Coolest Ball Cap Cake and Baseball Cupcakes

FOR THE CAKE… I used the Betty Crocker Dome Pan to make the main part of the hat, and carved a small sheet cake to make the brim.

First, I sliced the dome into 2 layers and filled it with buttercream. Next, I stacked it on top of one end of the sheet cake (with buttercream in-between). Then, using a serated bread knife, I trimmed the excess sheet cake from around the dome, and carved out the bill. I “dirty” iced the whole thing, and covered it in red fondant*. (I covered the bill first and then the dome, but in hindsight, I think I could have done it all in one piece.) I used a pastry cutter to score the stiching lines into the dome, and made a flattened ball from red fondant for the button on top. Next, using stencils printed from my computer, I cut out the St. Louis Cardinals logo from white fondant and attached it to the hat with a bit of water. Finally, I steamed the entire cake to “erase” the corn starch.

FOR THE CUPCAKES… I simply iced regular cupcakes with white buttercream, smoothing them with a spatula. Then using the edge of a spoon, I lightly marked the curved lines of the stitching. With a #3 tip, and red buttercream, I piped “v”s along the spoon marks for the stitches.

*NOTE: I purchased the red fondant from a cake supply store as coloring it is nearly impossible, and can alter the flavor and/or consistancy of the fondant.