It’s that time of year when college basketball takes over TV stations and, at least in my case, most of life. I topped a simple cake mix with whipped cream and Reese’s Pieces candy to create a fun basketball cake to help sustain us through the tournaments.
The college basketball tournament is a big event in our home. When I was a kid we almost always filled out brackets as a family – mom, dad and three girls. The winner got to pick where we went to dinner. So my dad pretty much lost that one every year, even if he won! My husband and I were only a few months in to our dating relationship when March hit. Imagine my surprise when he handed me a bracket to fill out! A decade later and March for us means college basketball.
Several teams we root for – University of Michigan and UNLV being our top two – are in this year’s tournament and we’re pretty excited about it! So I decided to put my kitchen skills to work to make a basketball cake to munch on during the conference tournaments last weekend.
This cake is super easy to make. Use any cake recipe or a mix and bake half of it in a round cake pan. I made cupcakes with the other half of the batter for the kids. Bake the cake according to the recipe or package directions and then allow to cool completely.
I didn’t have any white frosting so I frosted the cake with homemade whipped cream instead and it was light and delicious. Then my husband used a butter knife and etched lines in the frosting to make the circle look like a basketball.
I had my kids separate two boxes of Reese’s Pieces by color, which they loved! You just have to watch the snacking. I then filled in the lines we’d drawn on the cake with brown Reese’s Pieces.
Finally, I filled in between the brown with the orange Reese’s Pieces! Two of the candy boxes was just about exactly enough candy to cover the top of the basketball cake. If you want to do the side, you will need at least one more box. I made the cake the night before serving and, sadly, the colors on the Reese’s Pieces started to run in to the whipped cream. I’m not sure if this would happen on frosting, but to be safe, I’d suggest putting it together just before serving.
Want to have some fun during the tournament? Make sure to check out my adorable FREE basketball tournament bracket printable!
This is a so cute! Great idea for a kid’s birthday party.
Thanks, Rhonda. Super easy to make, too!
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your new Red Plate!
Miz Helen
I just saw that! Thank you so much!
Wow! That is so clever! Love it! Pinning! Thanks for sharing at The Mommy Club Link Up.
Thanks, Sherri! It’s pretty fun to make, too!
What a great game cake, it looks awesome! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week!
Miz Helen
Very cute Camille! Pinned 🙂
Thanks, Lori! 🙂
love this idea! This cake looks moist, sweet and just plain yummy 🙂 Checking it out from the Tuesday talent show link party!
Cathy
Thanks for stopping by, Cathy! It’s a super fun cake!
Made this tonight for my Son’s Birthday-he loved it! Thanks would have never thought or done it without you! Here’s a pic I posted on Pinterest:)
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/149463281356778845/
It turned out GREAT!! I love the double layer – it looks more like a ball. And love his big smile. 🙂 I’m so glad it helped make his birthday special.
What a fun cake! It would be fun for a birthday party too!
How clever you are! I love the cake. but I don’t think I could stay out of the candy to have enough to make the cake! Thank you so much for sharing with Saturday Spotlight last week. I hope you come by today to share more of your awesome creations! Happy Easter 🙂
http://angelshomestead.com/
April
Thanks, April! 🙂
Cake looks great, those peanut butter pieces look dangerous for the waistline, but I can imagine they taste great. I found that Smarties(similar to M&Ms) run on frosting overnight too. Will know next time.
It was good! My dad even liked it!
Haha, this is great! Good idea to have the KIDS do the sorting!
I started sorting and got bored and thought, why not let the kids do it?! They had a ball!
What a great idea! And it does look easy! Thanks for sharing with Foodie Friends Friday!
What a cute design! My son plays basketball and I am totally making this when his team is in the playoffs!
I am glad I found your post through SS Strut Your Stuff!
Cathy
Thanks for stopping by, Cathy! I hope your sons team loves it! 🙂
Hi Camille! Love your Reeses Pieces Basketball Cake! Our little guys will love this for their birthday. Thanks for linking up to our Strut Your Stuff Saturday link party. We have a new sister website where you can submit your recipes and drive even more traffic back to your blog and make money too! MyRecipeMagic.com. Hope you’ll stop by! -The Six Sisters
Thanks for stopping by!!
Stopping by from the Saturday Spotlight, I am your newest follower. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Justine! Thanks for stopping by and following.
This is the most precious cake. I have a little guy in our family that is going to just love it! Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks, Miz Helen!
What a cute idea! Thank you so much for sharing on Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine’s Corner. I’m Jen, the co-host this from Through My Creative Mind. I’m your newest follower…I’d love it if you stopped by and did the same 🙂
Make sure to come back every Monday for Creative Show and Tell!
Jen @ Through My Creative Mind
Thanks, Jen!
perfect!!! Thank you for joining in the fun at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop xo
This sounds like my kind of cake!
Thanks so much for linking up to And Sew We Craft Together!
Now, that is quite clever!
This is soo fun! I have two boys—one is a toddler and he loves basketballs! He would adore this cake! I would LOVE to have you share this at my Homemade By You party going on! I am your newest facebook follower…would love to have you follow back 🙂
Thanks, Katie! I love a good party. 😉