Kid’s race circuit birthday cake

Posted in Baking by Claire | Art and Soul

This number circuit birthday cake is an easy homemade option for any kid who loves racing cars.

I’ve been a little busy with kids’ birthdays recently!

This sixth birthday cake is surprisingly easy to assemble and looks great. I came up with the idea by doing a quick Google image search – loads of people have made a version of this cake for various age numbers.

Making the cake and buttercream

I used my most reliable chocolate cake recipe, but you can use any flavour cake you like. You can find the recipe in my Double Chocolate Easter cake post – just use one rectangular tin instead of circular ones.

This recipe also explains how to make the green grass buttercream.

Assembling and decorating the racing circuit cake

If you don’t have a cake board, simply cover a large chopping board with tinfoil. I think it’s best to work with your cake on another board, and transfer it to the final board when you’re finished decorating.

Use a large serrated knife to level your cake by cutting horizontally to slice off the top.

Make your green buttercream (instructions here) and put it in a piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Put to one side.

Cut a piece of paper or greaseproof paper to the size of the top of your cake. Sketch the number you need onto your paper. This will be your template for cutting out your fondant. Cut the number out.

I used a 250g block of shop-bought black fondant for the race track surface. You could make your own fondant, but it is a lot of (messy) work! Cover a chopping board or your kitchen counter with some greaseproof baking paper. Work the fondant with your hands until it’s soft and pliable and then roll it out until it’s thin and you have enough for the number you need. Lay your paper number template onto the fondant and cut around it. I had to make my six out of two pieces of fondant. Position the pieces onto of your cake – you can stick them down using a little of your green buttercream.

Fill in the areas around your fondant race track with the green buttercream, piping small points of buttercream to create a grass effect.

Now add the white lines and starting grids to your racing track. If you want to eat the black fondant, use white water icing to pipe the lines you need. However, I decided we weren’t going to eat the black fondant, so this meant I could use inedible elements. The white lines on my cake were cut up stickers! Just cut small strips and stick them on. If you don’t have white stickers handy, you can use the flap of a white envelope. I printed the grids from pictures I found online and laid them onto the fondant.

I bought a pack of five racing car candle holders from Amazon and a 6-shaped candle from a local card shop. If you’re very creative and have time, you could make edible cars from fondant or cake. I made the chequered flags by printing the check pattern onto paper and sticking flag-sized pieces to toothpicks. I bought the small trophies at the top of the cake board in a pack of 8 from Asda.

Pop the car and candles on your cake… And there you have it!

Sorry if my explanation as to how to assemble this kid’s racing circuit birthday cake isn’t very clear. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below! 🙂

And if you’re interested in other birthday cakes: