Wilton Thomas the Train Cake Pan Instructions

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"Thomas and Friends" is a children's cartoon on television that follows Thomas the Tank Engine, an animated blue train, and his other train friends through a journey where they learn life lessons such as the value of hard work, teamwork and friendship. Making a cake that is shaped and decorated like Thomas can be simple using the Wilton Thomas the Tank cake pan and a few other decorating supplies.

Bake the Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use your pastry brush to coat the cake pan with solid vegetable shortening, making certain that the inside of the pan is completely coated. Sprinkle the flour in the pan and shake it around so that the pan surface has a light dusting of flour. Discard excess flour.

Pour the prepared cake batter in the pan and lightly tap the pan on the counter until the batter has spread evenly throughout the pan. Bake the cake in your 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cake is done as according to the recipe.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on the cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes. Use the cake leveler to slice off the raised portion in the center of the cake. Remove the cake from the cake pan by placing the cooling rack against the cake and turn over both the rack and the pan. Your cake should easily release from the pan when you carefully lift the pan off of the cake. Cool the cake for one hour.

Decorate the Cake

Brush crumbs off of the cake using a dry, clean pastry brush. Please the cake on the serving tray. Use the offset spatula to ice the sides and background of the cake with the light-blue icing until smooth.

Attach tip No. 3 to a piping bag filled with black icing and use it to outline the engine, headlights, brake shafts and facial features. Attach tip No. 3 to a piping bag filled with red icing and outline the number on the train. Attach tip No. 16 to the red icing bag and use it to fill in the engine details. Attach tip No. 3 to a piping bag filled with yellow icing and use it to outline the windows.

Use an offset spatula to ice the background of the wheels and steps with black icing. Attach tip No. 3 to a piping bag filled with royal blue icing. Use heavy pressure to fill in the wheels and pipe the side steps. Dot the center hub and add strings to the spokes and rim shadows.

Attach tip No. 3 to a piping bag filled with white icing. Pipe in the inside of the mouth and the eyes. Use the black icing bag with tip No. 3 to dot the center of the eyes and the headlights. Pipe the brake shafts using the gray icing with tip No. 3.

Use tip No. 16 and a zigzag motion to pipe black icing on the front engine section. Fill in the side window and the roof using tip No. 16 to create stars. Cover the front of the engine and the face with tip No. 16 and gray stars.

Using tip No. 16 on the royal blue piping bag, cover the cab with blue stars and the smokestack with zigzags. Use tip No. 16 and red icing to cover the running board and bumper with red stars. Fill in the number with tip No. 16 and yellow stars. Use the remaining yellow icing to fill in the bell using tip No. 3. Use tip No. 16 to pipe a zigzag on the bottom border of the cake.