Ann Reardon

3D Thomas Train Cake Recipe

 

Would your Thomas obsessed pre-schooler love a themed birthday party with an amazing cake in the shape of the famous little blue train?  Well, you’re not alone. Thomas the Tank Engine toys are amongst the best-selling preschool items in the US, UK and Australia. Kids everywhere love a Thomas party and thankfully, plenty of other brave parents have paved the way (check out their party ideas here). And read on for step by step instructions to make the 3D Thomas train cake.

 

To make this Thomas Cake you will need:

The Cake & Fondant Template

 

This Thomas cake will serve 40 people, you can scale it down if you have less guests.
Cake: two and a half times the rich chocolate cake recipe baked into five trays 25cm (9.84 inches) x 38cm (14.96 inches) baked at 356F (180 degrees Celsius) for 20 minutes.

thomas train cake tutorial

Fondant for thomas train cake

400g (14.11 ounces) black fondant
650g (22.93 ounces) blue fondant
450g (15.87 ounces) red fondant
30g (1.06 ounces) yellow fondant
160g (5.64 ounces) grey fondant
Note: Fondant quantities are actual amounts used on the cake, so allow extra for rolling out.

thomas train cake fondant ann reardon

Frosting for train cake:
Two quantities of buttercream recipe in flavour of your choice
Two quantities of ganache recipe, allow to cool completely at room temp overnight. Whip together with the buttercream, use to cover the outside of the train before adding fondant.

Equipment needed for train cake:

Fondant extruder (makes it quicker and easier but optional you can roll long skinny snakes instead).

Circle cutters
Ruler
Pizza cutter (optional)
drinking straw to cut small circles
rolling pin
non-stick baking paper
spray oil
metal piping tip or something with 1.7cm (0.67 inches) diameter to cut circle

thomas train cake tutorial

To make the thomas train face see this previous post:
thomas train cake face how to reardon

Instructions

1: Make the fondant details ahead of time so they can dry out (see video)

2: Bake the cakes, prepare the frosting and make the simple syrup.  This can be done 2 days before the party. See above for quantities.

3: Construct and decorate the cake the day before the party.  See the video for demonstration. You will need a very strong cake board that is at least 35cm (13.78 inches) long and 20cm (7.87 inches) wide.

4. If it is very hot where you live, store in the fridge otherwise room temperature is fine.

5. Enjoy the birthday boy or girl’s face when they see their Thomas cake. Don’t forget to take photos!
by Ann Reardon
 

2013

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

793 Comments View Comments

  1. I was only able to buy templates with Internet Explorer, not Chrome or FireFox…

    • Hi Melissa, I am using chrome and it seems to be working fine so not sure what happened there.

  2. how do attach the front face section to the cake?

    • Hi Michelle, place the face onto the frosting in the round front part of the cake and it will stick there.

  3. Rating: 5

    Hi, your templete is wonderful. I can make a beautiful thomas cake even it is my first time. My client like it very much.

    • that is great Ting 😀

  4. hi ive just made all of the decoration bits to make the cake at the weekend but when u say make 2 lots of buttercream and 2 lits of ganache. i cant see in the video where you use the ganache or am i missing it? x

    • HI Michelle, add the ganache to the buttercream and whip them together 😀

  5. Thank u Ann…with your help i could make this cake fir my son’s bday and he is super excited for it 🙂

  6. Hi,
    Thank you so much, you really helped me. But is there any recipe for the fondant please ?

    Thank you

  7. Hi What depth tin do you use for the cake? Thanks x

    • hi michelle my tin is 2.5cm deep

  8. Rating: 4.5

    Hi Ann,
    Thank you for the tutorial. The cake was not perfect but my nephew loved it.

    • Wow well done Aimer looks great

  9. Hi the link to buy the template has disappeared. How can I buy one now? Please x

    • Hi Michelle, please press refresh and check if it is working, it seems to be there on my page. Just comment again if you’re still having problems

  10. Hi could u post the link to the tutorial to make the face please, I’m going to attempt this for my little boys birthday x

  11. I just ordered the template. Just wondering, what size paper is needed to get the correct size and proportions?

    thanks

    • oops…just saw that it was already posted in the comments … A4….thanks!

    • Hi sacha, print at 100% do not stretch to fit and it will print in the correct size

  12. Rating: 5

    Thank you Ann! You make it look so easy. I struggled but I’m thrilled I didn’t throw the towel in. The hardest bit was covering the whole train in blue fondant. I ended up doing it by section and got through it. Thanks again for helping me make my sons birthday one to remember!

    • Awesome Vicky, well done and happy birthday to your son

  13. Hi! I was wondering why the recipe calls for buttercream and ganache, but you only used the buttercream in the video. Thanks!

    • Hi Kelly I mix together the buttercream and ganache it makes for a richer yummier frosting.

  14. I will be making this cake on Thursday for my son’s 2nd bday I will like to know what size cake box should I use.

  15. Rating: 5

    Loved making this cake. Although I made it a lil smaller after having difficulties with the cake height and layering I still managed to make it. So pleased and my lil girl yes girl is elated 😀
    Thankyou Anne

    • wonderful Zahra 🙂

  16. Rating: 5

    I made this cake in the weekend for my son Henry’s 1st birthday cake. For a first timer I was very happy with the result.

    • well done Carla 🙂

  17. Hi ann

    Im baking this cake on Monday and just wanted to check the chocolate cake recipe. It says to do 2 and half times your recipe and that mean 20 eggs! Is this right or am I getting confused?

    Kim

    • hi kim yes that is correct

  18. hi, in your instructions it says to cover the cake in ganache. yet on the video, you cover it in frosting. im confused. which do you cover the cake in? the buttercream or the ganache? i am making it wednesday. Thanks!!!

    • Hi Melanie, I combine the buttercream and ganache to make a richer frosting just make your buttercream then with the mixers running add the cooled ganche

  19. Rating: 5

    Oh my GOD this is amazing! Going to attempt this myself :oS Hope it looks as incredibly as yours!!

    x

  20. A pic of the cake

1 3 4 5 6 7 21

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*

ADD JPEG TO YOUR COMMENT