Easy Brownie Basketball Cake
Basketball season is finally here which calls for a celebration in the form of an Easy Brownie Basketball Cake. You won’t believe how simple it is to make your own round basketball cake using a box brownie mix, cream cheese frosting, and some Reese’s mini cups.
Hallelujah! The NBA is officially back Friday and we’re beyond excited about it. Crazy, but we were actually sitting in the family room watching The Miami Heat play when the commentators announced they had just received word that all games would be canceled moving forward due to the Coronavirus.
That was all the way back in March, and now here we are almost in August still struggling to make life somewhat normal for ourselves. The reopening of the NBA 2019-2020 season tomorrow and the start of Major League Baseball last week have been a little glimpse into what life was like pre-Corona. Still very different from what we are used to but beggars can’t be choosey.
I’m not going to lie, watching baseball without any fans in the stadium has been a little odd. The energy of the fans is definitely missing. The same is true for basketball. We’ve watched a few exhibition games so far and it’s just a completely different vibe. Have you watched any sports recently? What are your thoughts on the new formats?
Fun Fact: The NBA is currently playing every game for the rest of the season in our city of Orlando. All of the games are being played in what the NBA is referring to as the NBA Bubble. Teams are currently in the “NBA Bubble” located at Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, where they are playing games in isolation. The hope is by doing this, it will prevent them from contracting or spreading the virus.
It’s kind of a bummer to know that all these major basketball icons are just 20 minutes away from our house and we can’t even sneak over to get a single picture with them. How risky do you think it would be to try and “pop the bubble” for our own selfish reasons?! It might be worth it…just kidding!
We will be sitting at home tomorrow night watching the game together as a family. For the official restart of the NBA season, I whipped together a round basketball cake that I know “The Boys” will absolutely love. And I know you will too!
I went super simple with this brownie basketball cake. Although I could’ve made some brownies from scratch, I opted to buy a box brownie mix instead. The only thing different was I made it in a circular pan as opposed to a traditional square or rectangular one.
I did, however, go the extra mile and make my own cream cheese frosting but only because I had the ingredients on hand. It is definitely not a necessity to go homemade for this basketball cake. Buy yourself a container of premade frosting instead and you can save yourself a good 5 minutes!
Add a little bit of food coloring to tint your frosting. Place Reese’s minis on the cake and you’re ready to indulge in this Easy Brownie Basketball Cake on game night!
Are you ready to see exactly how to make it? It’s time to Tip-Off!
Easy Brownie Basketball Cake
1 box brownie mix (any variety will work), 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ stick or 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (softened), 8 oz. cream cheese (softened), 1 teaspoon vanilla, red and yellow food coloring/gel (use just orange if you have it), Reese’s minis (can also use brown M&Ms or Reese’s pieces)
Grab the box brownie mix of your choosing and 8-inch cake pan. Note: I used a disposable aluminum cake pan to bake my brownies in. I love using disposable aluminum pans because you can cut down the sides making it easier to remove your cake. Feel free to use glass, stone, or a regular metal cake pan instead.
Grease your cake pan really well. You’ll thank me for this when it is time to remove your brownie!
Pour your prepared brownie mix into your cake pan and bake it according to the directions on the package. Mine took about 35 minutes.
Remove your brownie cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting. If you try to add frosting to a hot or warm brownie, you’ll end up with a melty mess. Yuck!
If you’re using canned frosting, you can skip these next few steps. For the homemade cream cheese frosting, add your cream cheese and butter to a bowl.
Cream the two together.
Slowly add your powdered sugar one cup at a time to avoid making a horrible mess in your kitchen.
Once you have all the powdered sugar added, stir in your vanilla extract.
All that is left to do now is to tint your frosting. You must do this step whether you make homemade frosting or use the canned stuff. I didn’t have orange food coloring so I had to make my own by combining yellow and red. I’m sure you remember how to do that from Elementary school, don’t you?!
Isn’t it the most glorious shade of orange!
With the frosting finished, it’s time to assemble the brownie basketball cake. Begin by removing your brownie from the cake pan. If you’re using a disposable pan as I did, simply take a pair of scissors and make small cuts down the sides of the pan.
I made four cuts total as you can see in the picture. That allowed me to pull down all the sides of the pan and completely remove the brownie with ease.
