Celebrating the Cincinnati Reds With a Custom Baseball Cake

Celebrating the Cincinnati Reds With a Custom Baseball Cake

As one of the oldest professional baseball teams, the Cincinnati Reds have a long and storied history that true fans want to celebrate. What better way than with a festive, custom Cincinnati Reds cake on opening day or for a birthday?

Decorate it Yourself or Order a Custom Cake

You have a couple of options when making a Reds cake. If you enjoy baking and decorating, you can certainly create your own Reds cake masterpiece at home. All you need is a basic cake recipe, some red, white and black decorating gel or frosting, and a steady hand.

But if you want something truly professional looking without the hassle, consider ordering a custom Cincinnati Reds cake from your local bakery. Provide them with a couple weeks notice and they can recreate the team's logo and colors beautifully on a cake.

Incorporate Iconic Symbols into Your Design

There are a few standard icons that scream Cincinnati Reds. Be sure to incorporate some of the following design elements:

• The main red and white "C" Reds logo
• Jersey numbers of favorite players like Joey Votto or Ken Griffey Jr.
• The team's mustachioed Mr. Redlegs mascot
• Baseball bats, balls and gloves
• The Great American Ball Park stadium
• The Ohio state flag

Feel free to get creative with how you use these iconic symbols on your Reds cake. Turn a round cake into a baseball, make the outside look like a baseball stadium or field, or decorate it to look just like an official Reds jersey.

Pick Out the Perfect Reds-Themed Cake Flavor

Now what type of cake and flavor best suits your Cincinnati Reds creation? While you can certainly go with classics like vanilla, chocolate or marble, there are better options that align with the theme.

Red Velvet Cake

This vibrant red cake flavor is an obvious choice when the main color you want is red. Pair bright red velvet cake with a tangy cream cheese frosting to contrast the sweetness.

All-American Cake Flavors

Since baseball is America's favorite pastime, choose cake and frosting flavors that are classically Americana like:

• White cake with strawberry preserves filling
• Yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting
• Funfetti cake with vanilla frosting
• Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Peanut Butter and/or Cracker Jack Inspired

What's more baseball than Cracker Jacks and peanuts? Incorporate those ballpark flavors into the cake for a fun and tasty design:

• Chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and peanut buttercup frosting
• Spice cake with caramel cinnamon filling and cracker crumble topping

Incorporate Team Colors into the Frosting and Decorations

A Reds cake needs to bleed the team's iconic colors - red, white and black. While red velvet cake gives you red naturally, you'll want to tint frostings and add accents.

Frosting Colors

Think about doing a two-tone frosting, with classic bright white buttercream on top and black frosting along the sides:

• Tint vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting black with food coloring
• Leave vanilla buttercream its natural white color on top

Decorating Colors

Use red, white and black decorating gel or frosting to draw on details like:

• The Reds logo
• Baseball seams
• The black outlines of baseballs
• Players' numbers and names
• The stadium

Also decorate the cake board or plate to extend the theme. Draw diagonal red and white stripes or red chalky base lines just like a baseball field.

Pick Fun Cake Shapes and Sizes

While the traditional round layered cake will certainly work, why not have some more baseball inspired fun with unique pans and shapes?

Ballpark Food Shapes

For a more literal interpretation, use 3D pans shaped like:

• Baseballs
• Bats
• Mitts
• Hot dogs
• Cracker Jack boxes
• Peanuts

Sheet Cakes Shaped Like Fields

Bake your cake in a large quarter sheet pan. Then decorate the top with green frosting and details to look like a mini baseball field from a bird's eye view. Show the pitcher's mound, bases and chalk field markings.

Tiered Cakes that Mimic Stadiums

Stack two or three progressively smaller round cakes into tiers. Frost the sides of each tier with black frosting like stadium walls. Decorate the tops of each tier green like grass or use fondant to sculpt spectators in the stands.

However you choose to design your specialty Cincinnati Reds cake, have fun with it and make it truly one-of-a-kind. The Reds have a rich history, so be creative and celebrate it in deliciously festive style!

FAQs

What is the best way to recreate the Reds logo on a cake?

Use red, white and black colored frosting gels to carefully recreate the logo freehand on top of a frosted cake. Alternatively, print out a logo template and trace it onto edible paper or fondant that drapes nicely over the cake.

What type of cake works well for carving detailed shapes like baseballs?

While any cake can be carved, pound cake and gum paste provide good firm bases for carving intricate shapes and details like baseball seams. Chill the carved cake well before frosting.

Can I make a sweet Reds jersey cake?

Absolutely! Bake a rectangular sheet cake and carve into the shape of a jersey with higher shoulders and a lower center. Then decorate with piped frosting numbers, names and details. Make sure to add black frosting for outlines.

What is the best filling flavor for a Reds classic white cake?

Consider a strawberry preserves filling which mimics the red accents on a Reds uniform. Raspberry or cherry pie fillings also provide nice fruit flavors and red oozing for cutting into the cake.