How to make a basketball cake

Needed:
Your favorite cake mix or cake recipe
A round shaped bowl for baking (oven proof)
Vanilla frosting
Orange food color (red & yellow mixed together works well too)
Melted chocolate
A zip-lock bag or a piping bag with a round tip
A spatula
A meat mallet or toothpick
Wax or parchment paper






Directions:

Prepare cake batter according to the recipe/directions but bake in a round oven proof bowl. I used two stainless steel bowls. A big one and one quite smaller for the top to be rounder. My bowl was quite flat. You can also use a ball mold. I highly recommend greasing and flouring your bowl. Your cake will take longer to bake as the 3 dimensional cake is thicker. Normally it will run about 15-20 over the suggested time. Keep an eye on the cake and test every 5 minutes to ensure you don't burn or over bake your cake. Once the cake is done, let cool for about 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cake cools, mix the vanilla frosting with your orange food coloring. After the cake cools completely (very important), transfer to your desired serving plate (you will risk ruining the decorations if you move afterward). Line your plate with wax paper pieces on the sides so you can pull out the papers for a clean look once done.  Frost the outside using your spatula making sure the frosting is smooth. Use the mallet to make small indentations to the surface to mimic that of a basketball. If you don't have a mallet (like me) you can use a toothpick. It works okay- but a mallet is perfect for it. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or double broiler and poor into the zip lock bag or your piping bag with a round tip. If using a zip lock bag, cut a small hole at the tip of one of the sides of the bag. Bag a straight line of chocolate vertically and then horizontally. It will look like a cross. Then pipe two semi circles on the top and bottom of the cake. Use the picture posted as a guide. You now have a basketball cake. Hope you enjoy your cake!


** this was the first time I made a "shaped" cake. It was a lot of fun. Something I will definitely do in the future. **