How to make a race car cake topper
I have received many requests on the race car cake toppers that was on my sons birthday cake last year. So here is my tutorial on how to make a race car cake topper.
It is made out of gum paste, but I have used store bought black rolled fondant for the wheels and the helmet.
TIP:
The “body” of the race car, starts with a smooth round ball!
This is what I use:
White gum paste
Black rolled fondant
Small amount of white rolled fondant
Gel paste color
Rolling pin
Cake smoothers
Tylo glue
Cornstarch (to prevent the fondant from sticking to your work board)
Small knife
Piping tips or small circle cutters in various sizes
Small paint brush
Ball tool (JEM)
Strip cutter (JEM) If you dont have a strip cutter, then you can use a ruler.
1 small plastic bag (not showing on the photo)
Step 1:
Start coloring the gum paste in your chosen color. Roll the “ball” into a cone, making sure that you keep one of the ends a little thicker (and the other end a little thinner). I try to keep the lenght of the race car to about 3″ (8cm).
Step 2:
Flatten the sides of the race car, using a pair of cake smoothers. Place the car inside a plastic bag and set aside. This will preventing it from drying out.
Step 3:
Roll out some gum paste about 2mm in the same color as the race car. Cut out the spoiler with the small knife. I cut out mine by hand, but you can of course use a ruler if you like. Make sure that the spoiler is a little wider than the race car. Set aside to dry completely.
TIP! Make extra spoilers. If the first one should break.
Step 4:
Roll out some of the black rolled fondant about 5mm thick. Find 2 different sizes of piping tips or circle cutters and cut out 1 large pair and 1 small pair of wheels. I have used round piping tips to emboss the center of the wheels. Set aside to dry.
Step 5:
Take some white rolled fondant and roll it out thinly. Use the strip cutter or a ruler to cut out 1 fondant strip.
Note: Do not cut out the fondant circle before step 9
Step 6:
Take out the race car from the plastic bag. Brush a very thin coat of tylo glue on the back of the white strip and attach it down the middle of the race car. Trimming of any excess of the fondant strip with the knife. Use the ball tool and make an indentation in the middle of the car, where the “driver” will be sitting.
Step 7:
Take a little black rolled fondant and roll it into a little ball/helmet. Make sure that it fits into the indentation of the race car. Brush a little glue and place the ball/helmet in the indentation. Cut a small strip of white fondant for the face shield and glue it on the ball/helmet. Set a side to dry.
Step 8:
When the wheels are almost dry, glue them on the race car with tylo glue. Small wheels at the front and large wheels at the back.
Step 9:
Roll two small oblong balls and glue them on each side on the white fondant stripe on the back of the race car. Brush again a very thin coat of glue and carefully attach the spoiler. Finish off by cutting out a small circle out of white rolled fondant and glue it on the front of the car.
TIP! It is easier to write the number of the race car, when the white fondant is all dry!
You now have a race car cake topper!
Happy Caking!
Louise
1. Pily
January 28th, 2010 2:17 pm
Thanks… soo cute
2. maria
January 28th, 2010 2:27 pm
Soooo cute thanks for sharing!
3. Jenny
January 28th, 2010 2:32 pm
Thank you for the tutorial, I shall attempt to make this for my great nephew
4. PP&G
January 28th, 2010 2:33 pm
Very great! It’s beautiful. Bravo!
5. Susan Kulungian
January 28th, 2010 2:34 pm
Louise, thanks again for a great tutorial! You make everything look so easy!
6. Jeannette Chirinos Gold
January 28th, 2010 2:44 pm
Nice explanation, very easy (looks lol) and wonderful images, perfect light
7. sandra
January 28th, 2010 3:01 pm
It’s beautiful, and so easy!!!
8. Federica
January 28th, 2010 3:18 pm
Wonderful!!!
9. Kati
January 28th, 2010 3:49 pm
Perfectly done and such an easy to follow tutorial-thanks so much! Can’t wait to give it a go!
10. Brandy
January 28th, 2010 3:55 pm
Thanks for the tutorial on the race car topper! This would be perfect on a boys cake!
Or even a girls and you can make it pink!
11. marielba
January 28th, 2010 4:38 pm
Thanks Louise, it is so easy the way you explain it and beautiful too
12. Lisa
January 28th, 2010 5:23 pm
Awesome tutorial as usual Louise!! Keep up the great work, you inspire us all!
13. paula
January 28th, 2010 5:34 pm
hi louise,
thank you very much, great timing for next month is my grandson’s 5th birthday, so this can be the topper…
gr, paula
14. Nancy Smith
January 28th, 2010 5:37 pm
Love it!! Can’t wait to try it!
15. Maybe
January 28th, 2010 5:37 pm
Thank you so much for your tutorials, they’re always great and full of precious tips !
16. Julie
January 28th, 2010 6:54 pm
Thank You so much!! Love it when you put up a tutoril. Your instructions and pictures are so well put together.
