Cars Cake
Lightning McQueen Birthday Cake

Cars Cake shared by Trina A.
(Edmonton, AB Canada)

My friend asked me to make this cars cake for her son’s third birthday party. He LOVES anything "Cars" related. Lightning McQueen wasn't the theme of the party, but might as well have been as everything revolved around the party was about the movie Cars.

My friend asked me to make this cars cake for her son’s third birthday party. He LOVES anything "Cars" related. Lightning McQueen wasn't the theme of the party, but might as well have been as everything revolved around the party was about the movie Cars.

How to Make the Ultimate Cars Cake

At times when I bake I have the opportunity to take my time and really enjoy the process. When it comes to birthday cakes I often feel overwhelmed with all the other aspects of the party, so for this cars cake I decided to use a cake mold and make a stunning cake. 

I used a Wilton Cake pan for the mold of the cake. When you use these pans you need to make sure that you grease the pan enough. That is so important. You are able to use any type of cake. Both from scratch and an out of the box cake work. I used an out of the box cake mix. That was very simple, I just followed the general instructions and baked at 350 for 30-40 minutes. After the cake was fully cooled I cut the bottom to level the cake with a large bread knife. I simply ran the large knife along the edges of the cake pan. This leveled the cake while still in the pan. Then I placed a cooling rack on the pan to help flip it over. I left the pan sitting on top for a few minutes and it easily popped out of the pan. I then transferred it onto my cake board. To economically make a cake board, I simply covered part of a cardboard box with tinfoil and placed the cake onto the cake board.

The next step is the icing. The cars cake needs a fair amount of icing. I pre-make all the icing. I mix all the necessary colors and put them into the icing bags with the icing tips all organized. I have these white toppers that I can easily exchange the tip for if needed. I then place the icing bags into a sealable container and place it into the fridge. I find it easier to ice the cake when the icing is cooled. If I work on a color for a longer time I cool the icing periodically.

There are a lot of little details in this race car cake. With this base you can really create any car that you want by changing colors and design details. It is worth it to take the time and add all the little details at the beginning. I took a thin tip and outlined all of the details. Once this is done it is as if you are coloring a color by number coloring book. With the tinted icing and used the Wilton tips 3, 16 and 21 to ice Lightning McQueen cake. Red is definitely the hardest color to tint! Here is a hint that worked well for me. I first tinted the icing a pink (easy). It makes me think of a primer coat when you are painting a wall. Then I take the tinted pink icing and then tint it with the no taste red. This red dye color is from the Wilton tinted colors that you can buy at your local craft or bulk food store. Once the icing is complete I make the eyes look glossy. I mixed cornstarch and water in a small dish. Then I dipped my finger in the liquid. Take your finger and smooth out the eyes. It made my eyes look like they sparkled. If you aren't sure because this is the last step, try it out on some wax paper. Create a sample eye and see which eye look that you like better. Go with your gut and what look you like better. Your guests are already going to be wowed with your expertise.

Other hints that I could suggest would be to take rests. I find that my arm and especially my hand does get tired when I am icing a cake. These small breaks make my details in my icing turn out more precise. Another suggestion would be to have the picture you are trying to replicate close by for reference. This helps with the fine details. And my most important suggestion is to have fun while making this cake. It will bring back happy memories of a time when your kids were young. They grow up way too quickly. And lastly, take lots of pictures. Not only of you beautiful creation, but of the party. Such wonderful memories are being created from the decorating, to the cake making and especially the celebration itself.

This cake turned out to be a real focal point at the party. The cake tasted great and my friend’s son loved that he had a Lightning McQueen cake for his third birthday party! Best of luck make your own amazing cars cake.