Thomas the Train Cake

Updated on August 14, 2024

Thomas the Train Cake. I created a 3D version of a Thomas the Train cake for my son’s birthday party, using buttercream frosting and fondant.

We did a Thomas the Train theme for my son’s second birthday. I love to make cakes for our birthday parties myself. And, although I am no professional, I felt like this one turned out pretty good! 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge. Please read my full disclosure policy.

How to Make a Thomas The Train Cake

This cake did take some time, but it turned out so cute! I used a lot of buttercream frosting and a star tip to decorate most of the cake. The face was made out of marshmallow fondant.

Ingredients:

• Cake Mix
• Buttercream Frosting
• Marshmallow Fondant
• Star Tip
• Icing Bag
• Wilton Icing Colors – Sky Blue, Red, Black

Bake the Cakes

I pieced the cake together from three 13″ x 9″ cakes. I cut and shaped the different layers to create the main shape of the train.

Frost the Cake

I used a layer of plain white buttercream frosting between each layer of cake, so at its tallest point, the cake was three layers high.

I then added a crumb coat to the entire cake. This is a very thin layer of buttercream frosting you layer over the entire cake. This creates a smooth surface to decorate. In the picture, you can see a small amount of the white buttercream crumb coat showing through in places under the colored icing.

It can help freeze the cake for about 30 minutes before applying a crumb coat to firm it up. Then, allow the crumb coat to form a crust (basically harden up) before moving on to the next frosting step.)

I used the icing colors to color buttercream frosting blue, red, and black. I then added each color to a piping bag. I needed to make about three batches of buttercream, with the majority of it colored blue.

I used a star tip to decorate the main part of the cake with buttercream icing, using one of my son’s toy trains as a guide.

Learn how to pipe a star at Wilton.com.

RELATED: More Cake Ideas

Create the Face

The face is made out of marshmallow fondant. This was my first time working with fondant.

I asked a friend for a recommendation, and she recommended the recipe. You work with it like standard fondant, but it tastes delicious!

It is made from marshmallows, so the fondant is white at the start. I left some white and added more black to a small amount of the fondant to create the eyes and eyebrows. I didn’t need much white or black.

What was left of the fondant I colored gray. I used a tiny amount of black icing color to achieve this.

I started by creating a large gray circle and flattening it out. Then, I shaped the nose, cheeks, and mouth area. To do this, add little balls of gray fondant onto the circle and smooth them out to shape the face.

I added white fondant pieces to create the eyes and mouth. Lastly, I shaped two black circles for the eyes and small black pieces to create the eyebrows.

I attached the face piece with buttercream icing. You attach these with a small amount of water on the backside of the fondant piece you are adding.

It was a big hit at the party! And I was super proud of myself for creating a 3D cake. I wish I had taken pictures of the process, but hopefully, my written description will be enough to guide you through the process. This cake was created before I started blogging, so I only took pictures of the finished cake.

You may also like:

• Transformer Cake and Party
• Batman Cupcake Liners (and a free printable)
• Ninjago Cupcake Liners