Welcome to How To Cook That I am Ann Reardon This week my baby boy turned three, his favourite
thing at the moment is firetrucks. If I was your mum and you could have any cake
you liked what would you choose? firetrucks, firetruck cake, Let me know in
the comments. To make the firetruck cake you need to print
out the template which you can get from the shop on howtocookthat.net, I'll put a link
in the description below the video. Now firstly you need to make the cakes. If you regularly watch How To Cook That then
you'll know I usually bake the cakes in flat trays and then stack them up, your other option
is to bake in a large tin or box like I'm doing here and then cut it into layers. The advantage of doing it this way is you
get neat and perfect layers. The disadvantage is that for a cake this big
to bake it takes a long time and it also tends to get overcooked on the edges and the top
and the bottom. That means you have to cut all that off and
throw it away. So you can choose which way you'd rather bake
it. Use the template for the top view and cut
rectangles of cake. If you used the one big tin method to bake
it like i did then cut off any overcooked parts. Use a cake leveler or knife to cut it into
layers. Stack them up to make the level of the back
of the truck. Then fold your top template on the line and
cut another layer of cake to the right length for that top shorter section. Then make your frosting of your choice, if
you go to the Frostings taste test video you'll see recipes there for 7 different frostings
recipes. Today I am using the French buttercream one. Use your template for the top of the cake
and cut a sturdy piece of cardboard in that shape. Then cover it in foil and tape it into place. Cut some extra rectangles of cardboard and
stack them to the height of under truck so they can support the cake. Tape those together and then stick them firmly
into place on your cake board. Lining it up with where the wheels of the
cake will go so that they will hide those supports. Add some tape and place your cake board on
top of that. Put a thin layer of buttercream onto the cake
board, then add your first layer of cake, then add more frosting, and another layer
of cake. If you are not using the cake the same day
then add some simple syrup to each cake layer because that helps to keep the cake really
moist. And simple syrup is made by heating equal
quantities of sugar and water in the saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and then let
that cool down and then just use a pastry brush to dab some of it onto your cake. Continue to stack your cakes and your frosting
until you get to the height of the back of the truck and then add your smaller piece
to the front. Now what you need to do it put the side template
over your cake and follow the template to shape the cake at the top and the front. If you don't trust yourself to keep the knife
straight in a straight line you can print two templates and put on on each side of the
cake so you can line the knife up with both of them. Now you need to cover the entire cake in a
layer of frosting and smooth it as much as you can and then put that in the fridge for
an hour to firm up. While it is chilling we are going to make
some fondant details. Firstly to make the ladder roll out some white
fondant fairly thickly and cut a straight line using a pizza cutter down one side. Now I've made my own rectangle cookie cutter
here and I show you how to make your own cookie cutter on the twitter dessert video. If you don't want to make a cutter you could
cut these holes out by hand it will just take longer and they wont be quite as even. Once you've cut them then use a ruler and
a pizza cutter to cut down the other side to make it match. And then leave that out to one side to dry. Cut the side panels from the template and
roll out some light grey fondant. Using your template as a guide cut around
each one. If you go to the firetruck cake post on the
website it will detail there how much you need of each colour fondant and it will link
you to the frosting recipes and the cake recipes and everything else that you need. Then use a ruler to indent lines all the way
up each one so they look like a roller door. Take some more fondant and roll a thin snake
and using a little bit of water attach it to the lower edge of the roller door. Then roll a tiny ball of fondant and add one
to each end of the handle. Then repeat that so that you have panels for
both sides of your firetruck so you should have 6 altogether. Now we are going to make the small square
panels, you can cut it out of the template or just guess and make a couple of squares. Next to make the horns for the top of the
cake. Take a ball of light grey and place it on
the bench top and gently roll it between your little fingers applying more pressure in the
middle to make it narrower there. By keeping it on the bench top it helps keep
the base of the horn flat. Make two of those then leave then upright
to dry. roll out some more grey and cut two circles
using a drinking straw, we will add these to the horns when we add it to the cake. Moving on to the dark grey fondant we want
to make the small square and then the rounded rectangle. To do that cut a rectangle and then just trim
a small amount off each corner. Then make the door handle cut a thin rectangle,
then put an indent across it on one side. And a couple more lengthwise. Now for the side mirrors roll a ball and cut
it in half, place it flat on the paper and smooth out the shape then turn it on one side
the way that it will sit on the cake and flatten it to one side. Repeat those so you have two sets, one for
each side of the cake. Then cut some thin strips for the windscreen
wipers, bend them to the right shape, cut them to the right length and leave them there
to dry out. If you will be short on time when you are
making the cake then you can make all of these fondant details up to a month before hand,
leave them flat on baking paper on a tray somewhere that they won't get bumped. And once they have dried out you can put them
in an airtight container. For the small bit at the front roll a little
