First of all, I am not a cake-maker! I watched my mom make cakes my whole life, but this is really my first cake! So, although I have observer knowledge, I have little experience. So this IS something YOU can do (if you have supplies)!! And I am very proud of myself. The terms I use are probably not accurate here, but you should know what I’m talking about, I think.
This homemade bulldozer kids birthday cake begins with a 12×18 sheet cake. Cooled then flipped onto, I used, a large cutting board and put in the freezer for 3-4 hours making it easier to cut cleanly. Cut about 2/3rds width-wise, the large piece makes the base. I frosted the base with chocolate frosting for a dirt/mud effect.
*Helpful Hint: make some thinner frosting by separating out certain amounts and adding milk. The thinner frosting is much better for frosting the cut pieces of cake without crumbs of cake coming off all the time!! Also, have a glass of water to dip your spreader into so the frosting doesn’t try to stick to the spreader so much.*
The other 1/3rd is cut into several pieces to comprise the bulldozer. I can’t tell you that I had a method to that part, just started cutting pieces – a larger piece, then I stacked two small pieces on top of that to comprise the cab, another piece (narrower than the bottom piece) for the “engine” part, and two long narrow pieces for the treads.
*Helpful Hint: you’ll want to cut bottoms at angles that allow the pieces to lean in/forward… I had issues with the cab leaning backward and the treads leaning to the outsides. They did stay, but I was worried for a while there! I also inserted straws as dowels for support.*
Once the large base cake is frosted, stack the bulldozer onto the cake leaving room for the blade and whatever else you want on it. I simply used a heap of chocolate frosting for a dirt pile. Again with thinned frosting, I used yellow to cover everything except the tops of the treads. I did a second yellow coat slightly with thicker frosting pretty much just where the cake showed through or it needed to be smoother.
I made a rust color for the treads, grill, etc. Frosted the treads, then used a star tip to make them, well, look like treads! Blue frosting from a larger “pipe” tip for the windows, mine leave a bit to be desired. I used a skinny “pipe” tip to make the grill, vents, wheels, etc… I had a picture I went off of for that stuff. I coated a skinny tootsie roll with frosting to use as an exhaust pipe stack.
I used Oreo Fun Sticks as the hydraulic arms to the blade. The blade is a Hershey Almond bar coated in frosting also, leaned against the Fun Sticks for support (The Fun Sticks are firmly inserted between the body of the bulldozer and the treads). Then I crushed Teddy Grahams and sprinkled them all over; I just kind of flicked them onto the bulldozer so it looked a little dirty and put quite a bit over the treads, on the chocolate-frosting dirt pile and on the cake base.
This homemade bulldozer kids birthday cake was a big hit, my son thought it was great and everyone at the party was impressed by it! This was for my son’s 2 1/2 birthday (his birthday is the day after Christmas!!).
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