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Cars Birthday Cake

Easy Cars Birthday Cake Recipe

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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 480
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • Red gel food coloring
  • Black gel food coloring
  • 8 chocolate sandwich cookies

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C), grease a 9x13-inch pan, line with parchment. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
  2. Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well until thick. Divide into ¾ cup for black and the rest for red. Tint each with gel coloring.
  3. Cut a 2-inch strip from one long side of the cake, cut it in half for the spoiler. Carve a diagonal windshield on one short end and notch the opposite corners for the front bumper. Stack the strip halves on the back with frosting to form a spoiler.
  4. Crumb coat the whole car in red frosting and chill 20 minutes. Frost with remaining red frosting, smoothing the top and sides.
  5. Pipe black windows, windshield, and a mouth onto the hood. Press 4 chocolate cookies onto each side for wheels, securing with a dab of black frosting. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

Chill the cake for an hour before carving for the cleanest cuts. If the frosting softens while you work, pop the cake back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature before eating for the best texture.