Welcome Oh-So-Cute Amazing Cakes Fun Theme Ideas Creative Invites Party Goods Games You'll Love Super Fun Activity Just for Fun Moms Only From your HEART In Touch
How to make a train cake Liv Hansen, Professional Baker and Author
Turn two loaf cakes into a train cake:
* Start with two cakes baked in loaf pans. Cut the domes off the top and flip them over. (It’s best to chill your cakes in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes before cutting them to reduce the number of crumbs.)
* To make the train cars, cut one of the cake loaves in half and then in quarters.
* To make the engine, cut off two sections from the sides of the other cake, to make it more narrow than the train cars. Discard the two pieces you cut off.
* Take the main piece of the same cake and cut at an angle a small triangle off each side at one end of the cake. Discard those two pieces. Cut a small piece out of the midsection of this cake. To do this you are going to move to the middle of the cake and then carve down about half-way to make a small square. (Don’t cut all the way through the cake.) To cut out the square take a smaller knife and cut that portion out. Take that piece and place it in directly on the cake, right in front of the square hole you just cut out. Use some frosting as glue to keep the piece in place.
Crumb coat your train cake
* Mix four distinct frosting colors so each train car can be its own color and the engine can be its own color. You are going to use the frosting to crumb coat your cakes and to frost the cakes later. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that prevents crumbs from showing through the final coat of frosting.
* Add a dollop of frosting to each section of the train cake and spread a thin coat using an offset spatula. Push your spatula with a firm touch almost like a wave. You can angle your spatula just a little bit to help smooth the frosting out.
* After you have all your pieces of cake crumb coated you should put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Frost your train cake
* To frost, take your crumb coated cakes and put a nice big dollop on the piece of cake you are working with. This frosting should be the same color as your crumb coat.
* Start at the top of the cake and then frost the sides. It’s a good idea to put a little bit of extra frosting on the sides of your cakes, because sometimes when you are working with rectangular cakes the sides tend to sag over a bit.
* You’ll want a nice thick coat of frosting on the cakes. Work with the frosting to smooth it out, making sure everything is covered.
Make train tracks
* Cover your a 24 x 18 inch piece of cardboard with colorful, food-safe paper.
* Pipe frosting onto your presentation surface to make train tracks. Start by making a half moon design and then make a second half moon right under it. Leave a couple of inches in between for the two half moon designs. Once you’ve got that done, take the frosting and draw vertical lines through the two lines—to attach the train tracks. To make these train tracks hold the pastry tube in place and squeeze it until you have little dot then pull it across, stop with another dot and end it by swishing your pastry cone quickly. (If you get breaks in your lines that means that you aren’t squeezing your pastry cone tightly enough and you are moving too fast.)
Put the train cakes on the tracks
* You can use a long spatula to move the train cakes to the tray. Gently work your spatula underneath the cake and then place your hand under the cake to guide it to the tray. Place the cake carefully on the track by sliding it off your spatula, using your other hand to guide it.
Use a variety of candies to decorate the trains:
* Place jelly rings on the sides of the cakes to serve as wheels.
* Line the tops of all the cakes with licorice. Place two pieces of licorice on each cake, each one toward the outside edge.
* Now the train needs its cargo. Fill the tops of the cakes—in between the licorice lines—with a variety of candy.
* To decorate the engine, you can place some blackberry candies in the engine, which looks like coal.
* Build a steam stack using two larger candies like peanut better cups—place the cups right on the nose of the engine.
* As a final touch, you can add two gumdrops as lights to the front of the train and make the grill for the front using three pieces of licorice.
You should also take a look at our Train Cake Xpress Cake service where you can get instant information and ideas for your child's train cake creations.
