I Make "Trick Of The Eye" Foods That Are Entirely Edible And Nature-Inspired, Here Are 30 Of The Best

These delightful little confections are orange and pine nut cheesecakes filled with marmalade! I used marzipan that I colored naturally to match the skin of an orange. I haven't posted this recipe yet, but I am excited to do so!

Those pretty little purple sea urchins, in reality, are delicious cakes! I made my favorite chocolate cake recipe (with a special sea-based secret ingredient), then made homemade berry fondant and decorated them by hand. I also made the ceramic urchin tea set too - but that's out of clay, not cake.

You can find my full post about it here.

This is probably my signature recipe, a cake that looks like it is made out of moss! In reality, it's a stinging nettle and lemon cake with grapefruit and fir buttercream icing (and small layers of matcha genoise, but I didn't feel like they added much to the experience of the cake).

You can find my full post about it here.

These lovely roses are actually root vegetable chips stuck into a plant-based "cheese" made of pine nuts!

You can find my full post about it here.

This big blue crab bun is colored richly with butterfly pea powder. I sculpted it in honor of the rare blue crabs and lobsters that are a result of a genetic defect which are sometimes found off the Pacific coast! The buns are flavored with red clover blossoms and come with huckleberry curd dipping sauce. I haven't posted this recipe yet but will be posting it soon at my blog.

Those beautiful swallowtail butterflies are entirely edible! I made them out of wafer paper painted with saffron tea, and butterfly pea tea then used chocolate to add the black designs. Sticking them on a rice noodle allowed me to get the feeling of flying around this delicious rhubarb, wild rose, and elderflower cake worthy of the fairies!

You can find my full post about it here.

I grew sugar crystals on a fir branch to make a lovely winter tea!

You can find my full post about it here.

These bones look like some ancient magic buried in deep woods, but they are actually perfectly edible. I used a long pretzel base, then sculpted candy cap mushroom caramel* around them, coated them in white chocolate, carved mysterious runes into their surface, and aged them with both cocoa powder and matcha powder. Pretty realistic, right? * Candy cap mushrooms have an incredible maple flavor that is delicious in candies and desserts!

You can find my full post about it here.

These beautiful, sparkly geodes are entirely edible and colored naturally with fruits and vegetables! How cool is that??

You can find my full post about it here.

I absolutely love the mysterious amanita mushrooms that pop up in dark woods in the fall and winter. This dessert is dedicated to them: grown-up crisp rice treats with whiskey, chocolate, and help hearts form the base (with a dusting of pistachio "moss.") The cookies themselves are soft beet cookies with beet icing and pearl sugar. Delicious!

You can find my full post about it here.

This summery trifle was designed to look like a terrarium for summertime succulents! There are a surprising amount of vegetables in this cake too - from chocolate zucchini cake to avocado mousse to spinach cake. You wouldn't guess that from the taste, though: it's a rich and delicious chocolate dessert. My friends were amazed to hear how veggie-packed this treat was after tasting it!

You can find my full post about it here.

I wanted to capture the beauty of cyanotypes (the first mode of photography!) so I made chocolate juniper cookies topped with homemade fondant and I used natural food powders to get those rich blue colors.

You can find my full post about it here.

This beautiful art nouveau-inspired lantern is made from absinthe flavored cookies and crushed candy glass.

You can find my full post about it here.

Doesn't that look just like a big piece of my favorite gem, labradorite? It's a delicious gelatin-based dessert made from green tea with a hint of wild ginger!

You can find my full post about it here.

I made a whole tasting menu of wild rose treats last spring, but my favorites were the edible wild rose tarts with lime and rose curd and apple swirls!

You can find my full post about it here.

Since chocolate truffles are named after the fungi truffles that have marbled interiors and lumpy exteriors, I decided to make chocolate truffles that looked like fungi truffles. I even used black truffles to flavor the ganache.

You can find my full post about it here.

These sweet little pinecones are sculpted out of pine nut chocolate marzipan and almond slices! I even added pine nuts to the interior, so they look realistic also when sliced in half.

You can find my full post about it here.

These are fir and matcha shortbread cookies with blueberry icing, topped with edible cicada sculptures.

You can find my full post about it here.

A delicious appetizer of roasted garlic and chestnuts in puff pastry sitting atop flavorful acorn mole "mud" with toasted breadcrumb "dirt." A little green onion is the perfect finishing touch for these sprouts.

You can find my full post about it here.

I used two foraged flours - acorn and curly dock - to make two pancake batters to make these beautiful pancakes that look like tree slices! (You could also use regular flour and buckwheat to get the same effect.)

You can find my full post about it here.