1st Birthday Baseball Cake – baseball is done in buttercream on a fondant, hand-painted baseball field.
Check out this fabulous baseball wedding cake on Shelly’s blog – click here
1st Birthday Baseball Cake – baseball is done in buttercream on a fondant, hand-painted baseball field.
Check out this fabulous baseball wedding cake on Shelly’s blog – click here
21 Replies to "Baseball Cake"
Kevin April 2, 2009 (7:33 pm)
You’re probably a professional and don’t want to share your secrets, but how did you cover that ball in fondant?! It looks amazing!
2bluedogs April 4, 2009 (7:07 pm)
Thanks Kevin!
I’m not a professional – to this point I’ve just been doing cakes for friends and family. The baseball isn’t fondant, it’s buttercream. I didn’t even attempt fondant because it was for a 1st birthday and it’s always more fun for kids to get icing all over. To make it smooth, I let the buttercream crust, then used a few viva paper towels and my smoother tool (typically used for fondant) to create the smooth ball.
The base is fondant. I cut out the bases in 1/4″ thick fondant – secured them to the board, then laid another layer of fondant over the bases and then hand painted the in-field.
Hope that helps! Tina
Lacy Autenrieb June 13, 2009 (8:55 am)
Did you use gel color to paint it or like airbrush color? It looks awesome..you did a great job! I’m going to attempt one like it this weekend.
2bluedogs June 14, 2009 (6:41 pm)
Hi Lacy, I mixed gel color with vodka and handpainted the field and the name. The laces where red gel (pre-made sparkle gel). Thanks! Hope your cake goes well! Send me a pic!!
Lacy Autenrieb June 16, 2009 (2:59 pm)
Thank you! I would have never thought of vodka! I’m starting it tonight. Wish me luck!
2bluedogs June 17, 2009 (10:31 am)
Vodka works really well. I’ve used lemon extract before since it was for a kids cake, but it didn’t dry very well and as far as I know all the alcohol evaporates. One time in a pinch, I tried using tequila… ha. I don’t recommend it.
2bluedogs June 17, 2009 (10:41 am)
I’d love to see it! here’s my email if you’d like to send a pic: ptfagan@gmail.com
Gretche June 19, 2009 (8:33 pm)
Just wanted to say I love this cake. I found it searching google images for a birthday cake for my son’s first birthday. It’s so hard to choose a favorite and I am going to try a variation of this one one using fondant covered cake for the base. Not sure how to do his name though, it’s Owen so maybe will connect the underline to the ‘n’.
What did you do for the silver for the name?
Thanks!
2bluedogs June 21, 2009 (12:37 pm)
Thanks Gretche! I used a baseball-type font on my computer then modified it slightly with a pen, then laid it out over fondant, cut it out with an exacto knife, then I laid the cut-out name on the round cake pan with a towel & parchment over it (the towel to increase the arch – to allow for the thickness of the icing & the parchment, of course so it doesn’t stick to the towel) Once it was dried, I either used a touch of black or dusty blue with vodka to get the gray or mixed silver luster dust with vodka – I can’t remember which one actually worked best – keep an extra piece of fondant to test on before actually painting it. I finished the name when dry with some silver luster dust to add the final shine. You could start the “O” on the right bottom – with the line of the “O” going counter-clockwise then extend the “tail of the O” under all the letter to connect them. Hope that made sense! Good luck!!
Trish May 12, 2010 (8:28 am)
I love this cake! Did you use a support for the ball? I’m afraid that my ball is going to roll off my board. How did you get it to stay on the board.
2bluedogs May 12, 2010 (11:08 am)
Hi Trish, Thank you!! I cut off a little bit of the bottom of the ball to give it a flat surface to sit on and put a little buttercream “glue” down before I put the cake on the board. Once I got it all done it was surprisingly stable. This cake had to travel about 5 hours away so before we left, I used round lollipop sticks to stabilize it on 4 sides so the first time we stepped on the brakes it didn’t go rolling away. If you don’t have to take it anywhere, cutting off a little cake from the bottom should work just fine as long as you can keep it on flat surface. Good luck!
Paper Perfect » Take Me Out to the Ballgame! July 7, 2010 (8:30 am)
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Ally June 24, 2011 (10:49 am)
What did you use for the base of the cake? And what size did you use? I mean the board that
you covered in fondant. I’m planning on making this cake for my brother’s end of the season baseball team party on Sunday.
2bluedogs June 24, 2011 (11:31 am)
Hi Ally, I tried to find the board but not sure where it’s at so I would have to guess that the board is about 12″ x 12″ because the baseball cake was about 7″ in diameter. My dear hubby cut it for me, sanded the edges then I drew out the bases in pencil, cut the bases out of fondant (to make them stand up higher than the rest of the field) and used a fondant/water mix to “glue” them to the board. Then I rolled out the top layer of fondat, spritzed the board with water, then laid the top layer of fondant over the cut-out bases. pressed it down, cut off the excess, then hand painted it. Hope that helps! Tina
jackie noda July 4, 2011 (4:41 pm)
what did you make the baseball out of. im planning to make this cake for my boyfriends birthday
2bluedogs July 4, 2011 (8:03 pm)
Hi Jackie, I baked the cake in a sports ball pan from Wilton. You could carve it out of a larger cake but there is much less waste with the ball pan. The pan takes a 2 layer cake mix if using a mix. Link: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30ABD4-475A-BAC0-5B381DA1BA82E3D3&killnav=1 Good luck! Hope that answers your question. 🙂 Tina
Alexa July 13, 2012 (12:19 pm)
How did you smooth the ball with the towels? I understand it was hardened a little, but were the towels wet? did they stick at all? the buttercream didn’t come off? did you use pressure on the smoother over the towel? I’m sorry for the bondbardment of questions, but I would LOVE to be able to use that technique! I can’t picture it! what kind of fondant smoother? thnks and beautiful work!
