Thomas the Tank Engine cake

I offered to make the birthday cake for the little guy down the street. Here's yesterday's project!

[Stella]

That's awesome!!!! You are so talented!!

[rainbabies]

jenn, that cake is great! do you mind sharing your secret...ds and dd LOVE thomas and they share the month of feb. for their birthday.

thanks. No secret. It's a rectangle cake topped w/a smaller round cake to make the engine face, then lots of stars, piping, etc. w/colored frosting. I can give you the recipe for the frosting I used. I just worked off of a picture I found online (we own no Thomas). Fortunately Thomas looks a little scary and psycho, and drawing that is not a problem for me.

[SuzySunshine]

Very cool - you or Heidi are in charge of all of my future children's birthday cakes - I have no talent when it comes to decorating!

[rainbabies]

the frosting recipe would be great. thanks.

Fortunately Thomas looks a little scary and psycho, and drawing that is not a problem for me.

Buttercream Icing

1/2 c shortening
1/2 c butter, softened
1 t vanilla extract (I like to use almond, but stuck w/vanilla for the kid cake)
4 c confectioners sugar
2 T milk

if you want white-white, you can't use butter which really harms the flavor, IMO. For the whites of his eyes, I used all shortening in a REALLY tiny batch (made the red w/the remainder). Be sure to use the gel food coloring - not the liquid drops, and if you can find a cake dec supply store, the brands other than Wilton make better reds. With Wilton you can't get past pink when attempting to make red.

[migirl]

WOW!! I'm so impressed!

Cool cake! Awesome work, Jenn.

[rainbabies]

they share the month of feb. for their birthday.

so why was this necessary for me to share?

thanks jenn! of course i wont get away with making one...they each need a cake.

[Momo]

Ok Jen, if & when you & your DH decided to blow out of Kansas, head to PHX and be my neighbor!!! I would love to learn from you!

Ok Jen, if & when you & your DH decided to blow out of Kansas, head to PHX and be my neighbor!!! I would love to learn from you!

sweet ... but no thanks Scorpion Queen!

[rainbabies]

[Momo]

holy moly!! I'm gonna have to post a photo of the desert hare that seems to have taken up residence in our backyard, then maybe I can be dubbed "bunny lady" instead of "Scorpion Queen." LOL

[Sheherezade]

Scorpion Queen is kind of cool. It just might appear next to your avatar.