How to Make Tires for Car Cakes

In this post I’ll show you how to make tires for car cakes using easy techniques.

Creating realistic-looking tires for car cakes is a fun and essential part of designing any car-themed cake. Whether you’re making a race car or a classic car, tires add a great finishing touch. In this post, I’ll show you how to make tires and rims for car cakes using modeling chocolate or fondant, plus a few tools and techniques that will ensure your tire designs look professional and detailed.

These tires are perfect for my Red Race Car Cake, but you can scale down the technique depending on the size of your cake. I’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to create realistic-looking tires with a focus on easy, accessible techniques, as well as tips for creating fancier rims with a soccer ball silicone mold.

Ingredients & Tools

black modeling chocolate or fondant, other colours depending on the design
a 9 cm (3.5’’) circle cutter*
fondant blade tool
soccer ball silicone mold that’s 5.5 cm (2.2’’) in diameter – I used the bottom part of this soccer ball ice cube silicone mold (affiliate link)
powdered sugar or cornstarch for dusting the surface
edible glue
brush

*This 9 cm (3.5’’) circle cutter is perfect for making tires for larger car cakes like the Red Race Car Cake, which measured 28 cm x 43 cm (11’’ x 17’’) and was 19 cm (7.5’’) tall. If you’re making a smaller car, you can always use a smaller circle cutter.

Directions

Watch this video or read the instructions below:

Make the Soccer-Themed Rims

Knead your modeling chocolate until it’s nice and pliable. To create the rims, press small balls of modeling chocolate into the soccer ball-shaped silicone mold. Fill only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the mold cavity. Place the mold in the freezer for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. This ensures you can remove the rims from the mold without ruining the design.

How to Make Tires for Car Cakes - To create the rims, press small balls of modeling chocolate into the soccer ball-shaped silicone mold.

Shape the Tires

For the tires, press black modeling chocolate into the 9 cm (3.5’’) wide circle cutter, filling it almost to the top. Use your thumb (or the round end of a small fondant rolling pin) to make an indentation in the middle of the tire. The cavity should match the width of your rims.

Attach the Rims

Gently press the hardened soccer-ball-shaped rims into the center of each tire. You can use a bit of edible glue to attach the rims to the tires to ensure they stick.

Carefully, remove the tire from the circle cutter by applying an even pressure to the back of your tire and pushing it up.

Remove the Tire from the Cutter

Carefully remove the tire from the circle cutter by applying even pressure to the back and gently pushing it up. Once removed, use your hands to soften the edges and round them slightly. When working with modeling chocolate, the warmth of your hands will slightly melt the chocolate, giving it a nice shine. If the chocolate becomes too sticky, dust the tire with a bit of cornstarch using a fluffy brush. Cooler hands also help when working with modeling chocolate.

If you’re using fondant instead of modeling chocolate, dust the inside of the circle cutter with cornstarch, as well as the ball of fondant, before pressing it into the cutter.

Create Tire Marks

Finally, use a fondant blade tool or the back of a knife to create tire marks on the surface of the tire. You can press the fondant blade tool lightly around the tire to make realistic-looking grooves.

Once the tires are ready, place them on your cake. If needed, use edible glue to secure them in place.

Alternative Rim Designs

If you don’t have a soccer-ball-shaped silicone mold, you can create different rim designs. Simply roll out your modeling chocolate or fondant and cut the shapes seen in the pictures. For the round rim outline, roll out thin logs of modeling chocolate or fondant and attach them to the tire using edible glue.

I hope you found this guide helpful! Making tires for your car cakes adds that extra realistic touch, and with these simple steps, you’ll be able to create tires that really stand out. Let me know if you give this a try or if you have any other tips for making cake tires!