How to make grass-green buttercream?

[HalfATankini]

Hi, it's ds2's birthday soon and he's football crazy so I fancied doing a football pitch cake. I've bought a grass tip nozzle and practiced with plain buttercream - all ok.

The problems that I can't seem to get anything close to a grass-green colour with the buttercream. It's too pale and obv the more colouring I add the runnier it gets so I won't get the right effect...

Do I need a gel paste colouring? And which shade? Looking on amazon I can find mint green, sea green and spruce green but I'm not sure which I want?!

I'm in West London if anyone happens to know where I could go to pick some up? Or can recommend the perfect grass shade online.

Thanks!

This might be a really daft suggestion, but have you tried using blue food colouring/gel? If you've got very yellow 'plain' buttercream, I suppose that the blue might balance it out into a nice green?

Or should I be using fondant? I assumed it'd be too stiff to use the grass tip nozzle easily?

You do need gels to get anything other than pastel colours without adding too much liquid, definitely. Google sugarcraft shops in your area. Unless they happen to have a perfect green, I would be tempted to get yellow and blue - I tend to start with a green (gooseberry is a good one) and then adjust it, but then I already have all the gel colours I need to do that.

Hi, sorry cross posted. I did try blue but it was still quite pale and was also getting quite runny. Thanks for the idea though.

Other than gooseberry (which may be a bit palest you don't have other colours to add) if I were going for football pitch I would go for Holly Green, I think.

leave as is and claim they're playing football on the beach, maybe?

not very helpful

I made an allotment cake recently and used a ProGel colouring in Leaf Green which worked perfectly (IMO) for the grass.

The Wilton gels are great. Powder/dust colours are also fantastic for buttercream as they don't seem to affect the consistency. I use Sugarflair. You can get lots of greens - pick the shade you think will be best (a leaf green might be a good idea) and build it up slowly as the gels and dusts are much more highly pigmented than the Dr Oetker type liquids you get in the supermarket.

Don't use blue - you will just get blue regardless of the yellowish buttercream!

I've done this and had similar problems. I eventually used party green and added a bit of baby blue (both sugar flair)and got there in the end. It was VERY green!
Definitely don't use fondant, the grass nozzle is amazing and really easy to use once you've got the knack.

Thank you all so much. My next option is food colour mixed with dessicated coconut but I'm pretty sure ds2 wouldn't actually eat it.

And lol at playing on the beach

Half, I use the same as notso, the pro gel leaf green, its in Amazon, made by rainbow dust, I made rugby pitch with it, have a look at it on my profile to see if its the right colour for you.

Half, I use the same as notso, the pro gel leaf green, its in Amazon, made by rainbow dust, I made rugby pitch with it, have a look at it on my profile to see if its the right colour for you.

Half, I use the same as notso, the pro gel leaf green, its in Amazon, made by rainbow dust, I made rugby pitch with it, have a look at it on my profile to see if its the right colour for you.

Oops x 3, not so good.

Ooh nannycook that is exactly the colour I'm after thanks.

Can I also ask - do you make a rectangular cake or patch together square ones? I'm nervous about making a rectangular cake bake evenly.

this is why I usually buy their birthday cakes

Rectangular cakes bake fine and it's easier to handle after than trying to get 2 square ones the same height and staying joined together. I do mine in a roasting tin and just scale up a square recipe appropriately.

I find the Home2Bake concentrated gel is great for grass. I get mine in the supermarket so it's not expensive and because it's concentrated it doesn't make the buttercream runny.

Thanks everton that's interesting about a roasting tin - do you make one then slice in half or two separate cakes? And what number of eggs? I've got a dress rehearsal for this Sun (ds2's actual birthday) ahead of his party the following week.

wanna which supermarket? The only gel colours I've found so far are the Dr Oetker ones which have been pretty hopeless.

I buy all the Pro gel concentrated colours by Rainbow dust in Amazon, teeny tiny amount you need, they do every colour under the sun.

I used my large roasting tin, cant remember quantities, but I'm sure I used a 12 oz mix, 6 eggs etc, gas 3 for probaly 45/50 mins maybe.

I do just one cake then slice it in half to fill with jam and buttercream.

It completely depends on the size of the tin and recipe you're using TBH. Measure your tin and check what your recipe says for a square cake and then scale it up (I can help with that, or use your measurements and give you my Madeira or choc recipe for it if you want)

I buy all the Pro gel concentrated colours by Rainbow dust in Amazon, teeny tiny amount you need, they do every colour under the sun.

I used my large roasting tin, cant remember quantities, but I'm sure I used a 12 oz mix, 6 eggs etc, gas 3 for probaly 45/50 mins maybe.

I buy all the Pro gel concentrated colours by Rainbow dust in Amazon, teeny tiny amount you need, they do every colour under the sun.

I used my large roasting tin, cant remember quantities, but I'm sure I used a 12 oz mix, 6 eggs etc, gas 3 for probaly 45/50 mins maybe.

Ok my tin is 32cm x 22cm x 5cm. I was thinking of Madeira cake rather than choc.

I'd appreciate any help with volumes thanks.

Tankini, I never use Madeira, only Victoria, but thats up to you, got quantities for that if you want it, I have exactly same size tin as you.