What kid doesn’t want a baseball birthday cake at some point in their life? Well, there may be some, but for those who do, this cake is awesome!
Picking the design for a birthday cake is actually more challenging than doing the cake itself…most of the time. I will admit, my cakes are not perfect, but I am not trying for perfection. That gets frustrating and takes the fun away from it all. Plus, I am trying to teach my kids mistakes are acceptable and we can always manage to get a good laugh out of them. Like the time I misspelled “birthday” with “birtday”. So guess what? We sang happy “birt-day” and had fun with it. My kids still remember it!
Anyways, my friends little guy, Cameron, turned one back in January and he had a baseball themed party! It was so cute and my friend, Kelly, had the themed nailed down. Hot Dogs, popcorn, nachos at the “concession”, all the good eats for a ball game. What’s more important then the actual food? The cake of course! What’s a party without the cake?!? Be sure to check out the cake decorating video below!
So, I have to be honest. I don’t make my cakes from scratch, at least not for birthday cakes. It already takes so much time to decorate, so using a box cuts the time, and you know, no one knows the difference. Everyone always says how great the cake tastes, so thank you Betty Crocker – you rock! I don’t always make the buttercream from scratch either. It just depends. I did include my recipe below if you are inclined to make it from scratch – it is delicious!!
Cake And Buttercream Recipe
12×18 Sheet Cake
Notes
- You can get away with using only 2.5 boxes of the cake mix. I fill 12 cupcakes (since that’s half a box) first and then pour the rest into the pan. Having cupcakes is great because when the cake comes out my kids always want to stick their fingers in it, so I just hand them a cupcake instead! You can also taste it to make sure it’s delicious!!
- TIP – Every oven seems to bake differently. I always put the timer on for 5-10 minutes before the recipe tells me, because I fear it will over cook…My oven cooks super fast and 35 minutes is enough.
- TIP – If your cake breaks when coming out of the pan (because it happens to the best of us) DON’T PANIC. You can piece it together and carefully cover with frosting. Do your best and keep going. Who’s going to know?!
Ingredients
- 3 Boxes of Cake Mix (any flavor)
- 3 Cups Water
- 1 1/2 Cups Canola Oil
- Cake Release to grease the pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- In a stand mixer, (I LOVE my Kitchenaid!) mix the cake ingredients together – I always put the eggs in first for two reasons. 1. If you get shells in the bowl you can fish them out easier. 2. The cake mix won’t stick to the bottom of the bowl
- Bake the Cake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Make sure you check the cake with a toothpick and that it comes out clean.
- After the cake comes out of the oven I put the cupcakes in for 15 minutes
- Let the Cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then put on a cooling rack. It needs to completely cool before you can frost!
- Once cooled transfer to a cake board
Easy Buttercream
Notes
Store In the Refrigerator
Can be stored for 2 weeks
Make sure Buttercream is at room temp before spreading on cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 6 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3-5 tablespoons milk or heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the softened butter
- Beat butter on medium to high until fluffy
- Add vanilla and salt
- Gradually add powdered sugar and alternate adding in cream
- Continue beating for 2-3 minutes on medium
- Turn to high speed once sugar is incorporated
- If you want to add in food coloring, add in while it is beating.
- If frosting is too stiff add in more milk or cream 1 tsp at a time and beat until combined.
- Spread on Cake and/or put in piping bags
Cake Decorating Video!
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for more fun ideas! https://www.pinterest.com/FunandFrosted/pins/