Train Cake

Step 1

Prepare Icing
We suggest that you tint all icings at one time while cake cools. Refrigerate tinted icings in covered containers until ready to use.

Make 5 1/4 cups buttercream icing:
Tint 3/4 red
Tint 3/4 cup yellow (thin 1/4 cup with 3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup)
Tint 1/2 cup blue
Reserve 2 3/4 cups white (thin 1 1/4 cups with 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup)
Make 1/2 cup chocolate buttercream icing or use 1 can Wilton Chocolate Ready-To-Use Decorator Icing, tint black (thin 1/4 cup with 3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup)

Step 2

Decorate in Order

Step 3

1. Ice sides and background areas smooth with thinned white icing.
2. Ice inside window areas smooth with thinned black icing.

Step 4

Position candy wafer discs for heads in windows.

Step 5

Ice message area, number cloud and center of large wheel with thinned yellow icing.

Step 6

Use tip 3 and yellow icing to outline front train engine, smokestack, roof of engineer's cab and trim on freight car.

Step 7

Use tip 3 and blue icing to outline freight car windows.

Step 8

Use tip 3 and blue icing to fill in smokestack with zigzags (smooth with finger dipped in cornstarch).

Step 9

Use tip 3 and blue icing to pipe in front of engine (smooth with finger dipped in cornstarch).

Step 10

Use tip 3 and blue icing to print number on cloud.

Step 11

Use tip 3 and red icing to outline engineer's cab and top of freight car.

Step 12

Use tip 3 and red icing to print message on freight car.

Step 13

Use tip 3 and black icing to pipe wheel spokes and mouths on faces.

Step 14

Use tip 3 and black icing to pipe dot eyes.

Step 15

Use tip 3 and yellow icing to pipe spiral hair.

Step 16

Use tip 16 and yellow icing top cover engine and smokestack with stars.

Step 17

Use tip 16 and blue icing to cover freight car with stars.

Step 18

Use tip 16 and blue icing top pipe rosette front wheel hub and accents on engine.

Step 19

Use tip 16 and red icing to cover engineer's cab and top of freight car.

Step 20

Use tip 16 and red icing to cover engine frame with zigzags.

Step 21

Use tip 16 and red icing to edge bottom of cowcatcher with pull-out stars.

Step 22

Use tip 16 and red icing to pipe rosette wheel hubs.

Step 23

Use tip 16 and black icing to pipe spiral wheels.

Step 24

Use tip 16 and yellow icing top pipe rosette light on front of engine.

Step 25

Use tip 16 and yellow icing to outline roof on engineer's cab and trim on freight car.

Step 26

Use tip 16 and yellow icing to pipe zigzag cowcatcher.

Step 27

Use tip 21 and white icing to pipe bottom shell border. .

Step 28

Use tip 21 and white icing to pipe spiral smoke clouds.

Step 29

Position red twists for axle.

Step 30

Baking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F or temperature per recipe directions. Your cake will unmold easily, without sticking, when you prepare the pan properly. Grease the inside of pan using a pastry brush and solid vegetable shortening (do not use butter, margarine or liquid vegetable oil). Spread the shortening so that all indentations are covered. Sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons flour inside pan and shake so that flour covers all greased surfaces. Turn pan upside down and tap lightly to remove excess flour. If any shiny spots remain, touch up with more shortening and flour to prevent cake from sticking. (You can use vegetable oil pan spray or vegetable oil pan spray with flour, in place of solid shortening and flour or use Wilton Cake Release, for perfect, crumb-free cakes!).

Make one 2-layer cake mix according to package or recipe directions. Pour the cake batter into pan, and if necessary, spread the batter around with a spatula to fill all areas of the pan evenly. Be careful not to touch sides or bottom of pan. Bake cake on middle rack of 350°F oven for 30-40 minutes or until cake tests done according to recipe directions.

Remove cake from oven and cool on cake rack for 10 minutes. While the cake is still in the pan, carefully slice off the raised center portion of the cake. This allows the cake to sit more level and helps prevent cracking. To remove cake from pan, place cooling rack against cake and turn both cake rack and pan over. Lift pan off carefully. Cool cake at least one hour. Brush loose crumbs off cake.

To transfer cake to serving board, hold a cake board against cake and turn both cake and rack over. Lift off rack. Hold another board against bottom of cake and turn cake over. Be sure to hold cake, rack and board close together while turning to prevent cake from cracking.

We recommend hand washing pan in hot, soapy water.