How to Shape a Police Car Out of Cupcakes

Pull-apart cakes can be made by placing shaped and decorated rolled fondant on top of a cupcake base. Party guests can serve themselves by pulling individual cupcakes from the design. Such cakes can be less messy, especially at children's parties. Making a police car out of cupcakes involves arranging cupcakes in the shape of a police car on a covered board and adding rolled fondant, icing and candy on top of the cupcakes to create police car details. A small knife can be used to score the fondant topping to make "pulling" cupcakes easier. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Building the Base

Measure a wooden board and cover it with foil. Pull-apart cakes can be heavy, so a sturdy, wooden cutting board provides the best support for the cake.

Copy a coloring book picture of a police car. Coloring books offer simple designs that are easy to decorate. Look for a side view of a police car. Use a copy machine to enlarge the picture until it fits the board. Make two copies for the cake: one to use as the police car pattern on the cutting board and the other as a guide to cut out the fondant.

Cut out one copy of the police car. Lay it on the foil and trace around the outside with the pencil.

Fill in the police car outline with cupcakes. Place a dab of frosting on the bottom of each cupcake. The frosting acts as glue to hold the cupcake to the base. Place the cupcakes as close together as possible.

Frost the cupcakes with a basic white frosting. Use plenty of frosting to hold the cake together.

Decorating the Cake Top

Cut the second copy of the car into four pieces: front, back, side and top.

Cut the police car shapes out of pre-rolled, white fondant sheets with a knife or pizza cutter. Lay the front, back and top sections of the police car on top of the fondant sheets and cut. Fondant, a mixture of almond paste, gum paste and sugar, can be made from scratch or purchased at craft stores.

Cut out the side section of the car from a sheet of black, pre-rolled fondant.

Mix a small amount of blue and black food coloring with the leftover white frosting. Mixing blue and black food coloring with white frosting makes a gray-colored frosting. Spread the gray frosting on the top part of the police car as smooth as possible. The gray frosting makes the section resemble police car windows.

Lay the shaped, rolled fondant pieces on top of the cupcake base as close together as possible. Start with the top piece, and lay it over the top portion of the cake. Lay the black center portion of the car beneath the top piece. Place the front and rear portions of car last.

Mix black food coloring with frosting and fill a pastry bag. Use a star tip and pipe tires onto the fondant cake top.

Cut the blue flashing lights out of fruit leather. Use a paper cut out of a police car light as a pattern, and place the light shapes on top of the car. Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot, common fruit leather brands, can be used to make the shapes.

Fill a pastry bag with white frosting and use a #1 piping tip to add details to the cake top. Do the same with a pastry bag filled with black frosting.