I have a picky customer that wants not only a beach and water type cake but wants the inscription written in the "sand". Has anyone ever done this? Is it hard to do? What do you use for your "sand", brown sugar?
Thanks!

I use gramcracker crumbs. How to get the inscription to stay in the sand i'm not exactly sure i would have to think about that.

But i would want it to look like it was written with a stick in the sand.

Wonder if you packed brown sugar in a form and wrote on it, then let it get hard (you know like a sugar easter egg does.) then just transferred on to the cake

There is "sand" recipe in the "Planet Cake" book - I will try to remember to look it up for you tonight, but I have 2 cakes due tomorrow. I recall it used royal icing and it does look like sand.

You could make a stencil out out plastic or cardstock, lay it over your writing area and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on the stencil.

Oh, I just reread the OP. Maybe you could color the crumbs a bit darker to show up on the sand? Does that make sense?

Let see if I can make this a little more clear: OK, start with a fine crumb of nilla wafers and graham crackers to make the "foundation sand." Then make a darker sand by mixing in Oreo crumbs with the graham crackers. You could then lay the stencil over the sand and sprinkle the darker crumb over the stencil to make the inscription.

I agree with the PP that you could also do the "stick in the sand" method. Perhaps by using a toothpick? But you'd have to make sure your "sand" is pretty thick on the cake. I don't think I'd be able to use this method because I doubt I could make it look good...

script letter stamps could work and then trace over them with a tooth pick for the drawn look.

Thanks everyone. What do you all use for "sand"? Maybe I could just try to write in it with a toothpick. I don't envision much success, however.

thanks so much! I rarely use royal (never have much luck with it), I was hoping to just get buy with brown sugar. Lazy cake decorator!!!