Christopher Montebello Thomas & Friends.s' 70th Birthday Cake Interview

Christopher Montebello Thomas & Friends™s' 70th Birthday Cake Interview

Thomas is celebrating his 70th birthday in a big way at Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station. Australian icon and long-time friend, Bert Newton, will lead the celebrations dressed as The Fat Controller and unveil an incredible life-sized Thomas replica cake!

Thomas & Friends™ has been a much loved character for generations of Australian boys and girls. To honour 70 years of friendship, Bert will be joined by adoring Thomas & Friends™ fans, as well as wife Patti and grandchildren, to celebrate Thomas' milestone birthday in a never seen before way.

The spectacular, bespoke Thomas cake unveiled by Bert measures over 3 metres long by 1.5 metres high. It is created by Christopher Montebello, founder of Melbourne bakery Let Them Eat Cake, who will also join the birthday party.

Interview with Christopher Montebello, Let Them Eat Cake

Question: What can you tell us about the Thomas the Tank Engine 70th birthday cake?

Christopher Montebello: Creating Thomas's 70th birthday cake was a fabulous experience. Thomas is a much loved character amongst Australian children, so bringing to life his personality was really special.


Question: Is this the biggest cake you've ever had to make?

Christopher Montebello: In my 32 years as a pastry chef this is definitely the biggest cake I have ever made! In fact, I think this is the biggest cake I have ever seen made in Melbourne.


Question: What is the ingredient list like, for a cake this size?

Christopher Montebello: The ingredients are all the same as a normal cake, just on a much bigger scale! The Thomas cake is made according to one of my most popular chocolate cake recipes using dark chocolate, cocoa powder and a small amount of ground coffee and vanilla extract.


Question: How many people, would a cake this size, feed?

Christopher Montebello: I've estimated this cake can feed around 10,000 people!


Question: Can you talk us through how you go about making and baking a cake of this size?

Christopher Montebello: Well the first thing I did when making a cake of this size and shape was the consult an architect. Building a cake of this size is no different to building a house – you need strong structural foundations. I started from the base, and worked my way up from there.


Question: When did the process to design and make this cake, begin?

Christopher Montebello: The process to design and make the cake took several weeks, and required a lot of thought and consideration. Each portion of the train has its own identity of sorts, and it all had to be done in sections. I started with the wheels – the most important part of any train – and then made everything to scale based on them.


Question: How difficult is a cake, of this size?

Christopher Montebello: Extremely difficult! Probably the most challenging part was the icing, and ensuring it was rolled out properly and that everything was in proportion. We lay all the icing by hand which is very time consuming, but no machine can do it the way a human hand can. Getting Thomas right was very important!


Question: Can you share with us a recipe, to make a Thomas cake, at home?

Christopher Montebello:

How To Make A Thomas Cake At Home

Serves 25-40 people

Ingredients

450g Butter
250g Dark Chocolate
400g Caster Sugar
450ml Hot Water
¾ tsp Coffee
400g Plain Flour
3tsp Baking Powder
400g Caster Sugar
35g Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs
75ml vanilla extract

Method

Melt butter, chocolate, caster sugar, hot water and coffee in a large bowl over boiling water
Sift dry ingredients together
Add the dry ingredients to the wet base
Whisk the eggs and vanilla extract into the chocolate base and pour into a 12 inch square tray Bake at 170 degrees Celsius

To shape into Thomas
Cut base in half to create two 6 x 12 inch rectangles
Using one rectangle, cut again to create two 6 x 6 inch squares
Using one 6 x 6 inch square cut a 4 inch circle
Layer square and circle on top of remaining 6 x 12 inch rectangle
Decorate face using icing or preferred toppings


Question: How was it making a cake, for Janet (of The Real Housewives of Melbourne), at such short notice?

Christopher Montebello: I really enjoyed working with the housewives. I hadn't seen the show before, so it was a very novel experience for me.


Interview by Brooke Hunter