How to Make a Choo-Choo Birthday Cake

All aboard the train cake party.

You can make a 3-D choo-choo train cake for a child's birthday party or for a celebration for a train or travel enthusiast. Make a single train engine-shaped cake for a small gathering or make a multicar train for a larger celebration and decorate the trains in the guest of honor's favorite colors. Novice cake decorators can easily make and decorate the cake in just a few hours and present the party guests with a professional-looking edible centerpiece.

Things You'll Need

• 1 or 2 boxes of cake mix
• 3-D train-shaped cake pan set
• Bread loaf pan
• Vegetable oil pan spray
• Flour
• Wire racks
• Buttercream icing
• Cake tray
• Pastry bag
• Small round icing tip
• Candy-coated chocolates
• Gumdrops
• Licorice string

Instructions

1. Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions.

2. Spray the 3-D train-shaped cake pan set with a vegetable oil pan spray and lightly coat the pan with flour. The train-shaped cake pan set is comprised of two pans. One is placed on top of the other during baking so that when the cake bakes, it swells into the second cake pan.

3. Pour the cake batter into one of the pans and place the other pan on top. Snap it closed and secure the pans together with heat-resistant wire or string. Bake the cake for approximately 55 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the cake from the pans and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

5. Spread a layer of icing on the bottom of the train and stand it upright on a cake tray.

6. Cover the entire cake in a thin layer of buttercream icing. Put the cake in the refrigerator to cool for 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

7. Decorate the cake with more buttercream icing. Cover the body of the train in one color of icing. Spread a layer of icing in a different color on the tires. Use a pastry bag with small round icing tip and black icing to make the spokes for the wheels.

8. Give the front of the cake a face for a children's cake. Add two candy-coated chocolates for eyes, a gumdrop nose and a small piece of a licorice string for the mouth.

9. Make train cars to add to the engine by mixing up more cake batter and baking it in a bread loaf pan. When the cake has cooled, cut it into four even rectanges. Repeat Step 5 through Step 7 to ice the cars. Arrange the train cars in a line behind the engine on the cake tray.

References

• Wilton: Choo Choo Train Cake
• Coolest Birthday Cakes: Coolest Homemade Train Birthday Cake Photos

Resources

• Betty Crocker: Train Cake