**The Art of Creating a 3D Thomas Cake**

Creating a 3D Thomas cake is a labor of love that requires patience, skill, and attention to detail. The process begins with printing two templates and placing them on either side of the cake to guide you when cutting it. To create the rounded part in the center, cut out circles of cake and trim off one side to create a small semi-circle. Sandwich these together with buttercream and add them to the middle of the cake.

To ensure a seamless fit, use your circle cutter to remove some cake from the next layer down, creating room for two more complete circles in front of that. Don't add them to the cake yet; instead, join them together with buttercream and check that they fit perfectly. Cover the entire cake in frosting, then look at it from the front and round off a little bit for the roof. You can do this before adding the frosting or after, depending on your preference.

**Adding Details and Finishing Touches**

To add some personality to your Thomas cake, use fondant to create details such as wheels, a face, and coal. Roll out a long piece of black fondant and cut a strip, which you can then roll up to make it easier to move. Unroll it as you wrap it around the base of the cake, repeating this process with a strip of red fondant. Add some grey to the front of the cake using a fondant smoother, pushing it into place.

Next, roll out a large piece of blue fondant and drape it over the entire cake. Use your fingers gently to smooth out any pleats or air pockets, lifting and lowering the fondant as needed to achieve a smooth finish. This step requires patience, but the result is well worth the effort.

**Adding the Finishing Touches**

To complete the look of your Thomas cake, add some red snakes made from thin strips of red fondant. You can either roll them or use a fondant extruder to create these details. Trim them to the right length and place them over the top of the rounded part of the train.

Add a blue dome by cutting out a circle from the back of a piping tip, then pushing it into place until it's the right height. Trim the very top of each wheel, adding a little water to the side of the cake to secure them in place. Next, add a red side piece over the top, followed by the front and back pieces.

**Adding Final Details**

Measure the distance between the back of the train and the bumper, cutting a strip of grey to go over the top of that area. Add a little water to the top of the red fondant on the sides of the train, placing a thin strip of grey over the top to create a seamless finish.

Add all of your side details, such as the black details you made earlier, to complete the look of your Thomas cake. Roll out an extra strip of grey and add it over the front to make it nice and smooth. Add a strip of black and the strange-shaped black details around the rounded smooth section at the front.

Cut a rectangle of black fondant and place it across the top for the roof section, followed by a strip of black across the back section. Cut little bits of black fondant to look like coal, which you can add to the back of your train. Finally, add the face to the front of the cake, cutting out a circle from the top and poking in a funnel.

**What to Do with Leftover Cakes**

Once your Thomas cake is complete, you may be left wondering what to do with it. If you keep watching, I'll show you where this one ended up. Others I either give away on Instagram – so make sure to follow howtocookthat if you live locally! – or use them in creative ways such as cutting up and freezing them for school lunches.

This particular Thomas cake was a birthday present for one of my little boys' good friends, demonstrating the potential of this 3D cake. With patience, practice, and attention to detail, you can create a stunning Thomas cake that will be the centerpiece of any gathering. Whether you're making it for a special occasion or just for fun, remember to have fun and enjoy the process!

