Go Back
–+ servings
Thomas the Train Cake with blue, green, and yellow cupcakes
Print Recipe

Thomas the Train Cake

No sculpting required - this Thomas the Train cake is easily decorated with a cut-down edible image! Makes a great simple birthday cake.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time35 minutes
Decorating time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Thomas the Tank Engine cake, Thomas the Train cake
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 798kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake layers

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks, softened)
  • 6 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 2 cups buttermilk (room temperature)
  • 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Filling (optional)

Decorations

Instructions

Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease 4 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray and/or line pans with parchment rounds or silicone rounds.
  • Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or hand mixer or whisk) until well combined.
  • Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the four pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with vanilla and milk if needed until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add salt if needed and blue gel food color and beat until well combined.

Assembly

  • Once your cake layers are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
  • (If you're watching the video closely, you'll see I added a chocolate layer and chocolate chips on top of the frosting - this is optional; I wanted a touch more height to the cake without tons of extra frosting. I just mashed the cake tops with a couple tablespoons of frosting and added that mixture between the layers with a couple tablespoons of chocolate chips.)
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with a large offset spatula.
    Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.

Decorating

  • This is actually where it gets easy! All that's left is adding your edible image and some frosting swirls and sprinkles on top. :)
  • If you use the same image I did, you can use the video as a cutting guide. I cut the 'Happy Birthday' off the top, and cut it into two sections to put on the top, but that step is 100% optional. Trim the lettering from the top, then cut a straight line across the bottom below the train wheels. You could technically add the image to the cake just like this, but I thought it looked a little cleaner to cut two more straight lines from the base up to the arch formed when I cut off the lettering from the top of the image.
    If you're using a *different* image - essentially you just need to cut it to fit your cake! I found it easiest to hold the image up next to the cake and decide where I wanted to make my cuts to get it to fit. I used a sharp paring knife, a ruler, and a pair of sharp scissors to make my cuts.
  • With small dabs of frosting, adhere the edible image to the side of the cake. (I found it easiest to start from the center and work out, using extra frosting to adhere the edges since they're the most likely to pull away from the side of the cake.)
  • Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip, and pipe a rim of frosting swirls around the top of the cake (I added one larger one above the center of the image as a small frosting 'smokestack.') Add a ring of sugar pearls around base of the cake, and top each frosting swirl with a sugar pearl.
  • Annnd you're done! Congratulations - and enjoy!

Video

Notes

(Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. Nutrition information also does not include edible image.) 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 798kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 35g