How to Make a Monster Jam Cake

The Heath topping and chocolate frosting mimic the gritty dirt of the Monster Jam arena.

This cake mimics the Monster Jam arena. The "arena" should be a bit grooved and ragged to make it more authentic and do not hesitate to decorate it with the toy trucks! The cake itsellf is oval-shaped with chocolate frosting and chocolate cake mix used to mimic dirt. Sprinkle a crushed Heath bar, cornflakes or other cereal as a topping to give your arena a gritty appearance.

Things You'll Need

• Small saucepan
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 9 x 9 x 2 pan
• 6 x 2 round pan
• Vegetable oil
• Paper towel
• Mixer
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Knife
• Large platter
• 10 cups chocolate icing
• Heath topping, chopped
• Monster Jam cake flags
• Chopsticks
• Mini Monster Jam trucks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil the hot water and cocoa together in a small saucepan. Allow the water and cocoa to cool. Grease the pans by dabbing a paper towel with vegetable oil and spreading the oil throughout the interior of the pan.

2. Mix cream, sugar and shortening in a mixer. Add the eggs and beat them in the mixer.

3. Combine the baking soda and buttermilk with the batter in the mixer bowl. Add the flour and salt in small quantities, alternating between the flour and the salt. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture to the batter. Pour the batter into the pans.

4. Allow the batter in the round pan to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, and the batter in the square pan to bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool.

5. Remove the cakes from the pans. Cut the round cake in half. Place the square cake in the middle of a large platter, and place a semi-circular cake on either side, so the cakes are arranged like an oval Monster Jam arena.

6. Spread the icing thickly over the cake. Sprinkle the Heath or cereal topping on the cake. Wash and dry the trucks. Move and arrange the trucks on the cake, to make the area look messy and to mix the topping with the frosting. Dig into the cake a little with the trucks to make dips and ramps. Sprinkle on more topping and apply more frosting as needed. Wash and dry the trucks.

7. Decorate the cake with the mini Monster Jam trucks along the sides and in the rear of the cake. Decide on the placement of the trucks. Place chopsticks in each area where you’d like to place a truck in an “action” position. Balance the trucks on the chopsticks and arrange them around the “arena.”

Tips & Warnings

• While this cake recipe is for chocolate cake with chocolate icing (to make the cake look more like a dirt Monster Jam arena), the same arrangement can be created using recipes for other flavors of cake and icing.

• Purchase Monster Jam cake flags and other decorations from party supply stores.

References

• Wilton.com: Party Cake Baking Time and Batter Amounts – 2 in. Deep Pans
• HGTV; “Bake a Cake from Scratch”; Kristen Smith
• Joyofbaking.com: Baking Pan Sizes
• Cake Student; “Monster Jam Cake”; Sarah; 2011