**Conclusion**

Creating a 3D Thomas cake is a rewarding experience that requires skill, patience, and practice. From printing templates to adding final details, every step in this process is crucial to achieving a seamless finish. With this article, you've gained insight into the process of creating a 3D Thomas cake, as well as tips and tricks for making it your own. So why not give it a try? With a little bit of creativity and practice, you can create an incredible Thomas cake that will be remembered for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWelcome to How To Cook ThatI am Ann ReardonToday we are making a 3D train cake.I have shown you how to make the face beforeand have had lots and lots of requests orpeople begging fro help can you please showus how to make the whole train cake, so hereit is.Firstly we are going to make the red fondantdetailsYou can get the template for these and therecipe for the cake and all the fondant quantitiesall those little details from the websitehowtocookthat.net I will put a link in thedescription below this video.Cut out the strips for the front and the backof your train.When I need bright coloured fondant like thisI buy it pre-coloured because otherwise youcan tend to get pink instead of red if youare trying to mix it yourself.To make the little bumps at the front andthe back roll a thick snake of red trim itto size and then push it into shape by flatteningeach side, use a ruler to make sure it isstraight and put it into place in the centreof the red strips.Then take the template for the side red stripand roll out some fondant fairly thickly forthis because this strip sticks out from theside of the cake a little bit.And trim around the template and then flipit over and cut a second one.Next roll out some blue fondant and cut outthe shapes for the side of the cake makingsure that you have two of everything and withthe odd shape make sure you flipped it overwhen you are cutting the second one so theshape is facing the right way on each sideof the cake.Roll out some red and place the blue pieceson top.Using a pizza cutter and a knife cut aroundit leaving an even border of red the wholeway around each piece .You want these details to dry out so theyneed to made a few days ahead, but if youwant to be organized you can make them upto a month before you need to make the cake..Then to make the dome roll a fat snake andthen using the template trim it to size.If the knife has squashed when you cut itthen just roll it a little bit to round itout out again.We are making it taller than it needs to beso we can push it into the cake.For our wheels roll out some blue fondantand cut out 6 circles in the size shown.Then cut out the centre using a smaller cutter.You do this using something round and cutaround it with a knife but you might findit easier to buy a circle cutter set, I'lllink to the one that I used for this cakein the description below.Take a knife and trim off an edge of the innercirclesThen roll out some more fondant and cut outanother 6 circles.And then cut some really thin strips of blue.Trim them to the length shown and then placetwo across each other so that it splits itinto quarters, then put anther two in eachgap so you have a total of 6 strips goingacross your circle.Then take a tiny circle cutter I am usingthe end of a piping tip and trim out thatcentre circle where all the excess pieceshave built up in high.Then cut another circle of blue and placeit in the centre of the wheel.Then I used a drinking straw cut another circleand place that on top right in the centre.Take the ring that we cut out just a momentago, place that over the spokes and then littlesemi circle just on one side of the wheel.Repeat that until you have six wheels.Roll out some yellow, if your fondant is stickingto the rolling pin add a little spray oiland rub it onto your rolling pin and try again.Cut around the number 1 using the templateyou will need one of those for each side.Then place these onto some red fondant andcut around them leaving a little border ofred.Find all the parts of the template that saycut from black and cut those out.Roll a skinny snake of black and cut to thelength shown.Then roll a fat snake and cut it to the lengthfor the funnel, cut a strip of black and wrapit around one end using a tiny bit of waterto make it stick.Then set that aside to dry.Place your black rectangles onto some yellowfondant and cut around them and leave themto dry too.Roll a thin snake of yellow and cut them tothe same length and round them on the ends.These will go at the front of the train.Now to make our bumpers, roll some red fondantout thickly and using a straw cut some cylinders.Put a tiny bit of water on the red rectanglethat we made earlier and add the cylinderonto that and then take one of your blackcircles and put them on top.And repeat that on the other piece.Again using a tiny amount of water add thenumber 1 to the sides of your train.Then cut another two circles from black, placethem on some yellow fondant and cut aroundthem using a knife or a circle cutter if youhave one so that you have a yellow border.I already have a detailed video showing theface as I said so I'll link to that one here,it is an older video but it still explainsit simply if you follow the method for makingit you'll find it really quite easy to do.So now you have all of your details made aheadand you can just leave those uncovered todry.Leave them for a few days and they shouldbe dried out after that and then you can storethem in an airtight container with bakingpaper underneath them until you are readyto use them.Now to assemble your cake.You will need