Gumpaste Eucalyptus Branches | The Filler Every Sugar Bouquet Needs

In this tutorial: What You'll Need · Making the Bud · Rolling and Cutting the Leaves · Wiring the Leaves · Shaping and Drying · Coloring with Petal Dust · Taping into a Spray

Eucalyptus branches are one of the most versatile pieces of greenery a cake decorator can have in their toolkit. They work as filler in nearly any floral arrangement, they come in a range of natural colors – from mossy green to forest green to mauve – and the heart-shaped leaves add an organic, garden-fresh quality that elevates wedding cakes and special-occasion designs alike. In this tutorial, Chef Alan Tetreault of Global Sugar Art walks through the entire process of creating a eucalyptus spray from scratch, including a technique he used for his own daughter's wedding cake.

---

What You'll Need

• Gum paste — pre-colored (see color mixing notes below) · shop
• Roxy & Rich powdered food color — turquoise, super black, and maple leaf green for the base color · shop
• Petal dust (teal) — by Roxy & Rich, for coloring dried leaves · shop
• Petal dust (moss green) — Global Sugar Art moss green · shop
• Petal dust (white) — non-shimmer white petal dust (not super pearl) · shop
• 24-gauge floral wire — for the center bud · shop
• 28-gauge green floral wire — for wiring individual leaves · shop
• FMM Rose Petal Cutters — three smallest sizes · shop
• Cel board — with channels for creating ridged leaves · shop
• FMM leaf veiner — for pressing vein detail into leaves · shop
• Brown floral tape — 1/3 width preferred · shop
• Edible glue — for attaching wire to paste · shop
• Cornstarch — to prevent sticking
• Palette knife — for lifting delicate paste
• Small scissors — for splitting the bud
• Ball tool or similar — for thinning leaf edges
• Formers or aluminum foil — for drying leaves with natural curves
• Round dusting brushes

---

---

Making the Bud

▶ Watch this section (1:01)

The bud sits at the very top of the eucalyptus spray and gives it that characteristic tapered tip.

1. Take a piece of 24-gauge wire and bend a small hook at one end.
2. Roll a small ball of pre-colored gum paste.
3. Make a little hole in the bottom of the ball.
4. Dip the hooked end of the wire into edible glue, then tap off any excess.
5. Insert the wire into the ball and squeeze the paste around it, shaping it into a small elongated form – like a cotton swab or Q-tip.
6. Using small scissors (or a palette knife), cut the top in half lengthwise.
7. Bend one half to one side and the other half to the opposite side.
8. Flatten each half gently with your fingers to create two small petal-like buds.
9. Set aside in a former to dry.

---

Rolling and Cutting the Leaves

▶ Watch this section (2:35)

↪ Mixing the Base Color

Chef Alan pre-colors the gum paste using Roxy & Rich powdered food colors:

• Turquoise as the base
• A small amount of super black to deepen the tone
• A touch of maple leaf green to shift it toward a natural eucalyptus hue

Adjust the ratios to get more blue or more green, depending on the variety of eucalyptus being replicated.

↪ Using the Cel Board

1. Roll out the paste and lay it over the channels on the cel board – the five smaller channels, not the large one.
2. Roll back and forth, pressing firmly to ensure the paste fills the channels completely. These channels create a thickened ridge down the center of each leaf where the wire will be inserted.
3. Trim excess paste from the back with a palette knife.
4. Carefully lift the paste using a palette knife – avoid stretching it.
5. Flip the paste over so the ridges face up, then flip the board and dust it lightly with cornstarch.

↪ Cutting

1. Use the FMM Rose Petal Cutters in three sizes – the three smallest in the set. The two largest sizes are too big for eucalyptus leaves.
2. Position each cutter so the thicker channel ridge runs right down the center of the cut leaf.
3. Cut four leaves of each size for a standard spray (two pairs per size). For a longer spray, cut six of each.

---

Wiring the Leaves

▶ Watch this section (4:57)

Chef Alan uses 28-gauge green wire cut into short lengths for the leaves.

↪ Method 1: On the Board Edge

1. Dip about half an inch of wire into edible glue.
2. Place the leaf on the edge of the board with the rounded end extending slightly off.
3. Push the wire into the thickened ridge, inserting it about halfway up the leaf.
4. Pinch the base of the leaf to secure it around the wire.

↪ Method 2: In Your Hand (Chef Alan's Preferred Method)

1. Dip the wire in glue as before.
2. Hold the leaf between your fingers with the rounded end facing you.
3. Insert the wire into the rounded end – if you have good sensitivity in your fingers, you can feel the wire sliding through the ridge without poking through the other side.
4. Pinch the base to secure.

---

Shaping and Drying

▶ Watch this section (7:00)

↪ Veining

Place each wired leaf in the FMM veiner and press lightly to add vein detail. When lifting, use a palette knife rather than pulling the wire – tugging the wire can pull it right out of the still-soft paste.

↪ Thinning the Edges

Use a ball tool or your fingers to gently thin and ruffle the outer edges of each leaf. The goal is a slight curl, not a dramatic frill.

↪ Drying

• If you have formers, place the leaves in them so they set with natural curves.
• If you don't have formers, scrunch a piece of aluminum foil into ridges and valleys and nestle the leaves into it. This creates varied, organic shapes.
• Allow to dry completely – anywhere from a few hours to a full day, depending on humidity.

---

Coloring with Petal Dust

▶ Watch this section (7:56)

Once the leaves are fully dry, Chef Alan applies three colors of petal dust in layers:

1. Teal (Roxy & Rich) — Brush lightly over both sides of the leaf as the base layer. The leaf shouldn't look overtly blue – this is just building depth.
2. Moss green (Global Sugar Art) — Layer over the teal on both sides. This softens the blue and shifts the color toward a natural eucalyptus green.
3. White petal dust (not super pearl – no shimmer) — Brush lightly toward the stem end of the leaf. Real eucalyptus has a subtle white, powdery bloom near the base, and this replicates it.

---

Taping into a Spray

▶ Watch this section (9:40)

Chef Alan uses brown floral tape at 1/3 width – brown because real eucalyptus stems are brown, not green.

1. Start with the bud at the top. Begin the tape just below the bud and wrap upward to the top, then back down about half an inch.
2. Add the first pair of small leaves – position them just below the bud, opposite each other. Tape down about half an inch.
3. Add the second pair of small leaves about half an inch below the first pair, again opposite each other. Tape down.
4. Add a pair of medium leaves about half an inch lower, opposite each other. Tape down.
5. Continue with the remaining medium pair, then the large pairs, spacing each about half an inch apart.
6. If more length is needed on the spray, tape in an additional piece of wire partway down to extend the stem.
7. Once all leaves are attached, gently bend and arrange the leaves so they sit at natural, slightly haphazard angles.

↪ Leaf Count per Spray

Size	Quantity	Pairs
Small	4	2
Medium	4	2
Large	4	2
Total leaves	12	6
Bud	1	—

---

This tutorial is part of Global Sugar Art's library of free cake decorating videos by Chef Alan Tetreault. Browse all tutorials →