Colorful Critter Train

WHEN Crafting Traditions kitchen staffers saw Tannye Johnson’s fun birthday outfits on the previous pages, they got busy engineering a critter train cake you can couple with those costumes! You won’t need to track down exotic ingredients to make it either—all it calls for are store-bought cookies, candies and cake mix. You even use purchased pre-made frosting to put the train together. So i

0 ServingsPrep: 1-1/2 hours Bake: 35 min. + cooling

Ingredients

Materials needed:
Pattern
Cutting board
Ruler
Finely serrated thin-blade knife
Pastry bag
Decorator tips—ribbon, round, small and large stars (Wilton ribbon tip #5 and star tips #18 and 23)
10- x 5-inch jelly roll pan
Dish towels
Waxed paper
14- x 19-inch board or heavy cardboard, covered with freezer paper or plastic table covering
Groceries needed:
One 1-pound box of graham crackers
10 pretzel sticks (3 inches long)
6 sugar wafers
5 chocolate/vanilla sandwich cookies (one 2-1/8 inches across and the rest 1-5/8 inches across)
4 shortbread cookies (1-3/4 inches)
2 chocolate-covered mint cookies (1-3/4 inches)
1 animal cracker
2 rolls of Wild Cherry Life Savers
1 roll of Assorted Life Savers

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Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Ingredients (continued)

Red Hots or Wilton Cinnamon Sprinkle Decorations
Small package of M&M Candies
Red shoestring licorice or Twizzlers Pull-N-Peel Licorice
Red gumdrop
3 candy clown or clown head icing decorations (optional)
WILTON ROYAL ICING::
3 tablepoons Wilton Meringue Powder
4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons warm water
CAKE::
1 package cake mix of your choice (regular size)
Canned white and chocolate frosting
Green food coloring

Directions

Directions: Read all directions before beginning work. A clear day
with low humidity will give you the best results with Royal Icing.
Assemble and decorate the critter train. This can
be done a week in advance and stored in an airtight container. Do
make sure to have extra icing on hand the day of the party for any
necessary last-minute repairs.
CUTTING CRACKERS/COOKIES: Use a clean ruler and knife to score
straight cutting lines onto graham crackers and cookies. Cut
along straight lines with the knife, working with one cookie or
cracker at a time. Place cookie or cracker always on crumb-free
cutting board, cleaning the board often. Draw the knife toward you
on the scored line without applying pressure. Continue to make
similar strokes toward you until the cut is completed (five or more
strokes).
To cut curved lines, guide the knife along the lines to make the
first stroke. Then cut in the established groove until cut is
complete. Or gently carve away the cracker to the marked line.
ICING: Make icing with recipe that follows, using it to “glue” the
train pieces together and decorate them. Making sure that bowl and
utensils are grease-free, beat all ingredients until icing forms
peaks (7-10 minutes with heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes with hand
mixer). Keep in an airtight covered bowl. Cover bowl and
pastry bags with damp dish towels. *For stiffer icing, use 1
tablespoon less water.
ASSEMBLY: For each car, refer to appropriate diagrams and individual
directions. To “glue” pieces together, fill a round-tipped pastry

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Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)

