One day in advance: Tint fondant for board as follows: 14 oz. gray (use a small amount of black), 36 oz. black, 10 oz. green, 8 oz. orange, 7 oz. blue, 4 oz. each rose, violet, yellow; 3 oz. brown, 1 oz. dark gray; reserve 4 oz. white. Use patterns to make fondant-covered background board.

Step 2

Roll out black fondant 1/8 in. thick. Wrap foamcore board with foil. Lightly brush board with Piping Gel and cover with black fondant; smooth with Fondant Smoother. Make copies of pattern sections and tape together to form background scene. Roll out remaining fondant 1/8 in. thick and cut pattern pieces in corresponding colors. Attach pieces with damp brush as follows: gray road, violet curb, orange building, yellow windows, blue sign, brown sign post. For V-8 sign, position green oval first, then add rose V-8 sign. Attach brown signpost, light posts and yellow bulbs. Position green building; using pattern cut additional front peak of roof and side panel with post; attach to building for dimension. Cut 1/8 in. wide strips of white fondant for accent lines; attach to building, V-8 sign, birthday sign and around windows. Cut out message with Alphabet/Number Cut-Outs and attach to sign. Pipe tip 2 outlines using tinted Piping Gel as follows: yellow for green building and streetlights; blue for V-8 sign and birthday message; rose around birthday sign, orange around windows. Roll out yellow fondant 1/8 in. thick; cut 1/4 x 1/2 in. strips and attach with damp brush for lane lines. Highlight lines and light post bulbs with yellow Piping Gel.

Step 3

Bake and cool Lightning McQueen cake. Ice cake sides, background areas, headlights, mouth, front windshield, side windows and blue lightning bolt smooth. Using tip 3, outline car details and number; add dot rivets on hood. Pipe in eyes with tip 3 (smooth with finger dipped in cornstarch); add tip 3 dot pupils. Cover tires with tip 16 lines. Cover car, lightning bolt and number with tip 16 stars. Add tip 3 outline muffler. Pipe tip 21 shell bottom border. Position cake on fondant-covered board.

* Combine Leaf Green with Lemon Yellow for green shown. Combine Violet with Rose for violet shown. Combine Brown with Red-Red for brown shown. Combine Lemon Yellow with Leaf Green for yellow Piping Gel highlights shown.