Coolest Thomas the Train Cake 96

by Sarah
(Joliet, IL)

Homemade Thomas the Train Cake

I made this Thomas the train cake for my son's 2nd birthday. He loves Thomas the train and anything trains! I found a lot of inspiration and instructions from this and other cake sites.

I started by baking a scratch vanilla pound cake recipe. You need a dense, heavy cake for the carving. I baked about 3 mixes worth into a 12x18 pan. Once the cake was baked and cooled, I put the entire cake into the freezer for a few hours. This step makes the caring much easier.

About 4 days ahead of time I made Thomas' face out of colored fondant. Once I got the correct shape and size, I attached a lollipop stick to the back of the face and left it to dry.

When I removed the 12x18 cake from the freezer, I cut it into 3 equal pieces of about 5"x12". I stacked the tree together using butter cream icing in between the layers. I then began to carve the cake to the desired shape using a very sharp paring knife. I used a large Thomas toy my son has for a guide. Once I obtained the desired shape, I inserted the Thomas face in place and iced the cake in butter cream, again following the toy as a guide.

I finished by pipping a butter cream track onto the cake board. The cake was a huge hit at the party and most importantly, my son loved it!!