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Choo-choo train birthday cake
Of all the amazing kids' party food, nothing beats a classic birthday cake. Chug down memory lane with this choo-choo train, straight from the cover of our Birthday Cake Book.
- 1 hr 30 mins preparation
- 30 mins cooking
- Makes 1
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Ingredients
Cake base
- 2 packets butter cake mix
- 225 gram packaged sponge roll
Vienna cream
- 250 gram butter, at room temperature
- 3 cup icing sugar, sifted
- 4 tablespoon milk, at room temperature
Decorations
- few drops red food colouring
- few drops blue food colouring
- few drops purple food colouring
- few drops apricot food colouring
- few drops green food colouring
- 8 jube rings
- 1 packet thin licorice
- 1 packet chocolate sprinkles
- 1 wooden skewer
- 1 packet coloured popcorn
- 1 pipe cleaner
- 1 packet wooden iceblock sticks
- 20 round chocolate biscuits
- 1 packet coloured chocolate buttons (as shown)
- 1 icecream wafer
- 1 serving board, straight or curved, 100cm x 20cm (40in x 8in)
Method
- 1Make cake batter according to directions on packet, divide mixture evenly between four greased 25cm x 8cm (10 inch x 3 inch) bar tins. Bake in moderate oven, 30 minutes, or until cooked when tested. Turn cakes on to wire rack to cool.
- 2When cooled, cut bar cakes in half vertically to give eight equal pieces. Reserve five of these to make tops of the four carriages and back of engine.
- 3Cut remaining three pieces in half horizontally to give six equal pieces, five of which form the bases of the engine and four carriages.
- 4Cut off one quarter of remaining piece to add to engine base to extend it, discard remaining three quarters.
- 5Cut a 4cm (1 ½ inch) wide slice from sponge roll, hold slice upright and cut out smoke stack shape with a 2.5cm (1 inch) plain cutter. Use the rest of the sponge roll for engine. Assemble cake, as shown, on prepared board.
- 6Make Vienna cream: Beat butter until white and creamy. Slowly add half icing sugar, beating constantly. Continue beating and slowly add in milk, then remaining icing sugar. Mixture should be smooth and easy to spread with a spatula.
- 7Divide Vienna cream into five equal portions, tint each portion with different food colouring. Cover tops and sides of engine and carriages each with different-coloured Vienna cream.
- 8Join carriages with pairs of jube rings. To do so split one ring, push the other ring through it, press on to Vienna cream.
- 9Outline engine and tops of carriages with thin licorice, as shown.
- 10Cover top and sides of smoke stack with red Vienna cream, coat with chocolate sprinkles, position, as shown. With a skewer, make holes through five pieces of popcorn, thread on to pipe cleaner, insert into smokestack.
- 11Place whole ice-block sticks across front, back and between carriages, as shown, to represent sleepers. To make other sleepers, break ice-block sticks into 4cm (1½ inch) lengths, slide them underneath edges of cake on both sides. Double strips of licorice on either side of train represent tracks.
- 12Position chocolate biscuits, as shown, to represent wheels, stick round coloured chocolate buttons on chocolate biscuits with a little Vienna cream.
- 13Cut a 4cm x 1cm (1½ inch x ½ inch) strip from wafer, press strip firmly on to bottom front of engine. Arrange pieces of 2.5cm (1 inch) licorice against wafer, as shown, to represent "cow catcher".
- 14Pile popcorn on top of carriages, decorate rest of cake with coloured buttons.