Place your brownie cake on a cake pedestal or stand.
Generously cover the entire round basketball cake with your frosting.
Once covered, grab your bag of Reese’s minis to make the lines of your basketball. You could also substitute brown M&Ms or Reese’s pieces if you prefer.
Begin by making a vertical line right down the center of your cake.
Second, make a slightly curved line of Reese’s minis horizontally. Think of the shape of a rainbow.
Last, make two more vertical lines that also have a slight curve to them. Think of the letter “c” and then also a backward “c”.
And there you have it! This Easy Brownie Basketball Cake is truly a cinch to make. It’s the perfect treat for your family to enjoy while watching a basketball game together. This round basketball cake is sure to impress them all on game night!
Easy Brownie Basketball Cake
Basketball season is finally here which calls for a celebration in the form of an Easy Brownie Basketball Cake. You won’t believe how simple it is to make your own round basketball cake using a box brownie mix, cream cheese frosting, and some Reese’s mini cups.
Ingredients
- 1 box brownie mix (any variety will work), homemade (ingredients below) or canned cream cheese frosting , red and yellow food coloring/gel (use just orange if you have it), Reese’s minis (can also use brown M&Ms or Reese’s pieces)
- For homemade frosting: 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ stick or 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (softened), 8 oz. cream cheese (softened), 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Grab the box brownie mix of your choosing and 8 inch cake pan.
- Grease your cake pan really well. You’ll thank me for this when it is time to remove your brownie!
- Pour your prepared brownie mix into your cake pan and bake it according to the directions on the package. Mine took about 35 minutes.
- Remove your brownie cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
- For the homemade cream cheese frosting, add your cream cheese and butter to a bowl and cream the two together.
- Slowly add your powdered sugar one cup at a time to avoid making a horrible mess in your kitchen.
- Once you have all the powdered sugar added, stir in your vanilla extract.
- All that is left to do now is to tint your frosting. I didn’t have orange food coloring so I had to make my own by combining yellow and red. I’m sure you remember how to do that from Elementary school, don’t you?!
- With the frosting finished, it’s time to assemble the brownie basketball cake. Begin by removing your brownie from the cake pan.
- Place your brownie cake on a cake pedestal or stand.
- Generously cover the entire round basketball cake with your frosting.
- Once covered, grab your bag of Reese’s minis to make the lines of your basketball. You could also substitute brown M&Ms or Reese’s pieces if you prefer.
- Begin by making a vertical line right down the center of your cake.
- Second, make a slightly curved line of Reese’s minis horizontally. Think of the shape of a rainbow.
- Last, make two more vertical lines that also have a slight curve to them. Think of the letter “c” and then also a backward “c”.
Notes
Note: I used a disposable aluminum cake pan to bake my brownies in. I love using disposable aluminum pans because you can cut down the sides making it easier to remove your cake. Feel free to use glass, stone, or a regular metal cake pan instead.
*See post for additional tips and pictures
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WELCOME TO THE WEDNESDAY LINK PARTY! MEET YOUR HOSTS:
Brittany from Dreams and Coffee
Mary Leigh from Live Well Play Together
Tiffany from Lake Life State of Mind
Lindsay from Lindsay’s Sweet World
Keri from Cultivate an Intentional Life
Holley from Simply Holley Marie
This is a very fun cake for basketball! I agree it is a weird sports vibe but I will take any type of live sports at this point! So fun that the NBA is so close to your house right now!
I really wish we had the ability to go watch. I feel like we’d be there daily to watch a game if it were open to the public. Bummer!
This is so CUTE and looks delish! You are so so creative Tiffany!
Thank you so much, Lisa!! I try 😂😂😂
That is such a cute idea and I️ don’t know how, but I️ forgot Reese’s makes mini PB cups! I️ need some of those just to snack on! haha
Girl! Don’t get them or you’re done! I can eat them by the handful…chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite combos.
I love brownies and these look delicious! Like you, I’ve made brownies from scratch–but I’ve never made a cream cheese frosting for brownies. I’ve got to try your recipe for this frosting. And what a clever idea of making it fun for the baseball season! Great tutorials, too–thanks for a great post!
Cream cheese frosting is delicious homemade and so incredibly easy to make. You’ll love it! Thank you so much for commenting. I appreciate you.