Ball Cake with Bear Toppers

I made this ball cake with bear toppers for my niece’s birthday. This was quite a few years ago and so cannot quite recall what year it was nor which birthday of hers it was but it was either her 3rd or 4th birthday.

3D ball cake in black and white with 4 fondant teddies as the toppers

When I asked her what cake she would like for her birthday, this was exactly what she wanted:

"Teddy bears on a football".

This is what happens when you ask a child of her age for the type of cake she wants. She really stretched her imagination and in doing that, definitely stretched my decorating skills for I have never made a round ball cake before nor did I have any special molds for the 3d ball cake.

The trickiest part of the cake was the ball. After putting some thoughts into it, I set on making the cake.

How to Make a Ball Cake with Bear Toppers

These were the main supplies used for the ball cake:

2 cakes baked in bowl molds (or a cake baked in a novelty ball cake mold)
Black and white butter icing
A cake board ( must be of the same diameter as the cakes)
Fondant in 2 shades of brown and black (for the teddy bears)

Teddy bear cake toppers in brown, on a ball cake

And here is how I decorated the cake:

Firstly, I placed the first half ball on a plate. I then inserted 4 dowel rods almost to the centre of the cake (the dowel rods should be of same height, which is the height of the cake).
Next I covered a thin layer of icing on the cake and placed a foil wrapped cake board on the cake. I then covered another thin layer of icing, this time on the cake board. The purpose is to make sure the cakes stick to the board and do not fall off.
Once that is done, I took the second half of the ball and placed it on the cake board.
Next, I covered the whole cake with white butter icing and smoothed it well. I then decorated it with black hexagons, also in butter icing.
Once the cake is done, I placed 4 fondant teddy bears on top of the cake and secured them in place with toothpicks inserted at the bottom of each teddy bear to the top of the cake.
The fondant teddy bears are fairly simple to make. Shape each part of the teddy bear separately and attach them together with a damp brush. I used black fondant for the eyes and nose of the bear.