I'm making a soccer ball cake for the first time and plan on using the Wilton soccer ball pan. I'm trying to achieve a 3d ball and was wondering if anyone has ever used this half pan to create a whole soccer ball by putting two of them together? I know they have the sports ball pan, but that one is too small.
Also, does anyone have any good tips on getting the pattern on the ball to line up correctly?
Many Thanks!! 
Melony
I made the soccer ball cake in my photos using the 1/2 pan because like you I wanted a more realistic sized ball. I didn't do this, but next time I would tort each half and put filling in and then have a cake board inbetween the two halves. Otherwise it's really hard to cut such a tall cake (I've always heard the rule of thumb is that any cake over 4" should be separated with a cake board). I just put the two halves together with buttercream. You will need to carve down the sides to get a round shape otherwise it's a squatty round (too wide on the sides).
Majka_ze, another CC member, gave me this advice to size the pentagons/hexagons --
"The pentagons and hexagons have the same length of the side - it is pretty much 1/5 of the diameter of the ball - this means 20 cm diameter - 4 cm side or 6 inch diameter (sport ball pan) - 1 1/5 inch side. "
I got these instructions after I made the cake so had problem at the bottom. I trimmed the shapes since they were too large. But I had just guessed on the size shapes I would need.
Good luck!
Hi Melony, I just did the soccer ball this past weekend. I did a chocolate butter cake (felt like I needed the denseness for stability). Put a thin core board between the two halves, covered in fondant and used fondant/gp mix to make the hexagon/octagons?? The pic is in my photos. HTH
Sorry, don't know about that recipe. If it's a dense cake it should be fine.
I made the soccer ball cake in my photos using the 1/2 pan because like you I wanted a more realistic sized ball. I didn't do this, but next time I would tort each half and put filling in and then have a cake board inbetween the two halves. Otherwise it's really hard to cut such a tall cake (I've always heard the rule of thumb is that any cake over 4" should be separated with a cake board). I just put the two halves together with buttercream. You will need to carve down the sides to get a round shape otherwise it's a squatty round (too wide on the sides).
Majka_ze, another CC member, gave me this advice to size the pentagons/hexagons --
"The pentagons and hexagons have the same length of the side - it is pretty much 1/5 of the diameter of the ball - this means 20 cm diameter - 4 cm side or 6 inch diameter (sport ball pan) - 1 1/5 inch side. "
I got these instructions after I made the cake so had problem at the bottom. I trimmed the shapes since they were too large. But I had just guessed on the size shapes I would need.
Good luck!
If you added an appropriate diameter (8"? 9"?) 2" round in between the two halves, would that be enough to change it from a squatty round into a normal round? I too would torte each of the half balls into 2 or 3 layers and torte the round layer in the middle, so that each section (using a cardboard in the middle) would have 3 or 4 layers. I bet that would definitely round it out
The cake turned out great! Thanks so much for all of the advice. The cake is in my photos if you would like to look at it.
Thanks again!!
Melony
Did you use another layer in the middle, torte or just carve the two halves to get it round? I have to do a volleyball next month and want it to be 3D.
The cake looks great! How'd you finally decide to do it?
I ended up putting the two halves together and used a cake board inbetween just like everyone recommended. I then torted the two halves and filled them. I had to trim it quite a bit to get it to look round. Just like PinkLisa said, the cake looked squatty. LOL
Matching up the pattern was a real pain in the neck. The top of the ball was easy, but once I started getting towards the bottom was when it got complicated. I just kept trimming the pieces until they matched up. It took forever!! LOL
Many thanks again for all of the help. I could not have done this cake without everyone's great advice. CakeCentral members are the best!!
Melony
hi !
i know this is an old post but i'm making a soccer cake this weekend i had a question.
did any of you guys use dowels at the bottom or even a long one to keep it steady? im making a round cake under the soccer ball cake and i was wondering if the bottom cake could carry it?
thanks
Hi Mina_Mina,
I used dowels under the soccer ball and I also used one long dowel through the whole thing since the customer was traveling with it.
Let me know if I can offer any other help. Good Luck!!
Melony
thanks so much Melony that was my exact plan i haven't got any more questions YET but im sure i will in the next few days. and i know who to ask then 
thanks again
What is the trick to covering the ball in MMF without it looking terrible?
I found if you roll your fondant a little thicker, it helps give a smoother appearance.
The best advice I can give for doing one of these cakes is just to take your time and be patient when you're applying the shapes. I had to do a lot of trimming to get my patterns to line up on the ball.
hi !
i know this is an old post but i'm making a soccer cake this weekend i had a question.
did any of you guys use dowels at the bottom or even a long one to keep it steady? im making a round cake under the soccer ball cake and i was wondering if the bottom cake could carry it?
thanks
I want to make a pumpkin head (ball shape) on a round cake, but how do I hide the cardboard underneath the ball? I mean, the pumpkin has to rest on something for the round cake to be able to carry it, right?
I am travelling with this cake, not far, but on bus and the roads are not always without holes.
Also, if you put a cardboard in between the halves of the ball won't the cardboard become soggy from being directly on the cake/buttercream?
Can someone help?
Great job!!
mina_mina, how did you get the perfectly round shape instead of the squatty round shape mentioned earlier? I want to use this pan to make a more realistically sized bowling ball soon.
Thanks!
Thanks Grandmom
my cake came out in a very good shape from the tin , i mean really nice round shape. i think it looks like a perfect round cause i didn't cut too much off from the bottom. i only cut a small amount to make it stand up itself. does it make sense ? i hope this helps
hi !
i know this is an old post but i'm making a soccer cake this weekend i had a question.
did any of you guys use dowels at the bottom or even a long one to keep it steady? im making a round cake under the soccer ball cake and i was wondering if the bottom cake could carry it?
thanks
I want to make a pumpkin head (ball shape) on a round cake, but how do I hide the cardboard underneath the ball? I mean, the pumpkin has to rest on something for the round cake to be able to carry it, right?
I am travelling with this cake, not far, but on bus and the roads are not always without holes.
Also, if you put a cardboard in between the halves of the ball won't the cardboard become soggy from being directly on the cake/buttercream?
Can someone help?
in my case i didn't have a big cardboard under the ball. it was approximately 10 cm. but i covered the bottom with grass.
maybe you can make some leaves and put them at the bottom of the pumpkin.
and about the weight of the cake, i put about 4 dowels under the ball for the round cake to carry it. and i inserted a long one so the whole thing will be steady.
I agree, the cake is perfect!! How did you find the appropriate size for the hexagons/pentagons? Did you have to trim at the bottom at all?
thank you
yes i had to cut the hexagons in half for the last row. other than that it was pretty easy to be honest.
i used cutters for the hexagons and did a stencil for the pentagons using the lenght of the hexagon cutter i used. so everything fit perfectly in place.
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