In 2011 Jakob was all about Pixar’s CARS. CARS toys, CARS books, even CARS bedsheets. So when he turned 4 that year, of course I had to make a CARS-themed cake.
Like most of my cakes, this one started with a sketch.
It was box-mix vanilla cake with pudding and egg add-ins, and vanilla icing between the layers. Except for the LEGO Piston Cup and candle, all toppers were handmade with white fondant that I tinted with gel colors.
The silver logo around Jakob’s name was made from black-tinted fondant and painted with silver luster dust mixed with a bit of vodka.
The top and back have a black & white checkered race flag, and the base of the cake is trimmed with icing. I was still learning how to properly prep a cake for fondant and you can see how lumpy the cake is, especially where it is starting to sag in the back. There are also a few cracks in the fondant in places.
The side decors were fun to make! Sally was the easiest- mostly blue fondant with black wheels, a white windshield/eyes and handpainted details. Lightning McQueen and Mater were a bit more involved, having more details to copy. To fill in the sides I also added Lightning’s number and the Rust-eze logo. All painting was done with gel colors mixed with Wilton White-White to be more opaque.
It was one of the first “figure” cakes I’d made and a different challenge than others I’d done at that point. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and the birthday boy loved it.
Jakob’s other birthday cakes
- Jakob’s 1st birthday – printed cake
- Jakob’s 2nd birthday – Pirate cake and pirate cupcakes
- Jakob’s 3rd birthday #1 – Smarties Number 3 cake
- Jakob’s 3rd birthday #2 – Dinosaur cake
- Jakob’s 4th birthday – Pixar’s CARS cake (this post)
- Jakob’s 6th birthday – Adventure Time cake
- Jakob’s 7th birthday #1 – Gunter cupcakes
- Jakob’s 7th birthday #2 – Adventure Time Gunter & BMO cakes
- Jakob’s 8th birthday – Minecraft Creeper checkerboard cake
- Jakob’s 9th birthday #1 – Super Smash Bros Brawl – Ike cake
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