2bluedogs July 13, 2012 (4:22 pm)
Hi Alexa! No problem at all and thanks for the comments!
First things first… Here’s the fondant smoother I’ve always used:
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=1907-1200
Buttercream will “crust” when it’s had a chance to set for a bit. It’s not a really hard crust… just a non-sticky thin crust on top of the buttercream that allows you to touch it lightly without any buttercream coming off. A lot of times when I use a Viva paper towel (always dry) to smooth buttercream with I will have to take a few attempts at it otherwise you may go beyond the dry thin crust and into the wet icing. I will work with it, let it set or put in fridge… then go back again after it’s chilled or set for awhile (depending on the heat in the room) If it’s winter for example, I can probably just leave it out, but if it’s warm at all – in the fridge it goes!
So, the process of smoothing with the dry paper towel and the fondant smoother is pretty easy. Lay the clean dry Viva paper towel (why viva? because it’s super smooth) over the area you want to smooth, then lightly go over the top of the towel with the smoother. Work a small section to get the feel for it and if your paper towel gets wet icing on it – get a new one. If your towel is getting wet, it could be a few things: the buttercream hasn’t crusted enough, you’re getting too aggressive with the fondant smoother, it’s too hot in the room for the buttercream, or your cake needs to be chilled in the fridge.
I did a quick search on youtube so if you’re a visual learner like I am this should help too. Things I do differently is always using viva because I don’t want that paper towel texture and I use the fondant smoother because your hands can heat up the icing.
Let me know if any of that didn’t make any sense! Have fun! Tina
Jenn July 25, 2013 (11:49 am)
Hi there!! I just ran across this cake and wanted to let you know how wonderful I think it looks!! I am thinking of making one for my husband’s birthday next week (Friday). I haven’t committed to doing it yet because we also have a very busy 18-month-old daughter. Do you remember how long it took you to make it? I have never attempted anything like this before. I have only made boring box cakes with the normal two layers and icing in between. Thank you for your time!
2bluedogs July 26, 2013 (10:01 am)
Hi Jenn, Thanks for the comment!! Because of the size of the cake (small) I would say YES! go for it! Baking it – easy peasy. You can continue to refrigerate as you go (very handy with little ones) The most time consuming part for me was getting the baseball really smooth. I wish I could tell you how long that took, but I just don’t know for sure. I would give myself 2 days to make one if busy – cook, construct and a. t least crumb coat (thin layer of icing all over) then refrigerate overnight so it’s all ready to finish icing and smoothing the next day. The name on it could really be optional or print the name out on thicker paper – cut that out – and the put it on the cake before the party so the paper doesn’t absorb any or too much butter from the buttercream. Hope that helps!!!
Jenn July 30, 2013 (6:58 am)
Hi Tina!!
Thank you so much for replying!! I have a few (a lot?) more questions though. I hope you don’t mind! I originally replied to the email address you listed in this blog, but I figured this way might be better.
1) Did you make your cake from scratch or did you use a box cake? I like a more dense cake, so I will probably use a box cake and just add a box of instant vanilla pudding. Just wondering if it might topple or something.
2) Did you make your buttercream icing from scratch? I have never made icing, but it can’t be that hard, right? eek….
3) Same as #2 but replace buttercream with fondant. Lol.
4) How did you make the seams on the baseball? I mean they are practically perfect!
5) Do you have a special program on your computer that has the baseball font? I only have Word on my computer, but I guess I could do an internet search for that type of font. Not sure how it will turn out because my husband’s name is Fred.
6) How long should I let the fondant base dry before adding the baseball cake?
7) How long should I let the fondant name dry before adding it to the baseball cake?
8) How do I make the name stick to the baseball cake? Buttercream?
Here is my plan. On Day 1, I am going to bake the cake and then refrigerate it before I even begin icing it. My friend says that it’s easier that way because the cake will be harder and there will be a lot less crumbs. I’m not sure how long I should leave it in the fridge though (should I leave them in the pans?). Then I will put the icing in the middle to keep the two layers together, cut off a little bit of the bottom to get a flat surface and then do a crumb coat. I think I might try to store it in a cake box overnight.
Then on Day 2, I will make the base and paint it (or should I do this on Day 1?). Then I will add the baseball cake to the base and finish icing. Then I will do the seams and add the name.
I have no clue how I am going to get this done. My husband wants me to surprise him. He knows that I’m making (attempting to make?) a cake, he just doesn’t know what kind. I pretty much have zero time to work on this on his actual birthday. That’s my dilemma. I guess I can work on it after everyone has gone to bed the night before. I will just have a not-so-good workout in the morning because I won’t have gotten very much, if any, sleep. But I am willing to do that if necessary. Sorry this is so long!! Thank you so much for all of your help!!!!