This calendar week was particular equally it was my baby's birthday! He turned 3!! He is no longer a baby!:( Since he similar a shot understands the concept of the birthday song, I wanted to larn inwards particular for him. He really had 3 celebrations at 3 unlike times!I made 3 unlike types of cakes for each 1 of them. He had a political party a few days before for which I made this develop cake. He had a celebration at schoolhouse for which I made mini-cupcakes without icing on them equally the schoolhouse won't allow anything sugary!! That's good, right?? I am all for promoting good for y'all eating together with good for y'all living.He also had cake cutting at habitation on the eventide of his birthday, for which I made a small-scale position out cake for him. He had a ball at all 3 celebrations!!
Coming dorsum to this develop cake, I get got never made a 3-D object cake apart from the Princess cake together with the Tinkerbell cake that is! I felt a piddling to a greater extent than adventurous together with decided to brand a cake of something that he likes. It was only fair that I larn to equally much problem for him equally I did amongst the Princess cake for his sister! Now I could non create upward one's heed whether to brand a auto cake, a give notice truck or a train???Those are all his favorite toys! I decided to inquire him. His prompt answer was "Shawn"! Shawn is an educational develop created past times coilbook. My boy merely loves watching Shawn!! He could scout Shawn all twenty-four threescore minutes menses long! While nearly children would desire Thomas, my boy wanted Shawn! This was reiterated past times his sister. I looked upward online for ideas. There were plenty of Thomas cakes out there, but no Shawn!!:( I together with then looked upward full general develop cake ideas, together with improvised from there. The 1 that helped me the nearly is the Betty Crocker site that had this develop cake.
Courtesy: Coilbook |
For convenience, I used boxed cake mixes instead of making the cake batter from scratch. I didn't desire to figure out everything for fright that something may larn wrong! Since I had no persuasion how large the cake was going to be, i didn't get got whatever cake board ready before hand. In my mind, I knew how the cake was going to look. I knew in that location would live a develop track, in that location would live an engine auto together with a few cars. I didn't know how many cars I would live making equally I didn't know how much of the cake loaf would live needed for the engine! I made the human face upward of the engine using a Lycopersicon esculentum paste can. That was an adventure past times itself! Once I had the engine figured out,I had plenty of the loaf left to brand 4 cars. But I needed the cake board first! Since the cake was long together with heavy, the board besides had to live large together with sturdy! I made the base of operations for the cake past times wrapping upward a wire rack amongst aluminum foil! As per the size of my cake board, I decided to brand only 3 develop cars equally that was all that would check on the cake board. The destination consequence was good. My infant identifying the develop past times crying out "Shawn" , "Shawn" when I placed the develop on the tabular array together with him ( the naughty one) non touching it or messing it up was testimony for my work!! He wouldn't fifty-fifty permit me cutting it to serve the guests!!!
I am going to part this cake amongst my wonderful friends at Fiesta Friday!This calendar week in that location are ii novel co-hosts: Michelle@Giraffes Can Bake, whose slow recipes are an inspiration for fifty-fifty a novice bakery similar me to bake; together with MB @ Bourbon together with Brown Sugar, whose recipes I love.
Servings: 12-16 people
Ingredients:
Chocolate cake mix: 1 box
Yellow cake mix: 1 box
Eggs: half-dozen large
Oil:1/2 cup+ 1/2 cup
Water: 1 loving cup + 1 cup
Vanilla Buttercream frosting: 3 cups.
Chocolate buttercream frosting: 3-4 cups.
Ready-to-roll fondant: 2 colors ( I used blood-red together with green).
Oreo cookies: thirteen nos
Pretzel sticks: 1 cup
M & Ms: 2 small-scale packets
Chocolate animate beingness crackers: 1 cup
Mott's fruit bites: 2 packets
Reese's peanut butter cups: 2 nos
Malt balls: 2 nos
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease ii 9x5 loaf pans together with a half-dozen oz Lycopersicon esculentum paste tin amongst its outer newspaper roofing removed together with the tin greased.
Prepare the chocolate cake batter equally per the instructions on the box. Pour a piddling batter into the prepared tin until 2/3 rds total together with the residuum into 1 of the loaf pans.
Prepare the yellowish cake batter a per the instructions on the box. Pour the batter into the other loaf pan.
