Fondant grass using a sieve

I just posted this on facebook today and thought I’d share with all of you here. It was a trick I learned in College and still use today. It’s my first tutorial and quite simple; but, it is useful if you’ve just run out of royal icing or buttercream, lost that grass tip, want your grass a bit finer than from a garlic press or don’t yet have an extruder. Hopefully it will be helpful to a few of you. Thanks for looking. :)

You only need 5 tools:
■a mesh sieve
■a thin-blade paring knife
■green fondant
■and 2 thumbs

I tend to use fondant for this, as gumpaste may be too stiff. A 50/50 blend of fondant & gumpaste may work, just ensure it isn’t stiff. My fondant was a smidge dry, so I just added a drop of glycerine to soften it and make it more pliable.

Place the fondant in the sieve. You can use a larger sieve which will allow you to create more grass mounds at one time.

Begin pressing the fondant into the sieve (I borrowed a lovely hand model for this ;) ). You can manipulate the fondant as it spreads. Just fold it back over on itself and continue to press through. If your fondant is too firm and stiff, you’ll struggle to push it through; however, if it is super soft, it will just turn into a fondant blob (that’s the technical term).

This is what it will look like as the fondant comes through the sieve. (If your sieve is not well made and your fondant very firm, your sieve could come apart at the seams … not fun).

As you continue to press the fondant through it will “grow”, some pieces will be short, some tall. Press until you are happy with how it looks.

Once you are happy with the look of the grass, take your paring knife and cut/press under the fondant along the sieve. (Side note: if you are making a number of mounds, you may not be able to use the same area without cleaning it first. Sometimes, because the tiny holes of the sieve are filled with fondant, and you have dragged your knife along the fondant/sieve, the next bit of “grass” will only come out as a blob. You can use the other areas that aren’t marked, or a larger sieve that will offer more surface area).

It should come off in a little mound that holds together.

You can use your paring knife, toothpick or one of many gumpaste tools to move the “blades of grass” around if there are gaps.

Your fondant grass is now ready to use on your cake or cupcakes. It’s best to use it sooner rather than later so it doesn’t become brittle before you place it.

And this is how I used it on my Teddy Bears picnic cake. I hope you enjoy!

-- Nicole --- http://www.facebook.com/thecakeofit