tube with icing and add lines of icing to edges of pieces being
added or as directed.
Cut graham cracker base piece(s) and sugar wafer axles for each car
as directed, then glue sugar wafer axles on edge about 1/2 inch from
each short edge.
Decorating:. As assembly of each car is completed, decorate cars with
icing stars (using smaller star tip to make stars), or cover areas
with dots, stars or rows of icing, then press in rows of Red Hots,
Cinnamon Sprinkle Decorations or M&M’s as shown. If desired, add
candy clowns or clown heads to back of engine cab and front and back
of caboose.
ENGINE (Fig. 1): Base: Cut two 2- x 4-inch graham crackers. Glue
these together for a two-layered base. Glue on a 1-1/2-inch wafer
axle (front) and a 2-inch wafer axle (back).
Cab: Glue four shortbread cookies on edge for sides and add a
2-1/2-inch-square graham cracker roof.
Wheels: Glue a LifeSaver wheel to each end of the front axle. Glue
chocolate-covered cookies to the back axle, making sure that the
engine sits evenly. Add a LifeSaver to the center of each cookie
wheel. For each side, cut a 3-inch piece of licorice and glue from
center of front wheel to center of back wheel.
Front: Glue four 1-5/8-inch sandwich cookies on edge in front of cab.
For “cow-catcher”, cut and use one half of one 2-1/8-inch sandwich
cookie, gluing at an angle to front of graham
cracker base. Form a smokestack by gluing together four LifeSavers,
alternating colors. Glue to top front of engine front. Decorate as
directed above.
CAGE CAR (Figs. 2 a-c): Base/top: Cut two 2- x 2-1/2-inch graham
crackers. Glue two 1-1/2-inch wafer axles onto one 2- x 2-1/2-inch
piece. Add LifeSaver wheels to ends of both
axles.
Cage: Cut four 1/2- x 2-1/2-inch graham cracker sides and four 1/2- x
1-3/4-inch graham cracker ends. Glue ends of two pretzel
sticks (centered 1/2 inch apart) between each set of sides (Fig.),
and glue ends of one pretzel stick centered between each set of ends
(Fig. 2b). Let icing set thoroughly, about 20 minutes. Add glue to
lower and side edges of a cage side and an end and press in place to
base with pretzel “bars” to inside. (Side will be along 2-1/2-inch
edge of base and end along 2-inch edge.) Quickly press a pretzel
into the corner of the cage just formed. Glue an animal

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Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)

cracker to base inside cage. Glue in remaining side and end of the
cage, adding a pretzel to all four corners.
Top: Use template to cut two cage car top sides and two cage car top
ends as follows: Trace the templates for the pieces onto
freezer paper and cut templates out. Place templates on end of
crackers and score with knife. Cut out pieces. Add glue along top
edge of side and end cage pieces and press remaining 2- x 2-1/2-
inch graham cracker top piece into place. Let
icing set.
Add glue along bottom and side edges of cage car top sides and ends.
Set ends in place between sides on edges of top piece.
Decorate as directed above.
CABOOSE (Fig. 3): Base/top: Repeat as directed for Cage Car. Let
icing set.
Lower box: Add two 1-1/4- x 2-inch graham cracker pieces for sides
and two 1-1/4- graham cracker pieces for lower
ends. Add remaining 2- x 2-1/2-inch graham cracker for top.
Upper box: Glue edges of two 3/4- x 1-3/4-inch graham cracker pieces
for upper sides to edges of two 3/4- x 1-1/8-inch graham cracker
pieces for upper ends. On top, glue a 1-1/4- x 2-inch graham cracker
piece. Glue assembled upper box centered on top of lower box.
Decorate as directed above.
b>CAKE: Prepare cake mix as directed on package. Grease and flour
bottom and sides of jelly roll pan and line the bottom neatly with
waxed paper to aid in removal from pan. Bake according to package
directions. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto
cooling rack. Let cool completely. Place cake in the middle of
covered board or cardboard.
FROSTING: Cut a piece of freezer paper the same size as the jelly
roll pan bottom. Draw a train track onto the shiny side of the
freezer paper as shown in Fig. 4a. Cut out the freezer-paper track
as a template and position
on cooled cake.
Reserving 1/2 cup of canned vanilla frosting, tint the remaining
vanilla frosting with green food coloring. Frost cake up to the
edges of the template. (Don’t worry if you frost the edges of the
template, this will be removed when the template is lifted.)
Mix 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting with 1/4 cup of chocolate frosting.

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Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)

Lift the template; and frost train track with mixture.
Use ribbon tip and chocolate frosting to form railroad ties (Fig.
4b), spacing them about 1-1/4 inches apart on train track. Use round
tip to add the rails (spaced about 1-3/4 inches apart) and “Happy
Birthday”.
Decorate edges of cake if desired with green-tinted frosting and
larger star tip. Yield: 1 Train Cake.

Note: You may substitute different types and sizes of cookies and candies if you wish. Shopping information: Wilton decorator tips and meringue powder are available from Wilton Enterprises, 2240 W. 75th St., Woodridge IL 60517; 1708/963-7100. Finished size: Cake is 10 x 15 inches.

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Colorful Critter Train

Ingredients

Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Ingredients (continued)

Directions

Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)

Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)

Colorful Critter Train (continued)

Directions (continued)