This is all you need to make the flowers. For best results, mix the gum paste with some fondant so it does not dry as quickly. The flower kit is a great investment for any cake decorator. Trust me, you will use this more than once.

Directions:

1) Bake, tort, and level your cakes. To ensure proper support you will need to put 2 cakes on a cardboard cake divider. So, stack the first two cakes on the silver cake board, the next to cakes on a cardboard divider and the last cake on another divider. (See our post on How to Place Dowels in a Cake if you are unsure how to place dowels in a cake.)

***Decorator’s Tip*** Cut and tape wax paper on the bottom of your cardboard dividers so they don’t stick to the cake below it.

2) Place 4 wooden dowels equally around the cake on the silver cake board. Place the 2 cakes on the cardboard divider on top.

3) Sharpen 4 more dowels and put them equally around the cake. This time you will use a hammer to hit the dowel through the cardboard divider and to the silver cake board so be sure to place the dowels so that they will not hit the dowels below them.

4) Place the last cake and divider on top. Then sharpen one last dowel and drive it through the center of all of the cakes until you hit the silver cake board. This will keep the cake from tipping over.

5) Cover the entire cake with white butter cream icing.

6) Cut thin strips of black fondant and place them on the cake to match the picture.

7) Place flowers around the cake.

***Decorator’s Tip*** If you are delivering this cake, it is best to wait until you arrive at your destination to place the flowers on the cake.

• Roll the gumpaste out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut 2 long strips of the same size and 1 strip 2/3 the size of the larger strips. I am not giving exact measurements because they will vary depending on the size of your bow.

• Make a small accordion fold at each end of the small strip and loop them together. Put a small amount of water on each end and press together. Take a small amount of tissue to place inside the loop so that it holds it's shape.

• 
  
  Repeat this process for the 2 larger strips.

• Once the small loop is hard enough to hold it's own shape, remove the tissue and place the ends of the 2 larger loops inside. Secure with a small amount of water and press. Let dry over night.

3D Wilton Cruiser Pan
Large rectangular cake board
Tips # 2, 3 and 5
Red and black fondant
Red gumpaste
Thick Wire
Tan, white, orange, yellow, and black buttercream icing
Blue tinted piping gel
Crushed graham crackers
Rice Krispie Treats
Plastic cacti








Another item that will help decorate this cake is an airbrush. You will be able to cover the car in white fondant then airbrush it red. It will save you a great deal of time.

Directions for the "novice" cake:

****Please keep in mind that by using the cake mold listed above, your cake may not look exactly like Lightning McQueen because, while this mold gives you a car shape, it is not his exact shape.****


Step 1

A few days in advance, make the spoiler out of red gumpaste and place 4 thick wires
into the spoiler as it dries (the longer the better). These wires will hold the spoiler on the
cake.


Step 2

Bake the 3D Cruiser cake and freeze. To get the cake to look more like Lightning McQueen, you will need to trim cake off the top and possibly the hood to give it more of a curve.


Step 3

Once you are happy with the shape of the cake, ice the entire car with buttercream icing.


Step 4

Cover the cake with fondant. You can either cover the cake with red fondant or cover the cake with white fondant and airbrush the whole cake red.


Step 5

Use the white buttercream and tip #3 or 5 to pipe on the windows. 

****Decorator’s Tip**** Use a toothpick to outline all of the windows and the lightning bolt onto the car.


Step 6

Outline all of the windows with the black icing and tip # 2.


Step 7

Repeat the above two steps to pipe on the large lighting bolts, head lights, tail lights, and the large number on top, using yellow and orange or white buttercream (colors will depend on what you are piping).


Step 8

With tip #2 and black icing, pipe numbers on the sides of the car as well as the passenger side headlight and tail light.


Step 9

With tip #2 and yellow icing, pipe the child’s name to resemble the Rusteeze logo.


Step 10

With tip #2 and blue piping gel pipe on eyes. Be careful, as the piping gel will run if you use too much. Finally, add the pupil on the eyes with a small black dot.


Step 11

The only part that is left of the car is to make the wheels. To do this, cut circles out of Rice Krispie Treats and cover with black fondant. You can also cover with white fondant and airbrush them black. Add a red circle to the center of the wheel and pipe the word Lightyear onto the wheels. Once the car is sitting on the bottom cake you can place the wheels onto the cake. The exact size of the wheels will vary depending on the size of your wheel well. My wheels fit so snugly that I was able to place them into the well and they did not fall.


Step 12

Finally, bake, level and fill the 2 14x11 cakes. Place onto the large rectangular cake board and cover with tan icing. Next, sprinkle the crushed graham crackers on top to look like sand. Place 4 dowels into the cake to support the car. The placement of the dowels will depend on the placement of the car. Just be sure to use 2 dowels for the front of the car and two for the back.


Step 13

Place the wheels and spoiler onto the car and put the cacti onto the large cake.

****Decorator’s Tip**** If you are having trouble getting the spoiler to stay up you can take 4 lollipop sticks and place them behind the spoiler for support. Cover these sticks with black or gray buttercream. If you look at the original Lightning McQueen, you will see he has something similar on the back of his spoiler.

Directions:


Step 1:

Cover the cut foam board with sports themed wrapping paper and then clear cellophane.


Step 2:


Make the basketball by placing the half of a ball cake onto the cake board and cover it with orange icing. Using the black icing and tip #5, pipe the lines onto the ball.

***Decorator's Tip*** To ensure accuracy in your piping, first draw the lines on the cake with a toothpick.


Step 3:

• Make the football by first cutting the cake from the Wilton Wonder Mould (or Pampered Chef) in half and trim off and extra from the top. **Do not throw the trimmings away!**
  
• Place the cut sides down with the larger sides facing each other. You will now have something that resembles a football.
  
• Use the trimmings to give each end of the football more of a point.
  
• Ice the cake with chocolate or brown icing.
• Using tip #21 or any tip with a flat edge and white buttercream, pipe the large lines on the football. Using tip #5 and white buttercream, pipe on the stitching.

Step 4:

• To make the baseball bat, place the two bread pan cakes side by side to make one long cake. You can fill these cakes if you wish.

***Decorator's Tip*** Carve the cake before you put it on the cake board.

• Cut the cake into the shape of a bat. If you are hesitant to do this, you can always draw it out on a piece of paper and use it as a template. This way you will be sure that your bat is symmetric.
• Ice the bat with tan icing. Using tip #21 and red icing, pipe on the red tape on the bat's handle. Write your message using tip #3 and black icing.
  

This is a great video on how to stack cakes for a tier cake. She uses a lot of support but she also mentions that her cakes are safe to travel stacked.

Directions: