Preheat the oven to 350F.

To prepare the half sphere cakes, prepare 1 batch of Yo’s Ultimate Vanilla Cake. Make this a lemon vanilla cake by adding 2 Tbsp of lemon zest to the sugar and butter while they are creaming. This will release all of the natural oils in the zest, taking your lemon vanilla cake to the next level!

Lightly grease your silicone half sphere molds, and start filling each cavity with the lemon vanilla cake batter. Make sure to fill the molds all the way to the top and level with an offset spatula. Gently tap the molds on your counter to release any air bubbles, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Bake the half sphere cakes for 20-25 minutes, making sure to rotate them halfway through. The cakes are finished when you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool until warm enough to gently release from the silicone mold. If you wait until they are completely cooled, they will stick! Set aside to cool completely. 

TIP: bake these cakes the day before you are decorating and place in the fridge overnight. This will help set the cake crumbs, which means less mess while decorating and easier to handle!

Prepare 1 batch of Yo’s Lime Simple Syrup and set aside to cool completely.

Prepare 1 batch of Yo’s Lemon Curd and set aside to cool completely.

While the Lime Simple Syrup and Lemon Curd is cooling, prepare 1 batch of Yo’s Famous Italian Meringue Buttercream. To make Yo’s Lemon Italian Meringue Buttercream, add 1 cup of the cooled lemon curd to the final step of the Italian meringue buttercream.

Time to assemble! Use a small melon baller to remove the center from each half sphere of cake. Make sure to remove enough cake to fit a single blackberry. 

Shower each half sphere of cake with lime simple syrup, and set aside to let fully absorb.

Once the simple syrup has fully absorbed, use a small offset spatula to spread a thin layer of lemon buttercream over both halves of cake and the inside of the cake cavity. This layer of buttercream will help prevent the blackberry from bleeding into the cake crumb.

Fit a single blackberry into the cake cavity, and fit the two half spheres of cake together. Place the sphere cake on a small cake board (or small plate) and place in the fridge to set for about 15 minutes. This will make crumb coating easier! 

Crumb coat the sphere cake with a thin layer of lemon buttercream, and place in the fridge to set for another 15 minutes.

While the cake is chilling, start colouring your white fondant to a tennis-ball green. I like using a mix of green and yellow to achieve a bright, neon colour.

Once your crumb coat has chilled (if you touch the surface of the cake, it should come back clean with no buttercream), start icing the cake with a small straight spatula. To create a smooth surface, use a small piece of acetate to curve around the shape of the sphere while turning the cake with your turn table. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill completely.

While the cake is chilling, start colouring your royal icing to match the colour of the tennis ball-green fondant. Set aside, covered with plastic wrap so it doesn’t form a crust.

When the icing has fully set, start rolling out your tennis ball-green fondant and cover each sphere cake carefully, making sure not to leave any folds or creases in the fondant (you can watch the full how-to over on YouTube!).

Then, roll out a small amount of white fondant and use a sharp paring knife to cut out thin strips to mimic the white lines on a tennis ball. Attach the white fondant to the cake with a small clean paintbrush and a little bit of water or piping gel.

With a clean, dry, food-safe paintbrush, start speckling the royal icing onto the green fondant on the cake. This will help create the “fuzzy look” of the ball! Once you are happy with the texture, place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.

Time to enjoy your tennis ball cakes!