We are riding the birthday train until the wheels fall off, friends. For Sawyer’s 3rd birthday celebration, I opted for a Thomas and Friends train decorated cookie cake. Thomas isn’t Sawyer’s favorite character or TV show (I think that honor would go to Paw Patrol), but he recently has become interested in all things trains. (Incidentally, he’s been singing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” on repeat in his adorable toddler voice.)
The theme coordinated perfectly with our other activities for his big birthday weekend: checking out the model railroad display at the Morton Arboretum and having dinner at 2 Toots, the boys’ favorite diner where a model train delivers your food to your table.
I was going to do the KitKat train tracks on cupcakes and arrange the cupcakes in the shape of a 3, but as I noted in the Funfetti cookie cake recipe post, my boys just don’t particularly like cake. They do, however, like cookies.
So a decorated cookie cake it was, and with a little green frosting, some Thomas minis, and train signs borrowed from our train set, this cute, easy Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cookie was created.
The hardest part was figuring out how to cut the KitKat bars into the shapes to form the number 3. If you can do that, you can do anything. So get set up and follow along with the photos for a step-by-step.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy for all the boring details.
Thomas the Tank Engine Cake Decoration with KitKat Train Tracks
Supplies:
- 12-inch round cookie cake (bake your own from a Funfetti cake mix or buy a simply decorated one from the grocery store)
- 2 KitKat King Size candy bars (you need a total of 7 double-KitKat pieces to form the number 3)
- Assorted Thomas & Friends MINIs – I used a total of 6 train cars (note: also available in smaller packs or blind bags at Walmart)
- Brio traffic signs (I “borrowed” ours from our train set, so they differ slightly from what’s available on Amazon now)
- Wilton Creamy Decorator Icing in green (or your own buttercream frosting, tinted bright grass green)
- Piping bag
- Wilton No. 4B Star Tip
- 12-inch cardboard cake circle
Instructions:
Place your cooled cookie cake on a 12-inch cardboard cake circle. This will make it easier to transport and move after decorating.
Start by arranging your KitKat candy bars on the cookie cake in the shape of the number 3. You will need 2 full bars, 1 full bar with one end cut into a point, 3 bars cut in half (6 halves total) and 6 triangles. I used a total of 6.5 KitKat candy bars to do this.
Use a sharp paring knife to cut the KitKats as shown:
The shapes don’t have to be precise; you’ll fill in the gaps between them with green frosting, and if any of your KitKats break, you can strategically arrange your toy Thomas MINIs to hide it.
After you have the number 3 laid out, get ready to frost: Transfer your green frosting to a piping bag fitted with the 4B star tip. Working one piece of train track at a time, pipe two lines of stars to correspond to the 2 bars of the KitKat. Place the bar on the lines and squish down so that green frosting shows on the outside of the “tracks” (like grass).
Work your way through each section of track until you have the entire number 3 frosted in place.
Then pipe a border of stars around the entire cookie cake. Add traffic signs in strategic location with extra frosting. (Continue to pipe individual “stars” to give a uniform appearance of grass.)
Add your Thomas and Friends MINIs to the KitKat tracks and use a dollop of frosting to hold each train car in place.
Let the frosting set up a little to harden enough to hold the train cars in place. Cover until ready to serve.
Sawyer was a big fan of his train cake and started zooming the cars around the “tracks” before we had even finished singing Happy Birthday to him.
Bonus: He now has three new Thomas and Friends MINIs to add to his collection!
Happy birthday, baby boy! I’m so happy you loved your cake … and even happier that we’ve found a dessert that we can all compromise on!
Share your own Thomas cookie cake with #NeverDoneWithFun on social media and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for daily ideas and inspiration for #momlife!
