I have an order for a fall themed cake and would like to make some leaves. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make some realistic looking leaves? Thanks!!

I have a cake in my gallery that I made a few years ago with fall leaves and acorns. I used a leaf cookie cutter, and I dried my gumpaste in a form so it would curl. Then I dusted with different color petal dusts. If there was something I'd do differently, I'd roll the gumpaste thinner so they would look more realistic. HTH

The best way I have found is to tint some fondant in oranges, ivory and light brown, roll it thin.... about a 3 or 4 on the pasta machine and use leaf cookie cutters to cut the shapes.

Let them dry on formers so they will curve and have shape then airbrush them with brown, orange and yellow.

Here is a cake I did quite a while ago with a few leaves and acorns on it. Since this cake, I have started rolling the fondant much thinner.

http://www.smalltownspecialtycakes.com/images/fallbirthda.JPG

HTH

Hi there!
I like to use gumpaste (it rolls out thinner). I make up several balls of different fall colors-burnt red, orange dark yellow, lime green, brown, etc. I will make several of each individual color, and then I will ball up the remainder and roll it out (looks like a tie-dye). Find a good "leaf" shaped cutter and start cutting. You can vein them once you have cut them. If you don't have a veiner, score them gently with a knife to give them their leafy look. I like to scrunch up paper towels and put it in a pan (if I am doing a bunch of leaves) or on a pan. The "dips" in the paper towels give the leaves a realistic curve. You need to work rather quickly 'cause gumpaste dries fast, but it is worth it. If you need to dry them "el rapido" place them in the oven with the oven light on! Put some tape over the over knob-just in case you forget they are in there!!
I hope this helps, they really are quite simple!!

Easy. Edible image. Just print them on wafer paper, cut out, then use a palette knife to put on a bit of gel. You can even gather real leaves, scan them and then print those.

Hi there!
I like to use gumpaste (it rolls out thinner). I make up several balls of different fall colors-burnt red, orange dark yellow, lime green, brown, etc. I will make several of each individual color, and then I will ball up the remainder and roll it out (looks like a tie-dye). Find a good "leaf" shaped cutter and start cutting. You can vein them once you have cut them. If you don't have a veiner, score them gently with a knife to give them their leafy look. I like to scrunch up paper towels and put it in a pan (if I am doing a bunch of leaves) or on a pan. The "dips" in the paper towels give the leaves a realistic curve. You need to work rather quickly 'cause gumpaste dries fast, but it is worth it. If you need to dry them "el rapido" place them in the oven with the oven light on! Put some tape over the over knob-just in case you forget they are in there!!
I hope this helps, they really are quite simple!!

I use gumpaste or a gumpaste/fondant mix, roll thin and place in a veiner. Then let dry in a curvy fashion (over crumpled plastic wrap for example) and dry dust with lustre and petal dusts. Awesome!

So no one else has used wafer paper? They look real.

i agree with the gumpaste or a mix of fondant with tylose powder. roll thin, vein or score and bend to dry.

but my favorite favorite FAVORITE (with a bit of whimsy feel) is to paint melted chocolate (white or a mix or white and dark, or dark- any) on the back of a silk leaf or a mint/lemon/rose leaf (clean of course) , let set and then peel , and paint with shimmer dust.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1160987

here are some fondant/tylose leaves. used chocolate fondant,wish i would have started with a beige, not brown. but still nice. i used a silk leaf to make the impression because i did not have a veiner.

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1161179

I'm happy I ran acroos this forum. I am doing my first wedding cake the end of this month, and I plan on putting fall leaves on it. I have never used fondant or gumpaste. I was considering using candy clay or even doing royal icing leaves and just sticking them to the side of the cake. Any suggestions for a beginner?

I have a wedding cake next weekend with fall leaves!! I used candy clay in red, orange, yellow and apple green. I combine my colors by ripping off pieces of each color and piling them together, then balling them up. I try not to knead them too much. I just used a tin of leaf cutters and my pointy tool to vein them freehand. I had them dry in flower formers generously dusted with powdered sugar. Here they are:

Even if you don't have an edible image printer, you can purchase them. The are available from "the company that must not be named."

I took real leaves and traced them over gumpaste after I got the colors right. The pressure from the real leaves left the veining impression and made them more realistic. I found the trick was rolling the gumpaste very thin. See my link http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1209454

Mylesa,
I love love love your chocolate leaves!! I am wondering how difficult is it to peel the chocolate off? do you peel the leaf off versus the chocolate? how long do you let it set up? Details...I need details:-} thanks!!

Yep, what Leahs said....wafer paper totally rocks for making leaves! They really look real! If you don't have a edible image printer & don't want to wait for them to be shipped to you, here's an easy solution.......Google image search "fall leaves" & pick out something that you like. As long as it is not a copywrighted image (which it probably won't be if it's just a picture of leaves) you can take it to your local grocery store bakery & ask them to make an edible image for you. Most bakeries will do it for you (Albertsons, Fry's, Safeway, etc.) for about $6.00 per page. I've heard Wal-mart bakery will do it too for even less. Also, if you put the piping gel on the back of the leaves & lay them on the counter, they will start to curl all by themselves.

If you do gumpaste, I agree to let them dry on crumpled paper towels. It makes them dry even more naturally than the formers.

That's what I did, but I wish I would've saved a few not dried (maybe they would keep in a ziploc?) to put directly on the cake. Since then ones I made early were already dry I couldn't bend them to look more natural.

I must say I LOVE those chocolate leaves!! Very nice work!

mylesa I'm in love with your chocolate leaves I would love details as well, if you don't mind sharing

Caitlin

thanks to those of you who complimented my chocolate leaves!

it was really easy. you can use silk leaves ( walmart for less than a dollar a bunch), wipe then clean and dry, then temper the chocolate. use a butter knife or wide paint brush to spread the chocolate on to the back (or even a few on the front.) of the leaf. set them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and chill for maybe 10-20 minutes, then peeled the silk leaf away from the chocolate. wear cotten gloves that are for handling chocolate to avoid getting finger marks on them, but as long as its tempered it should hold its shape well. peel the leaves off slowly as not to break them. rechill them and then dust with luster dusts and small paint brushes. simple, and so pretty!

Thanks for the info melysa and fantastic job on the leaves too!

Well heck, how come I can't PM anyone??? Even the search button is gone... Is it just me?

Oh Melysa, I could just kiss you, I too have been looking for a way to make cool leaves for a cake. Your leaves were so cool...I tried it today and I was blown away, I have never worked with chocolate before and it was so cool. Thanks so much for your suggestion!

Melysa - (sorry about my typo in your name earlier, lol), any idea how much chocolate you use when you make these on average? Also, I have never worked with luster dust or anything like it before. When you dry dust with it does it come off on clothes/lips/hands??

Leahs - thank you for the great idea.

I have just printed three pages of leaves on the wafer paper and do they ever look awesome! Now I am just not sure what to do with them. I have a wedding cake to do in two weeks and she just wants fall colours and leaves - not a picky bride (relative).

I don't want to stick them directly to the cake (Chocolate Fondant), but have them floating down the side and around the bottom. Once they are cut out, is there anything I should be doing to 'form' them? I've read that you can steam them or put piping gel on top. That sounds kind of messy. Can anyone out there point me in the right direction?

Melysa,
Thank you so much for your more detailed explanation! I'm going to give it a whirl today

I am so happy i found this thread. I want to do a fall cake for my best friend but never took flower making classes or anything and i want to know how to make the leaves look realistic. Thanks for all the ideas....