Train birthday cake! Ideas?

[extracrunchy]

So it's DS's 2nd birthday party on Saturday and I want to make a train cake.
I'm pretty creative but don't have the best track record with edible cakes so I'm wondering....

a) if anyone has an ideas for what I could use (carriages, train, wheels, tracks, anything else you can think of!)

and b) whether I need to worry about how sugary and unhealthy it is this year (last year this was a big deal!)

No one?

I remember my mum once making me a train cake when I was little. She can't bake to save her life so, she cheated.

1. bought some large Swiss rolls and Battenburgs
2. liquorice wheels (I guess choc digestives or jammy dodgers would also work!)

I can't remember much else, but would use:
3) chocolate fingers or liquorice strands or strawberry bootlaces for tracks
4) funnel/dome of Rolos

5. Carriages can be Battenburgs, you could do freight cars using more Swiss Rolls of different flavours.

Use the Swiss rolls for the boiler, and cut Battenburg for the cab and tender. Cover the lot in chocolate buttercream to hide the different appearances. Place tracks around and stick the wheels on with buttercream.

Failing that I'll dig out my Thomas cake recipe, but you'll have a job doing it in time!

Well I'm not very creative or good at fancy cake decor but I did this many moons ago for my DS 2nd birthday. I made two square sponge cakes and then cut them up and stacked them to make a simple engine shape and the carriages were again square bits of cake which I cut the centres out of so that I could put sweeties in them. I covered everything in chocolate and then decorated it. The funnel was made from a mini roll with a bit cut off so it was a bit shorter ( cotton wool for smoke or you could use a bit of candy floss). Have a look for circular choccy biccies for wheels- I stuck the round licorice allsorts on for wheel nuts. Then I just went to town sticking on smarties,other sweets etc for decor. DS ate some cake, but the other older kids at the party ( and the adults) ate all the sweets.

Licorice is good for tracks, and the round rolled type with a bobbly liquorice allsorts in makes good train wheels. Chocolate fingers would make good sleepers. I think I would just construct an engine and maybe a coal truck, unless you are doing a Thomas the tank engine/Annie/Clarabel cake. Have fun

Genius! I'm going shopping now. Would cotton wool for steam be unappetising?

Either that or candy floss

Oh woops sorry didn't spot schoolchauffeur had already said that

I used cadbury choc fingers for track and filled the gaps with rice crispies to make it look like gravel between the tracks iyswim? I had a cake tin that made a train and various carriages then i iced and decorated with sweets and icing pens. It can be done quite simply.
I got a cake tin from a friend but i think lakeland sold them or you can hire them.

www.lakeland.co.uk/11521/The-Cake-Train

Here this is the one i used.

Annabel Karmels website has a good one with jammie dodgers for wheels etc.

Ooh clever tin! Think I've left it a bit late to buy one though... And quite like the idea of chopping up cake to make it (though almost 100% it will be a disaster!)

Rice crispies for gravel - brilliant

Yes it was brilliant i got those stirrers with crystalised honey on from lakeland and put them in the funnel as the shape looks just like smoke coming out of a steam yrain. Will try and find link.

You arent in norwich are you? I may still have thr cake tin and you could borrow it.

www.twiningsusashop.com/honey-stirrer-pure-honey-page.html

They were like these.

Definitely looking into those. I'm in London unfortunately - but very sweet of you to offer!

Dessicated coconut mixed with green food dye makes great grass for alongside the tracks.

LOVE the rice crispies as gravel idea.

Didn't think of grass!! Doing that too. You lot are incredible!