What are tootsie rolls? Birthday cake question

[fridayschild]

DS2 thinks I am going to make him a birthday cake that looks like a formula one racing car. Ho ho ho.

But I did find this set of instructions on an american website here which calls for tootsie rolls. Any ideas, anyone? Or other suggestions for the glass in the car windows?

Thanks very much

all the tootsie rolls do is get melted and then shaped into windows. as they are soooo expensive over here (nice if the soft ones tho) why not just use rice paper and be done with it?

Now that's a cunning plan! I was thinking about thin slabs of chocolate but rice paper would be MUCH easier.

Just use fondant icing (the stuff you roll out) - black or brown (which has the benefit of being chocolate flavoured) - the American site is only faffing around melting toffees because they are a backward nation don't really have fondant except in craft-type shops - SIL's niece, visiting us as a teenager, had great fun doing cake-y stuff with it and christened it "English frosting"

DS2 does not like chocolate but thanks for the thought.

Is fondant easier to spread on a cake which has been cut into shape (and has crumby sides) than buttercream? I have tried in the past with apricot jam first but I just get a crumb/jam mix on the cake.