Guess what? Today’s post has 2, yes 2! Cakes featured in it. I had a client approach me and ask if I could make two cakes for each of her boy’s birthdays. They were having a joint Hot Wheels themed birthday party. One was turning 2 and the other 5. I was more than willing to make these cakes!
These Hot Wheels Cakes were super fun to make! One of the numbers was Vanilla Yellow cake and the other was Chocolate cake. Both were carved into the given number and then frosted with Vanilla Buttercream. The tops were covered in fondant to make the “road” and the sides were decorated with fondant squares to mimic the checkered flag. The sides were brightened up with buttercream “grass“.
On top of the road I piped the Hot Wheels logo with Royal Icing and then wrote in each boys name. There is also a “start” and “finish” on each number. Then some actual Hot Wheels cars were placed on top – they are racing to the finish! I liked this touch because then the birthday child has another new toy!
Oh yeah! To go with these two cakes there were cupcakes as well! These were simple – chocolate and vanilla like the cakes and then piped with Hot Wheels colors and topped with rings that doubled as party favors.
These cakes were fun, and I heard that they were a hit at the party. I liked the challenge of using various elements on these cakes: carving, buttercream, fondant, and royal icing. All are very different to work with and produce different results, it was fun to see how they all worked together in one cake!
Sarah's Sweets & Treats 
I was actually at that party and yes they were a HUGE hit!!! Very awesome to look at and tasted even better! The kids were all excited and had no disappointments when eating them!! 😀
How did you get the cake so smooth everytime I have try to do cake with fondant my cake is to soft and does not look right I wait to make the number two cake for my son any and all tips would be helpful I and new to the cake world
Make sure your layer of frosting is smooth to begin with. Then your fondant will be smooth. Viva paper towels and a fondant smoother work for me!
Hi Sarah, I loved your #2 cake as well as the #5. You did a really nice job of carving them and wondered if you used a pattern. The numbers look short and fat to accomodate the cars, which I like. If you don’t mind telling me, how did you do it?
Brenda, I just cut a square of parchment paper slightly smaller than the size of the cake and sketch a rather wide number on that, cut it out, score the cake on top and then carve out the number! Hope this helps and thank you for the comment!
Thank you very much for the tip. I’ll try it out soon, as I also have a number 2 to do. Thanks!
What size cake pan did you use? Also, I bought that edible sugar paper for the top of the cake. Will that work? I have to work on my cake tomorrow. Love the #2 cake!! Great job!
I use a sheet pan and then carve it down. I have never used the sugar paper – on this cake it is black fondant. You can buy black ready made and just roll and cut it using the same template as the cake. Thank you! 🙂
I just came across your hot wheels cakes while searching for inspiration for my son’s 7th birthday cake. He loved them! I saw that you used a sheet pan,just wondering if you remember how many you stacked to get how tall? Thank you and great cakes!
Thank you for the comment! The cake is a double layer – so 2 sheet cakes stacked on top to get that height. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you! Yes it will
These cakes are fantastic! My son would like me to “try” and make the number 5 for his birthday in Feb. Was just wondering how you made the grass?? Did you use a specific piping nozzle? Thank you for sharing this wonderful cake to inspire others 🙂
Kerry,
Thank you for the comment! I used a grass tip from wilton. It’s tip #233. Thanks again and have a wonderful day!
So absolutely adorable and creative! Love this! I’m taking pictures to my local bakery here in Atlanta to see if they can duplicate this for my 5 year old grandson’s birthday. You’re a decorating genius…hope you won’t be in Okinawa forever!
I have a pan that you can make any number or letter you want, do you think that I should make 2 to get the extra thickness that I want the pan is 2inches deep? I really like the cakes they are great. Thanks for posting them!!!!
Kaye,
Yes, I would make two. Thats what I do. I make two cakes, level them, spread a layer of buttercream in between, then stack and cut. Thank you for the wonderful comments and have a great day!
Hi Sarah,
Love these cakes and attempting to make a #2 one for my little boy this weekend who is Hot Wheels obsessed! Can you please tell me what the dimensions are for the sheet pan you used so I can source one.
Many thanks,
Catherine
Catherine,
Thank you for the comment! I used a 12x18in Pan for the cake. I then layered it and then traced out and carved the number. I hope this helps!
Sarah
Just pricing cakes and wondering where ur located
Okinawa Japan! 🙂
Hello i would like to know do you have a video on how to make cake number 2
I am sorry, I do not.
Do you have a favorite chocolate sheet cake recipe for the 18 x 12 (x2?) sheet pan? I just tried a sheet cake recipe (twice!) in that size pan and failed miserably. Couldn’t get it out of the pan. Overbaked? Too thin? First attempt: buttered/floured. No dice. Second attempt greased with cooking spray and also even reduced the cooking time by 5 min. Must be my recipe, or maybe the pan. Looking for suggestions as I’m trying to make my son’s 5th birthday cake, similar to your super rad one.
Thanks!
Rebecca,
Thank you for the comment! For a chocolate cake I would recommend the Hersey’s recipe. I use that as a base and then make it my own. When I bake all of my cakes, I line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper cut to fit. I then use cooking spray all over the pan. If your pans are old, that might be an issue as well. I hope this helps! 🙂
Love your cake! How much cake batter do you use to fill the 18×12 cake pan? And what butter cream recipe is best to use for this cake? Thanks!
For that sized pan I would triple a standard recipe (2 8in rounds) for a total of 6 8in rounds or one 18×12 cake pan. I use Wilton’s standard buttercream recipe and it works great!
How much po ung hotwheels cake
I am currently taking orders for Okinawa Japan. 🙂
Have you ever made a #6 cake like that? Those cakes you made are amazing! What size cake pan did you use?
I love your cake and your instructions for making it are very helpful! Can you tell me if you covered the sides with white fondant before attaching the black squares?
If you use two 12 x 18 sheet cakes and stack them how many total boxes of cake mix do you need? I’ve never used this large of a sheet pan, but I think that it will require three boxes of cake mix, but six boxes of cake mix is a lot of cake! Do you think that just one 12 x 18 cake could be used and have a similar looking affect?
Did you push the fondant black squares onto the buttercream? Or stick them on with something so they didn’t fall off?
I used a bit of piping gel to stick them on and they did not fall off.