to life and give these sugarpaste flower tutorials a go?