snake and then cut it in half. Now to make the hose attachments at the back
of the cake cut three circles out of dark grey using a straw. Then using a small round piping tip indent
on each one with little circle. Now cut two small rectangles the size shown
for the back corner of the cake. Now cut another rectangle in the size of the
panels on the back of the cake. Take the cake out of the fridge and roll out
some red fondant and work quickly lift it over the cake and then lift and smooth the
fondant on each side. At the corners of the firetruck you can either
lift and smooth your fondant around the corner. Or for an easier option you can bring the
fondant out at the corner and squeeze it together to form a join and cut off the excess with
scissors. Take a ball of fondant and gently rub it over
the cake to smooth out any lumps and bumps. Using a knife trim off the excess fondant
from along the base of your cake. Roll out some white fondant and cut out the
front windscreen and put that into place. Cut a white strip for along the front, using
a small amount of water attach it to the cake and then use a ruler to straighten it up once
it's one the cake. Cut some light grey head lights and stick
those on top. Cut a strip of white fondant and then cut
some thinner strips of red, and lay the red across the white to make stripes. Trim off the excess red. Cut another rectangle of red in the size shown
for the front of the cake and then make some indents down the front. Add that to the front of the cake and add
your stripy piece just below it on top of the white strip there. Just above the stripes add your two dark grey
bits that you made earlier. Add the windscreen wipers, using a little
bit of water to stick them on. Next cut a thin strip of yellow and place
it across the front of the cake, trim it to the right length and then use a knife or a
ruler again to straighten it up. Roll out some blue and using your straw to
cut out circles and place them on for the head lights. Take some more blue and roll two cylinders
applying more pressure at one end to make them thinner at the top. Place them on top of the cake. Roll a thin snake of red and wrap that around
the base of each light. Now to make our door, cut the shape out of
red then flip the template over and cut another one. Cut out the window shape out and cut it out
of white fondant and place it on the door. You can then add the door handles and the
side mirrors that we made. Cut a circle out of blue, I am using a piping
tip to do this and add it to the door. Then roll a tiny ball of yellow and place
it on the door. Using the tip of your knife indent and drag
it out to make it look more like a diamond or star shape. Add the horns to the top of the cake and add
the little circles that we made just behind them. Carefully place the door onto the side of
the firetruck. Then using a little water to make it stick
add the side panels into place and grey squares into place. Add a yellow circle into the centre of the
dark grey square. Now on the back of the truck add the two dark
grey rectangles that we made. Then cut a rectangle from red and add the
firehose attachments, then place that on the back of the truck. Roll out some thin yellow snakes and cut them
to the size shown on the template. Roll out some blue and cut out the shield
shape and place the sheild over the yellow. Take a small ball of yellow, place it in the
middle and indent it just like we did for the side doors. Add the shield to the side of the cake And
then make another one for the other side. Then add your two grey rectangles to the back
off the cake and add two yellow snakes to one and a grey snake on the other. Just like we did for the front of the cake
roll out a strip of yellow fondant and criss cross that with red. Then trim off the excess red and wrap it around
the back of the truck, then use your knife to make it straight. To make the wheels roll out a strip of black
fondant and use a fork to indent it all the way along. Flip it over then take a mini oreo and roll
it up. Trim it off when you get all the way around
and gently press the fondant around the edges of the oreo. Using a piping tip cut a circle of red and
place that into the centre of each wheel. Next roll out some white and cut circles,
then cut semi circles from the edges and place them onto the red of the wheels. Repeat that so that you have 6 wheels. Add those to the side of the truck. If you want toto before you add the wheels
you can put some black fondant on the cake platter to make it look like a road like I've
done here. Cut a thin strip of dark grey and place it
over the wheels bending it down at the front and the back. To make the fire hose you can roll a snake
by hand but if you want it really smooth and even a fondant extruder makes the job quicker
and easier, place the fondant in the tube and twist the end. To make the end of our firehose roll out a
cylinder and make it thiner at one end then using a knife make indents around it and trim
it to the right length. Using a dry paintbrush brush it with gold
luster dust. Now I've added a couple of dark grey strips
to the top of the cake and to the sides of the road, you can do that too if you want
to. Then coloured the leftover frosting green
and smeared it over the cake platter for grass. To give the grass like look of not looking
like smeared frosting but looking more like grass just get a fork and put that through
the frosting pulling it up until you are happy with it. Add the hose attaching it to the back of the
firetruck. Then add the gold nozzle to the end. Roll some teardrop shapes in blue and add
them to the end of the hose. Get your fireman to check the cake is OK. Then you can store it in the fridge until
you need it. Just before serving to the table you can add
the ladder and if you want you can add a fireman Sam toy to the front as well. Then it's Party time... If you found this tutorial helpful make sure
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chocolate and desserts and put your requests in the description below. Have a great week and I'll see you on Friday [music: Gypsy Dance YouTube audio library]