Email to Marla Hudgins      

ROD RECIPES 12/2/2006 Play Basketball Day Basketball Cake

Source of Recipe

Marla


Recipe Introduction

James Naismith, working as a physical ed teacher at the YMCA, wanted to create a game that could be played indoors during winter months. He nailed up two peach baskets at opposite ends of the gym and gave the students a soccer ball - thus the game of basketball was invented in 1891.

Recipe Link: www.nickjr.com/recipe/assets/basketball_cake/main.jpg

List of Ingredients

ROD RECIPES 12/2/2006 Play Basketball Day Basketball Cake





4 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
4 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk (plus 6-8 tbsp. for frosting)
3 sticks butter
6 cups confectioners’ sugar (sifted)
1 tube red decorating icing
1 package plastic icing tips for decorating
1 vial each of yellow and red food coloring




Recipe

Step 1
First, let’s make the simple yellow-cake recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10- by 2-inch baking pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and set aside.

Step 2
Beat together the unsalted butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Then add 2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Add half the flour mixture and mix at low speed until just blended. Next, add 1 1/2 cups of milk, mixing until well combined.
Step 3
Divide the batter into the prepared pans, making sure the surface is smooth.

Step 4
Bake about 35 to 40 minutes in the middle of the oven until the cake is springy to the touch and a tester (a toothpick or a fork) comes out clean. Let cake cool.

Step 5
Now let’s make the frosting. Beat the 3 sticks of regular butter with an electric or handheld mixer until soft. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Then gradually add the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time.

Step 6
Add the 6 to 8 tablespoons of milk and beat until light and fluffy. If the frosting seems too thick, add more milk until it becomes spreadable.

Step 7
Make the frosting orange by mixing about ten drops of yellow and four drops of red food coloring into the mixture.

Step 8
Now let’s decorate the cake. Place one of the cake layers upside down on a cake plate and spread a generous layer of frosting on it.

Step 9
Place the second layer of the cake right-side up on top of the frosted layer. Then frost the top and the sides of the cake with a straight-edge spatula, for a smooth finish.

Step 10
Attach a straight writing tip to the black or chocolate icing tube. Making sure you apply steady pressure to the tube, draw a semicircle on the top and bottom thirds of the cake (see illustration above). Next, draw a vertical line from the top to bottom, making the line slightly curved. Then, add one more line across the middle. (For all examples, see illustration above).

Step 11
Outline the perimeter of the cake with icing.

Step 12
Attach the star tip to icing tube and draw a border around the base of the cake. To do this, hold the tube at a 45-degree angle. Squeeze hard, letting the icing fan out a bit. Gradually relax the pressure and pull the icing tube away, making a small tail. Repeat all the way around the base of the cake.