March Madness Basketball Cake

Directions

1. Needed: 1 Spherical Cake Mold.

2. Preheat oven to 325ºF.

3. Spray the 2 mold halves with cooking spray and dust them with sugar. Tap out excess sugar.

4. Prepare the cake batter by following the box instructions except, replace ¾ cups of water with the juice and add the zest.

5. Pour the batter evenly into both halves of the mold and place on a sheet pan.

6. Bake in the oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

7. If, during the baking process, the cake begins to cook too fast on the edges, cover it with foil until completely cooked.

To Prepare the Frosting

1. Scoop out the frosting into a bowl, mix in the zest and add enough food coloring to achieve the desired color.

2. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes and then cut off the domes of each cake to make a flat surface. This will make it easier to put the 2 halves together when decorating.

3. Carefully turn the cakes over on to a wire rack, remove the molds and let cool for at lest 1 hour.

4. Cut a small piece of the cake off of one of the cake halves. This will make it easier to decorate because it won't roll.

5. Place that cake half flat side down on a cake turntable.

6. Place a layer of frosting across the top and add the other half. Spread an even layer of frosting all over the cake.

7. Squeeze the black icing into a piping bag fixed with a small round piping tip (a no. 5 tip). Use this to draw in the detail and write the lettering. Cut and serve.