All Aboard! Cake Decorating Series: Train Cake

Today is the second part of my "All Aboard! Train Decorating Series." If you missed the first part, the series was inspired by my nephew's birthday party last weekend. Jaxson turned 4 and had a fantastic train party! This past Monday I shared some adorable train toppers perfect for the train enthusiast in your life. The toppers make cupcakes extra special and were a big hit with the kids at the party.

There was one more special treat for the party though - a cake for the birthday boy! I wanted it to match the cupcakes, so I used the same design for the train engine. The cake was cute, fun, and perfect for the birthday boy! The engine is followed by three cars, with the birthday boy's name on it. I had a blast putting this cake together.

 Here's how I made the cake:

• Create train engine and three cars out of light blue, green, red, and blue fondant (see my last post for instructions on the train engine design)
• Bake cake and allow it to cool completely
• Dye buttercream light blue and cover cake
• Smooth out the buttercream
• Roll out some green fondant paper thin
• Cut out a strip to cover the bottom 1/3 of the side of the cake. You will want one it cut straight on the bottom, and curvy on the top, you want it to look like rolling hills (see pic below)
• Pipe chocolate icing around the bottom edge of the cake using a thin tip 
• Pipe small lines coming out of the cake to look like the edge of railroad tracks
• Attach the train engine and cars on the side of the cake, with a little bit of water
• Finish the cake by piping a message, and clouds on the cake

Would you like to see other ideas of cupcakes/cakes I have made for kids? Check out my collection of posts here. I even have a post from last summer with some of my favorite smash cakes I've made.

I was planning on posting this next Monday, but I have a special plan for next week!  Can you believe Thanksgiving is in two weeks?! I have some ideas for special treats to make your Thanksgiving extra sweet, so check back all next week for a week-long Thanksgiving party! I'm so excited about the party and I hope you come back and check it out, it starts this Sunday!!