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.
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.
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
To make the thomas train face see this previous post:
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
Stores that sell my book listed by country:
http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
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Hi Ann, thank you so much for your wonderful videos. I never used to bake, but having two young boys, I finally decided maybe it is time to bake their birthday cakes rather than purchase them. Using your template, I’ve made this Thomas cake for my son’s 4th birthday party over the weekend – he was over the moon. I’ve had no experience with fondants, didn’t even know how to make buttercream icing and this is the 10th cake I’ve ever made in my life. But your instructions are so clear, in an insane moment, I decided to give it a go and it actually worked. Thank you so much Ann and please keep up the good work.
i am going to attempt to make this for my son’s second birthday party. do you know what size circle cutter you used? all is has is a link to the set she has but not what size she used. also, i’m a little confused about the cake pans. did you use cookie sheets? thank you for your time!
I can’t wait to make this cake for my son. Trouble is his birthday is just a couple of days after Christmas and I’m worried I won’t have enough time. I read that the fondant pieces can be made a month ahead, but what is the best way to sort out the cake. Could I bake, layer, cut, cover in frosting and then freeze? Then once it has thawed I’d only need to assemble it. Any idea how long I’d need to allow for thawing if I do this?
Hi ann,thankyou for your easy to understand template! We had one very happy mr 3 here today! Here is our very poor effort, not quite the same as I missed a few pieces off. But it looks great all the same 🙂
love your work, very talented.
may I please have a copy of the template that would be great.
thank you!!
Thank you SO much for your video and template! I couldn’t of done it without you. I printed it out at 118% accidentally but aside from having a larger cake it was a success! My 3 year old loved it. I highly recommend making it for anyone wondering if you can do it…you can! It took a few days but So worth it! Thank you Ann x
Thank you SO much for your video and template! I couldn’t of done it without you! I printed it out at 118% accidentally and didn’t realise till later! but aside from having a massive cake it was a success. My 3 year old loved it. I highly recommend the process to anyone wondering can you do it. You can… Just allow a few days to make it. Thank you Ann x
Thank you SO MUCH for this super easy to follow tutorial!! I had never made a 3D cake before and your videos for the train and the face made it so simple! I used your vanilla cake and vanilla buttercream recipes from the Barbie cake instead of the chocolate and everyone was blown away by how good the cake tasted! I used all Satin Ice pre-colored fondant, and with some cooking spray kneaded into each piece, it turned out GREAT! (DO NOT USE WATER on the fondant, my biggest beginners’ mistake.) THANK YOU again!! I can’t wait to use your directions for future cakes! (Do you have a 3D cake book coming out any time soon?!?)
Hi, can’t wait to make this but can’t use the chocolate recipe you suggest due to allergies. If I was going to use a Madeira cake, what sort of quantities would I need to use? How deep am I aiming to get each of the 25x35cm tins?
Thanks
Nikki
Hi, love this cake. I would like to attempt this for my sons 2nd birthday. I cant see where to get the template?
Taryn
I love your work, you are very talented. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and templates. I am going to attempt this Thomas cake for my nephew later this month, super excited I have this template.
Thank You
Hi I was just wondering if it was possible to send me the instructions and template as I am going to make this for my soon to be two year olds birthday’ he going to absolutely love it!! Thankyou
This Thomas cake is brilliant, my soon to be two year old will love it. Please could you send me the templates.
My son will love this for his 1st birthday can u please send me instructions and template
Hi can you please send me the instructions and templates for this amazing cake, my soon to be 3 year old will love this
thiscis great & going to make for my sons 2nd birthday & wondered if you could send instuctions & templates for cake x
This is SO great!! I’m just wondering how my son is going to react when I start cutting into Thomas. 😀 I was hoping you could send me the templates for this cake. Thank you so so much!!
Hello.
This is great!!
My little boy will be 2 soon and he loves Thomas the train.
Could you send me the templates please?
Thank you.
Hi is it possible for you to send me the template for this Thomas cake. This is great
Thank you for great template and instructions – I had a few hiccups along the way but came out with a cake I was very proud of and made my 5 year old brother’s day!
This look lovely. I want to make the thomas engine cake for my grandson’s birthday on the 28th November. He likes thomas and friends very much. I will be very thankful if you can send me the templates.
Thank you Ann for the tutorial and templates of this cake!!! Just made this cake for my son’s birthday.