How To Make Pinecone And Acorn Cake Toppers
This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.
Last Updated on 15th July 2022 by Vicki

Hi everyone, here’s a post showing how I make my pinecone and acorn cake toppers. There is also video of me making the acorns after the first tutorial. I used both the acorn and pinecone toppers on my autumn themed cupcake wreath.
How I Made The Acorns
These acorns are slightly different to the ones on my wreath. After making them, I thought of a different way to create the texture on the shell which I preferred.
Firstly I coloured some modelling paste with PME Old Gold/Ivory.

To make the shell I rolled a small piece of paste into a ball.

After dipping my ball tool into some corn flour to prevent it sticking, I pressed it into the modelling paste.

Next, I gently formed the modelling paste into a cup shape using my fingers.

I formed a stalk by gently pinching out some modelling paste from the bottom of the cup.

To texturise the shell I used the wider end of a Wilton 102 piping tip. With the cup shape still on the ball tool, I gently embossed into the paste all the way round.

Once I had finished texturising the shell, I gently bent the stalk over slightly.

To make the nut I coloured some modelling paste brown using Fractal Colors Squirrel Brown Fundustic Powder. I then rolled a piece into a small tube and lightly pinched the end to make a point. I checked that the nut would fit into the shell and then stuck it in the shell with a little vodka.

Once the acorns had hardened, I dusted them with some dark brown edible dust.
I hope you enjoyed learning how to make my acorn cake toppers. Read on to see how I make the pinecones.
How I Made The Pinecones
To begin with I coloured some white modelling paste brown. I then made the pinecone in two stages.
The Base

After rolling a small piece of modelling paste into a ball, I flattened it slightly and then cut indents around the edge. Using my fingers, I gently thinned all around the edge.

I then repeated this process with a slightly larger piece of modelling paste. I created an indent in the middle of each one using a ball tool and then stuck the larger one on top of the smaller piece.

Using my fingers, I gently curved the modelling paste around the ball tool creating a dish shape.

After pinching the edge all the way round, I left it to dry overnight. This formed the base of my pinecone.
Building The Pinecone

After rolling some modelling paste into a tube, I cut it into small pieces. I formed each piece into a flat tear shape to be the pinecone’s scales.

I stuck each scale onto the hardened base as shown above.

Next, I glued a ball of modelling paste in the middle and flattened it slightly.

I repeated with another layer of scales. Using the wider end of a flower and leaf shaper tool, I created texture in each scale. The amount of scales needed will depend on the size of the base. Mine needed seven.

Once the second layer was completed, I again added a small ball of modelling paste in the middle. Doing this each time gave the pinecone height and space between the scales.

For the next layer I used one less scale and placed them slightly closer to the centre. Doing this starts to form a pinecone shape. So in the image above you can see I used six scales.

I found that gently pressing the centre down with a ball tool helped to secure the scales and lift them up slightly. This gave more of a pinecone shape. I then placed a ball of modelling paste in the middle and carried on with the next layer of scales.

Here you can see my layer of five scales which I am shaping with the ball tool.

Above you can see my layer of four scales with a piece of modelling paste in the middle.

The image above shows the final layer to my pinecone. I arranged the scales how I wanted them and then left the pinecone to harden overnight.

Once hardened, I gently dusted the edges of the scales with brown dust.
Items Used To Make The Pinecone And Acorn Cake Toppers
I hope you enjoyed seeing how I make my pinecone and acorn cake toppers, below are affiliate links to some of the items I used to make them.
- Renshaw Flower and Modelling Paste : https://tidd.ly/3flCE5y
- Sugarflair Dark Brown Gel Paste : https://tidd.ly/37lmR1X
- PME Chocolate Brown Powder Colour : https://amzn.to/30HjShp
- Dusting Brush : https://tidd.ly/3jfJWc2
- Flower and Leaf Dresden Shaper Tool : https://tidd.ly/3rNxlRb
- Ball Tool : https://tidd.ly/3rNtDqQ
- Wilton 102 Piping Tip : https://amzn.to/3lt4ZXY
- PME Old Gold/Ivory Gel Paste : https://tidd.ly/2TMVf2H
Pin To Pinterest
If you liked this post why not pin it and save it for later? Tap or hover over the image below and hit the Pin It button! All posts and tutorials are also added to Pinterest, which you can follow here.

A Cake On Life is proud to be an affiliate for The Cake Decorating Company, the UK’s largest cake decorating suppliers and also an Amazon Associate. I earn a small commission when you purchase items via the links I provide, this is at no extra cost to you, but allows me to keep creating my tutorials.

