School Bus Cake

Hi Friends!

My kids started back to school this week, and I know many of you have kids that have already started or are getting ready to go back. Ever since my oldest baby -- yep, they're still my babies -- started kindergarten, we've made it a tradition to have a small family party the weekend before school starts. I used to buy a small pound cake and decorate it to look like a school bus, but as our family has grown, the pound cake isn't big enough anymore!

So, last weekend, we decided to make our own school bus cake, and I let the kids take over and do all of the decorating!

cake in shape of a school bus with candy, oreo cookies and teddy grahams

We used cake mix and baked the cake in a 9 X 13 pan. When it was cool, I flipped it over onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and cut a little piece of cake off to make the shape of a bus. I probably could have cut more off around the wheels, but the kids would have been tempted to eat the leftover cake, and I didn't want it to spoil their dinner!

For the frosting, I mixed a tub of Cool Whip with a can of white frosting and added some yellow food coloring. This gives the frosting a lighter texture and makes it easier to spread. We used plain white frosting for the glass windows.

The window frames are made from blue Twizzlers, the kids are Teddy Grahams, the wheels and headlights are Oreos, and the stop sign and accents are Skittles. Isn't it cute?!

yellow school bus cake with skittles, twizzlers, oreo cookies and teddy grahams for back to school

Technically, the kids should be sitting down, but my kids didn't want to break the Teddy Grahams or push them into the cake.

And, what happened to the corner of the cake? One of the teens decided to make transporation for those who drive to school -- a pink Jeep! Wishful thinking on her part! The picture is fuzzy, but I had to show it off.