17. Bucky
January 28th, 2010 7:01 pm
Thanks very much for this hint, it’s so, so cool, u’ve been very helpful.
18. Natalie
January 28th, 2010 7:07 pm
Awesome! thank you for the easy step by step!
19. Dhanya
January 28th, 2010 7:42 pm
Awesome tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
20. Anonymous
January 28th, 2010 9:07 pm
nice elegant work !!
21. Molly
January 28th, 2010 9:44 pm
You make it seem so easy! I’m sure mine won’t look anything like yours, but I’m going to try! Thanks!
22. Lyzzie
January 28th, 2010 10:06 pm
Hi Louise your creativiti is amazing,I loved your work and tutorials are easy thanks you are my teacher in cakes,cupcakes .thanks for sharing
23. Crystal
January 29th, 2010 12:33 am
That is awesome. Have you ever done a train. I will be doing a train on my next cake. I need some help making one.
24. Alpa Patel
January 29th, 2010 12:35 am
This will look great on my little cupcakes…..
25. Patricia
January 29th, 2010 2:44 am
Thank you so much, Louise… it’s marvellous!
26. meaghan (chic cookies)
January 29th, 2010 2:48 am
SO crazy cute!!! I’ll be sure to post a link on my column to your tutorial (ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com). Did I mention so crazy cute???
27. Dawn
January 29th, 2010 3:03 am
So cute!
28. Chetana
January 29th, 2010 4:19 am
Thanks for sharing…it will be very handy since m making a car shaped cake for my son’s bthday next week…..will try to make few of these to garnish the cupcakes.
As always luv ur step by step tutorials.
Cheers.
29. Marian (Sweetopia)
January 29th, 2010 4:56 am
Oh this little race car is adorable! You do make it look so easy!
I find boy ‘cake/cookie/cupcake’ ideas kind of challenging in that they’re usually uninspiring to me; but this one is perfect; so cute! Thanks for the idea!
30. SweetThingsTO
January 29th, 2010 7:27 am
Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial! Very cute and so very useful!
31. vamosalculete
January 29th, 2010 10:30 am
En mi búsqueda de información sobre cómo decorar galletas he encontrado tu magnífica página. ¡Fantástica!. Estoy gratamente impresionada con tus creaciones y tutoriales. Muchos de ellos me vendrán muy bien. Muchas gracias por compartir tus conocimientos con nosotr@s.
Un saludo desde España.
32. Toi
January 29th, 2010 4:01 pm
Thank you so much! I just love it.
33. Noel
January 29th, 2010 9:55 pm
that’s so cute….. that is really good idea to use it for the cupcakes. thanks for sharing.
34. Jennifer
February 1st, 2010 7:14 pm
Very Cute. Any tutorials on how to make an airplane cake topper? I need to make one for a cake this weekend.
35. Kaylee
February 2nd, 2010 2:10 am
Very cute!
36. Emelyn
February 3rd, 2010 9:45 pm
Who would have thought it was this easy. Wow, you sure are creative at making things hard into easy projects. Awesome creativity. I LOVEEEEEEE your blog. Thanks for sharing.
37. Louise
February 7th, 2010 9:30 pm
Crystal & Jennifer: Who knows?? maybe there will come a train/airplane tutorial in the future.
38. Crystal
February 11th, 2010 4:17 am
That would be some awesome to hav a train and plan tutorial. Can’t wait.
39. Crystal
March 8th, 2010 4:30 pm
I was just wondering if you were planning on doing the train tutorial soon? I have to make a cake with a train topper next week. It would be great to have some help on it.
40. Louise
March 15th, 2010 10:50 pm
Crystal: Ohh Crystal, no sorry.
41. Shelley
April 30th, 2010 5:54 am
Hi there, This is wonderful! I was just wondering if you could do a tutorial on how to make your Disney Cars cake or send me a step by step guide. I am a cupcake lady but it is my sons birthday coming up and would love to try and make this for him as my first big cake (except for my Giant cupcakes I have made). Your help would be so appreciated. By the way LOVE your website. Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful tips!
42. Shanelle
May 3rd, 2010 9:34 pm
If you use mini loaf pans you can make each kid their own race car cake instead of just a topper. you can have them decorate their own too.
43. Betsy
May 4th, 2010 3:48 pm
I LOVE your site – I just started cake decorating a few months ago, and the tutorials are wonderful! I made the race car topper for my son’s 4th birthday cake – it was a big hit. He loved helping me, too – it was lots of fun for both of us! Thank you – it turned out EXACTLY as pictured!
44. stephanie w
May 13th, 2010 12:07 am
thank you for sharing this I have wanted to make this
45. Louise
May 13th, 2010 9:38 pm
Shelley: Im sorry but I am not planning a cars cake tutorial. I used some of the directions from this site: http://www.how2cakes.com/3dcar.html but made my own adjustments by looking after one of my sons cars toys.
Shanelle: Love that idea
Betsy: Sounds wonderful. Its nice when the kids can help too.