Fire Truck Cake

We just celebrated my son's birthday and he wanted a truck cake, so I decided to go with a fire truck because I found this really easy video tutorial on how to make one. It was easy, the only thing I would do different is use my homemade butter cream frosting. I have never used the store bought frosting in the can and it was really runny. The fire truck ended up looking like it had melted in a fire, so I am embarrassed to post a picture of mine. However, my son loved it and that's what counts. Right?

Fire Truck Cake Instructions
For video demo click here.

Supplies:
Cake mix
Cake board
Frosting (see recipe below)
Frosting bag (or a ziplock bag cut in one corner will work)
4-6 Oreo cookies (depending on how many wheels you want your truck to have, I did 6 since I couldn't find a licorice wheel for the hose)
8 red gumdrops
4 yellow gumdrops
Red and gray food coloring gel

Make a cake mix and bake in three 8"x4" bread loaf pans. Divide batter equally. Bake for time according to package instructions. Remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes and then remove cake from pan. When cool, trim top of cakes to make flat. Place one cake on a cake board or cardboard covered in wrapping paper/foil. Cut off 1/8th of the second cake and place on top of the first cake on the cake board. Cut the third cake in half and stand both halves vertically in front of the other two cakes to create the cab of the fire truck. Make frosting, use the recipe below (don't use the Betty Crocker store bought kind, it is too runny to work with and you'll end up with a mess).

Butter cream frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Color two cups of frosting red using red food gel coloring (you'll need two tubes to get it really red). Leave some of the frosting white for the windows and color the rest gray using gel food coloring for the piping around the bottom of the fire truck. Frost the fire truck red. Then add oreo cookie wheels. Then pipe with gray piping around the bottom. Make window and ladder on truck using white icing. Add gumdrop lights.

An easy and fun cake, your fire engine loving child will love!

Photo credit