Place the loaf pans on the middle rack of the oven together with bake or 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out construct clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
Place the Lycopersicon esculentum cake also on the middle rack towards the final 10 mins of the loaf cake time. It takes to a greater extent than or less 10 mins to bake the cake inwards it.Again, exam for doneness using the toothpick .I kept checking several times to brand certain that it does non larn burnt equally I was non certain how much fourth dimension it would take.
When done, accept the cakes out of the oven together with permit them cool downwards inwards the pan for 10 mins before taking the cake out.
Then, accept the cake out together with permit it cool downwards on the cooling rack until completely cooled.
With a serrated knife or a cake leveler, accept the domes off the cakes together with bird the cakes. Make certain to accept the dome off the cylinder cake besides that was baked inwards the can.
Making the engine car:
Cut 2/3 rds the length of the chocolate loaf cake one-half agency through it's thickness. Keep that slice aside.
Place the cylindrical cake on the cutting portion of the loaf cake equally shown inwards the picture. Use some icing to proceed them together similar glue. Take a slice of the dome together with gum it to the dorsum of the loaf cake to brand the roof of the engine car.
Frost the engine cake using chocolate butter cream frosting. Keep it inwards the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
The other develop cars:
Cut the yellowish loaf cake into 3 equal parts.
Frost it amongst vanilla buttercream. I did 1 amongst chocolate buttercream.
Now position the cars inwards the refrigerator besides for 2-3 hours.
Assembling the develop together with the track:
In the hateful fourth dimension larn the cake board ready. You could either embrace a slice of forest or sturdy cardboard amongst foil. I didn't get got either thence I used my cooling rack! I covered it amongst foil together with kept ready.
I together with then added blood-red together with bluish gel colors to my remaining chocolate frosting together with changed it to blackish gray color. I filled a piping handbag together with attached Wilton Tip# five together with piped out the develop rails over the cake board.
I together with then rolled out blood-red fondant together with covered both the engine together with 1 auto amongst it.
I rolled out the greenish fondant together with covered the other ii cars amongst it.
I attached opened upward human face upward Oreo cookie to the front end of the engine to brand the face. Using Witon Tip # 3 I piped out the human face upward of Shawn, made the roof together with windows of the engine auto together with the sidings of the other cars.
Everything on the cake was edible. I attached all the parts to the develop using icing equally glue.
I placed Oreo cookies for the wheels of the train, Reese's peanut butter cups for the smoke stack, malt balls for the headlights.
I used pretzel sticks to brand the auto sidings.
I made 1 auto animate beingness auto using chocolate animate beingness crackers, 1 auto colorful stone auto using peanut one one thousand & Ms together with the last auto was the fruit auto filled amongst Mott's fruit bites. Using fondant, I made position out 3 together with stuck it to the dorsum of the final car.
I rolled out some fondant to brand the lawn together with royal icing flowers to supply some accent. I piped "Happy tertiary Birthday Amogh" amongst the remaining greyish dark icing.
Voila! Shawn was ready to chug downwards the track!
I am really happy that I did it! I intend I came pretty unopen to the master Shawn!
It was non equally difficult equally I persuasion it would be. Of course, it would get got been nicer if I could get got had to a greater extent than fourth dimension to larn inwards in a leisurely fashion!! I could also get got done a neater job!
Do endeavor it if y'all larn a chance!
Enjoy!
Cooking brand easy:
In a pinch, y'all could role shop bought frosting for crumb coating the cake similar I did. I used a combination of store-bought together with home-made. I had home-made buttercream frosting field I used the store-bought chocolate frosting equally I didn't get got plenty fourth dimension to brand it.
If y'all are using it to frost the cake solely brand certain y'all whip it good adding a teaspoon of cornstarch together with icing carbohydrate alternately until y'all larn the required medium consistency. This tin live checked past times inserting the spatula into the middle of the frosting. If the spatula stays upright, together with then the frosting is of the correct consistency. If it falls to 1 side, together with then the frosting is besides thin!
The best cake for shaping is the pound cake equally it is to a greater extent than sturdy.You could also merely select a store-bought pound cake together with and then cast it!
Tip for good for y'all living:
Being that it is for kids, I get got made everything on the cake edible together with tried to larn inwards equally good for y'all equally possible . That is why I didn't layer the cars together with create total it amongst icing. I also filled the cars amongst good for y'all fare similar animate beingness crackers an fruit bites! Avoid giving piddling children besides much sugar. It patently makes them hyperactive.
Food for thought:
Bring ideas inwards together with entertain them royally, for 1 of them may live the king. Mark Van Doren