Forest Moss Cake (a Naturally Green Spinach Cake Recipe)

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Forest moss cake is an absolutely delicious spinach cake recipe.  There's no actual moss in the cake, but some of the cake is crumbled to look like moss and make an easy, impressive, rustic woodland decoration for the cake.  Moss cake doesn't really taste like spinach--just like a delicious cake--but it has a gorgeous, natural green color from the spinach in the recipe.

A green cake that looks like it is covered with moss, berries, edible flowers, and meringue mushrooms on a wooden tree slice, with text overlay reading "Forest Moss Cake, a Naturally Green Spinach Cake Recipe."

It's the first Monday of the month, and that means it's time for the Taste Creations Blog Hop.  Our theme this month is Green Food in honor of St Patrick's day!  What could be better for any spring holiday than this gorgeous, delicious, vibrant green spinach cake?

Slice of green moss cake (made with spinach, not moss) in front of the rest of the cake, which is decorated to look like it is covered in moss, berries, and mushrooms (made from meringue).

There's absolutely no food coloring used in this moss cake recipe--it's all natural color from the spinach leaves.

Ingredients for spinach cake (moss cake) on a white marble surface.

Spinach Moss Cake Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups spinach puree

 

Frozen, defrosted spinach being pureed in a Ninja blender.

How to Bake a Moss Cake:

It's easiest to use frozen spinach for this recipe.  Defrost a 1 pound bag of frozen spinach.  Keep the liquid!  Blend the spinach well until it's a smooth puree.

Two cups of spinach puree in a pyrex measuring cup, ready for making Forest Moss Cake.

If you don't have quite enough spinach puree to equal 2 cups of the mixture, just add water to make the level hit the two cup mark.

Forest Moss Cake batter in a mixing bowl with a black spatula, and fresh spinach leaves scattered around the bowl.

Beat sugar, eggs and oil together.  Add the spinach puree and mix together.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix in to the liquid mixture to create a vibrant green cake batter.

Spinach cake batter divided between two 8" round cake pans sitting on a white wooden surface, with fresh spinach leaves scattered around.

Pour the cake batter into two 8" round cake pans that have been lined with a circle of parchment paper or waxed paper on the bottom of the pan.

Two layers of Forest Moss Cake baked, cooled, and with the domed tops of the cakes cut off and set to the side.  Fresh spinach leaves are scattered around the cakes.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.  Test the cake with a wooden skewer to be sure it's done.  

Let the cakes cool, then remove from the pan, remove the waxed paper lining from the bottom of the cake layers, and trim the domed part of the top of the cake off.  This will make the layers of the assembled cake nice and even, and the trimmed tops will get transformed into the mossy decoration for the exterior of the cake.

Hand holding the trimmed top of the Forest Moss Cake, crumbling it into small pieces so it resembles moss.

How to Make the Edible Moss Covering for your Cake:

Take the trimmed, domed tops of the two cake layers, and simply crumble them gently with your hands.  

Crumbled spinach cake trimmings that look like moss collected in a cake pan on a white wooden surface.

It takes very little effort to transform those cake scraps into a very realistic looking pile of moss!

Forest Moss Cake Filled with whipped cream mascarpone filling.

How to Assemble and Decorate a Moss Cake:

Place the bottom layer of cake on an 8" cardboard cake round.  Add whipped mascarpone cake filling (Here's the AMAZING recipe) and fresh berries to the top of the bottom layer of cake, then place the top layer of cake in place.

Moss Cake covered in a whipped cream and mascarpone frosting, and being covered with crumbs of spinach cake to look like a moss covering.

Frost the cake in more of the whipped mascarpone filling (or other frosting if you prefer), and simply press the green cake crumbs into the freshly applied frosting.

Spinach cake crumbs covering the top and sides of a moss cake to make the distinctive moss-like decoration and covering.

It really does look like moss, doesn't it?

Forest Moss Cake and moss cake individual trifles sitting on a white marble surface.

Top the cake with fresh forest berries.  I also decided to add some meringue mushrooms to add a bit of woodland whimsy and crunch to the cake. 

A reader suggested this valuable edit:  add the meringue mushrooms just before you're ready to serve the cake!  They absorb moisture in the fridge and soften.

three individual trifle versions of classic Eastern European moss cake.

I also ended up with a bunch of extra cake crumbs and filling, so I made a few mini trifles, too!

If making a layer cake is intimidating, a trifle is a fabulous way to make this a very impressive, easy dessert.

Where to Buy Moss Cake:

I first tried forest moss cake from SORRY - PEČEME JINAK (Sorry - We Bake Differently cafe) in Brno, Czech Republic.  It's a stunning cafe with inventive, absolutely delectable desserts.

Interior view of SORRY - PEČEME JINAK cafe in Brno, Czech Republic, looking from the cafe toward the front door, featuring a modern chandelier with hundreds of colorful origami cranes.

Moss cake is found mostly in eastern European countries like the Czech Republic and Poland, so if you're looking for a slice of this gorgeous green cake wherever you live, try an Eastern European bakery first.

The signature moss cake decorated with fried crickets at SORRY - PEČEME JINAK cafe in Brno.

The moss cake has become the signature cake of Sorry, in part because its amazing flavor, but also because it decorates the cake with real fried crickets!

Woman taking a bite of moss cake, raspberry, and fried cricket at SORRY - PEČEME JINAK.

My friend Heidi from Kitchen Talk and Travels was the one brave enough to order the moss cake!

Plated desserts from SORRY - PEČEME JINAK in Brno.

But we all swapped bites of our amazing desserts (I avoided the cricket, personally) and I fell in love with the delicious, moist spinach cake.

Colorful modern origami crane chandelier at SORRY - PEČEME JINAK cafe in Brno, Czech Republic.

If you drop by SORRY - PEČEME JINAK, they'll give you a few pieces of origami paper and instructions for making a paper crane, so you can add to the striking decor of the cafe while you enjoy your amazing cakes.

Printable Spinach Moss Cake Recipe

Want a one page, printable, PDF version of this forest moss cake recipe?  Click on the image below to print directly or save the PDF to your device.

Navigational image leading reader to printable, one page version of the forest moss cake spinach cake recipe.

Other Delicious Green Recipes from the Taste Creations Blog Hop

Collage of green recipe photos with text overlay reading "Green recipes for St Patrick's Day."

Our Good Life: Oven Roasted Pancetta Brussels Sprouts

Mom Home Guide: Shamrock Matcha Cake for St Patrick's Day

Breads and Sweets: Guiness Chocolate Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day

 

Other Mossy and Woodland Recieps You Might Like:

 

Comments

This cake looks absolutely amazing!

You have the text in the write up for the amazing mascarpone filling, but there’s no link… how do you make the mascarpone filling or can you link to the recipe?? Thank you! This looks wonderful, and I’d like to try!

I just have to finish writing the post, sorry!  I'll have it up within the week, I promise!

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Nicole Wills, creator of Tikkido

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