Train Cake

It was C's birthday on Sunday. My baby turned 1! My brain was scattered as usual and I didn't put a single thought into what I wanted his cake to be until two days beforehand. In my insanity, I decided I wanted to make a train cake. Wouldn't that be so cute? I scoured the internet and saw some ideas and felt like this was something I could handle. Ha, ha ha...

My dear husband helped me bake the cake Saturday night. I chose to make carrot cake, to be a super good mommy and only feed my precious child the best, healthiest food...please know that I'm feeling extremely sarcastic. I did it for K's first birthday and must have forgotten the choice I made 2 years ago to never do it again, because I made carrot cake. Again!

I made one 9X13 pan and froze it overnight to make it easier to work with.

I cut the cake in half lengthwise, and cut each length into quarters. See the picture below for how I placed each piece:The front of the engine I just sawed off with my bread knife so it was rounded, and cut a small piece of cake into a steam spout (or whatever those are called).
We don't go shopping on Sundays for religious purposes, and when we got home from church, I had a panic attack and realized I didn't buy powdered sugar the night before. I called a friend to see if she had any...no! While I'm flipping out, my dear husband measures out the powdered sugar we did have and started laughing hysterically. I had the exact amount I needed for cream cheese frosting. Don't count your eggs before they hatch!I made the icing and chilled it. Then I started spreading it on the cake. I couldn't help but laugh as the frosting melted down the side.

Anyhow, I put cookies on the side for wheels and M&Ms on the coal car and called it good. I couldn't bear to put any more work into this cake that had already caused my poor brain so much stress.I made my husband promise to never let me make carrot cake again for our children's birthdays. C wouldn't touch anything but the M&M's. Yes, they are a choking hazard but he grabbed a handful before we could stop him and we gave up at that point.