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.
I just want say a huge thank you to Ann for the video and template otherwise I would have never been able to make this cake for my son. I have never done a 3d cake or used fondant before and the instructions were so great to follow. I had one very happy Thomas obsessed 2 year old for his birthday. All the hard work was worth seeing the excitement on his face. Thanks so much
Thanks so much
Great work Rebecca. We hope Jaiden loved it.
You mention that you buy the pre-colored fondant for this. Is there a brand you recommend that is easy to work with and has great color?
Hi Brandy, Ann doesn’t stick to the one brand but has tested a few to get an idea of what their strengths and weaknesses are. You can check out the review here: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/the-great-fondant-review-which-fondant-is-best/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Anne,
I am trying to purchase the ‘Cute Cakes Bundle’ with no success. It will not load to my cart. Other items have been added, but this one just won’t load. Has it actually been removed from the link? Your help would be much appreciated. I do love your site and always look forward to your new tutorials every Friday.
Hi Sylvia, This issue has been fixed now and you should have no problems.
I love your cake tutorial. Can you please tell me how to size down the cake. I will only be needing it for 10 people max. However I understand if you think there should be a minimum number of people the cake should serve so it looks proper. Would the templates above still work with the smaller size of the cake? Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you.
Caryn Schindler
Hi Caryn, Given the level of detail in this cake, it is really not wise to size it down. It will become difficult to shape and assemble. It would be better to keep at this size and perhaps you could freeze left over cake for another day.
Just ordered the templates, and bought my ingredients. I just need to get my toddler to have a nap and I can get started, the party is tomorrow… It’s going to be a long night
Gosh Damien, you have your work cut out for you. Hope it was a success.
Hi,
How long will it take for the delivery of the template?
Hi Sam, Templates become immediately available on purchase.
Hi
Can you send me templates? I really can not pay because I don’t have appropriate card.
It is hard to get that card in my country. In bank told me that I have to wait more than a month but I don’t have so much time. My son’s birthday is 26.02.2016.
Please help me!!! My son dreams about Thomas.
I will pay for Thomas when I get the card and I will buy car cake templates.I PROMISE!
PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
Hi Sanja, If you are unable to access the templates, you could check out this simplified version that doesn’t require a template purchase: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/thomas-the-tank-engine-birthday-cake/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks for the suggestion, but I found a solution. My sister has a card and will pay the money for a couple of days.
I just found this site, and thank you so much for posting and for making the templates available. Didn’t quite do up with. As much detail as I only had 3 days notice for this cake, but sure took a lot of guess work out of it as this was my first 3D cake 🙂
Hi Corrine, this is a brilliant job for your first 3D cake. Well done!
Can I plz tel me where uve found the link where the templates are available????thank u
Hi Aaliya, If you look on the blog page above, you will see a heading for the templates and under it a Buy it now button. If you click on the Buy it now button, it will take you to the purchase page. Once purchased the downloadable template is immediately available.
Thank u soooo mucchhh….can’t wait to make this cake for my little nephew…
Can we pay with the mcb card?
Hi Aaliya,It will depend on your region and your card type. The payments are processed by Paypal or Stripe and we have no control over what cards are accepted. You can try it and you will be advised during the payment process.
Dear Ann
I want to make 3D Thomas cake for my son’s birthday. How can I get templates?
I don’t know is it important but I am from Serbia.
Please reply me as soon is possible.
Hi Sanja, You can purchase the templates using the Buy it now button or on the shop page: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/shop-cook/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Ann,
I would like to make 2 of your Thomas cakes, as I have twins. I would like to make them slightly smaller if possible, as I certainly don’t need to serve 80 people. I would like them to have their own cake each however.
Obviously I can’t just shrink the templates, and cut the recipe in half.
Just wondering if you have any suggestions how I could do this easily? Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen,
The easiest way to make this work would be to make one Thomas engine and 2 carriages. To make the engines smaller becomes very fiddlely. You could make each carriage with a name of one of the children on the side and fill the carriage with their favourite lollies and pop the right number of candles on each carriage. Here is a link to an old recipe of Ann’s where she makes carriages with a Thomas engine in a butter cream version: https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/thomas-the-tank-engine-birthday-cake/%3C/a%3E. You could make it similar though cover the carriage cars with fondant, and instead of ‘coal’ in the carriage put lollies or another treat.
Hi Ann,
I’m going to try to make Thomas at half size for my sons birthday. Could you recommend a smaller cake tin or should I stick to the size mentioned above.
Thanks so very much!
Hi Penny, It is better to stick to this size. The smaller the cake, the harder it is to create the fondant decorations and to decorate the cake.
Ok thanks, I’ll stick to the original size…. More cake for everyone…… Yum! If I wanted to make vanilla cake instead of chocolate, is there a standard vanilla cake recipe you could recommend ? Thanks again for your help .
Penny
Hi Penny, Ann would usually suggest her sponge (https://wellness-wave1.news/public_html/sponge-cake-recipe/%3C/a%3E%29, though for this particular cake, you may be better of with something firmer.
Hi Ann,
Greetings from Melbourne! I am a great fan of yours and have tried some of the recipes you have posted. You are so talented and amazing in all your creations. Thanks for sharing. In your previous tutorials we can hear you but not see you. Now that I have seen you I must say you are so gorgeous and I LOVE your accent regardless what others might say! Am attempting this Thomas cake for my grandson’s birthday next month. Hope I can pull that through!! Have a great day!
Hi Catherine, Thanks for the feedback.
Hi what is the approximate length and width of the finished cake? I need to keep this on not her square or rectangle cake so thinking wht size I should do that. Thanks
Hi Aswini, you will note that in the comments below we recommend using a strong cake board that is at least 35cm long and 20cm wide to accommodate your finished cake.
Hi, just downloaded the Thomas template and wondered is there a diagram for portioning the cake up?
Thanks
Hi Jenny, Sorry, but we don’t provide a template for cutting your cake.
This is a wonderful video! Thank you for sharing!
I am wondering how many servings you think you can get from the Thomas the train cake?
Hi Shelly, You should get 40 serves from this cake but it will depend on how large you make your serves.
How big is the board that you need to put the cake on thank you
Hi Crystal, Ann just used a covered sheet of MDF board. You need a board close to 35cm long and at least 20cm wide. It needs to be able to take a good amount of weight. Cake boards made from cardboard, will not be sufficient.
What brand of Fondant is used for this Thomas cake?
Hi, I am trying to purchase the Thomas the Train templete. It keeps saying I’m putting in a wrong zip code, but it’s not wrong. It will not let me purchase it.
Thanks Nicole, I will forward your comment to Tech support. They should be able to assist you if it hasn’t been resolved already.
Hello, was wondering if the template should be printed on A4 or A3? Also do you know the highest measurement of the finished train? Trying to judge if I’ve made enough layers! Thank you!
Hi Anna, The templates are all designed for A4 paper.
Thanks for providing a step by step video and the beatiful template. Made this for my son’s bday. He loved it.
Hi Rachana, Well done on your Thomas Cake. So glad your son loved it.