frosting, a strong cake board,some cooled simple syrup which is just halfa cup of water and half a cup of sugar boileduntil the sugar is dissolved.And your cakes I am using two and a half quantitiesof the rich chocolate cake the recipe anddetails for the cake and frosting, videosof how to make them all all of that is onthe website howtocookthat.netPlace a small amount of frosting on the boardto stop the cake slipping when you move it.Cut around your template and add the firstlayer of cake, cover it in frosting.Add the next layer, some simple syrup whichhelps keep the cake moist and then add morefrosting.Continue to stack up the cake up layers up.Use off cuts from layers you have alreadydone to make one of your layers.And then look at the side of your cake andcheck that you are up to the top of the roundedsection.Fold your cutting template to the length fromthe back of the train to the end of the partthat it sticking up.And cut more cake to this size.And stack that on topPut your template in front again and foldit to the width of the remaining section.Using off cuts cut two more layers of cakeand add them to the very top.You should now have what looks like a strangeset of steps.Place your template against the cake and usinga sharp serrated knife cut around the template.If you don't trust your cutting ability tocut straight you can print two templates andput one on either side of the cake to guideyou when you are cutting it.To make the rounded part in the centre cutout circles of cake and trim off one side.So you just have a small semi circle Sandwichthose together with buttercream and add themto the middle of the cake.Then use your circle cutter to remove somecake from the next layer down so that youhave room to add two more complete circlesin front of that.Don't add them to the cake yet just join themto each other with buttercream and check thatthey fit.Cover the whole cake in frosting then lookat it from the front round off a little bitfor the roof, you can do that before you addthe frosting I just forgot.Cover the circles of cake in frosting too.Then clean up your work area and put the cakeint he fridge for about an hour the frostingto firm up.Roll out a long piece of black fondant andcut a strip.You can roll it up to make it easier to move.Then unroll it as you wrap it around the baseof the cake.Repeat that with a strip of red.Now add some grey to the front of the cake,use a fondant smoother to push it into place.Next roll out a large piece of blue fondantand drape it over the entire cake.Use your fingers gently smooth it in aroundthe shape of the cake. lifting and loweringit on the sids to smooth out any pleats.I often get asked in the comments if I makethis cake for someone how much should I chargethem for it.I suggest that you look up 3D cakes at storeslocal to see how much they are charging inthe area near you because it is very differentin country to country.Where I live detailed thomas cakes in thissize sell for just under $500.Use your fondant smoother to smooth out thesides and then feel for where the top of thered fondant is and then trim it off in a straightline along the edge.Next make some thin snakes of red fondant,you can do that either by rolling them orusing a fondant extruder, I will ink to wherei got this one in the description below.Trim them to the right length and place themover the top of the rounded part of the train.To add the blue dome take something roundand cut out a circle out, I am using the backof a piping tip.And then push the dome in until it is theright height.Trim the very top of each wheel, and thenadd a little water to the side of the cakeand put your wheels in place.Then add the red side piece over the top.Add the front piece to the front of the trainand the back to the other side.Measure the distance between the back of thetrain and the bumper and cut a strip of greyto go over the top of that area.Add a little water to the top of the red onthe sides of the train and place a thin stripof grey over the top there.Next add all of your side details that wemade earlier.This is where making the details ahead makesgetting the cake together a breeze when youare making it the day before the party.Roll out an extra strip of grey and add itover the front to make it nice and smooth.Then add a strip of black and the strangeshaped black details that we made earliershould just go around that rounded smoothsection at the front.Roll out some more black, cut a strip andwrap it around the circle of cake that wecovered in frosting earlier.And the add the face to the front of thatjust leave that to one side for the momentso the fondant can stick to that buttercreamreally well.Cut a rectangle of black and place it acrossthe on top for the roof section.Place a strip of black across the top of theback section and then I've just cut littlebits of black fondant to look like coal youcould put lollies in the back here or whateveryou are wanting in the back of your train.Finally add the face to the front of the cakeCut out a circle from the top and poke inthe funnel into the top.One question I get asked a lot is what doyou do with all of these cakes once they arefinished?If you keep watching I will show you wherethis one ended up.Others I either give away on instagram - somake sure you follow howtocookthat if youlive locally and others I just cut up andfreeze for school lunches.This particular thomas cake was a birthdaypresent for one of my little boys good friends.Thanks for watching, add all of your requestsin the comments below and subscribe to howtocookthatfor more cakes, chocolate and desserts thereis a new video every Friday.Have a great week\n"