Football Cake - two tiered

Football Cake

Where are my football fans at? 😉 

I remember finally getting this post edited and published - in the middle of the 2020/2021 shutdowns and quarantines. :/ Meh. It was SO depressing! I'd made the cake for a Super Bowl party several months before - and then those parties weren't happening anymore!

But things are coming around again. Hopefully it's the same where you are. Where I'm at, cases have declined and quarantining has declined along with them! At long last. It's not been a good time. But things are looking up! As a result - things like Super Bowl parties are happening again! 😉 

Pros of this football cake: 

  • If you need a cake for a large party, this cake will serve a crowd (24+ generous servings)! Whether its a Super Bowl party, end-of-season party, or a big birthday party for a football fan - this cake has you covered!
  • It features rich chocolate cake layers (that only need ONE bowl to mix up!) and cream cheese buttercream frosting (also only ONE bowl to make + 1 small bowl to color)! 
  • This cake really doesn't require too much in the 'decorating skills; department! You just need 2 piping tips to make the football and lines. And the grass at the base is fun but 100% optional! 
  • Don't let the tiers scare you; give the video a quick watch (there's a 'Jump to Video' button above) and you'll see how easy it actually is to stack the tiers! (You could also whip up the recipe and just not bother stacking the tiers. Options are all yours! It's a cake; no one's judging! 

Give this Football cake a shot - and let me know how it goes! 

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

FAQs:

"Never made a tiered cake before, and I'm kinda nervous about it. Tips?" 
  • First time for everything! And I'm serious here - I can almost guarantee it's easier than you think! Conceptually it's really not more complicated than stacking a block tower. Well, a frosting-covered block tower, lol. 
    Give the video below the recipe a quick watch; it's less than a minute long and covers the basics. (You can hit the 'Jump to Video' button above).

  • For a more in-depth overview I like this video - 'How to make a Tiered Cake' by Chelsweets. This video is a more in-depth look at the whole process! I like using plastic straws instead of wooden dowels personally, but that's up to you. Any questions please send me an email

Can I make the cake / frosting ahead of time? 
  • Definitely! (This is a bit of a tangent, but if you're asking this question, well done you for thinking so far ahead! I get this question periodically and I'm so impressed by people that plan and prep that far in advance!)

  • Wrap the cake layers well and refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 4 months.

  • Transfer the frosting to a zip-lock bag and squeeze out the extra air, and again - refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 4 months. 

"How should I store this cake?"
  • Prior to serving, I usually keep cakes in a cake box in the refrigerator. If a box isn't an option, flash freeze for 10-15 minutes or so to really set the frosting, and then cover in plastic wrap if refrigerating longer than 24 hours.

  • After cutting, cover any remaining cake well after serving to keep it from drying out. I recommend storing in the fridge because of the cream cheese in the frosting. The cake will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge - good luck getting it to last that long though! 😉 

Don't forget to pin this recipe for later!

Football Cake pinterest pin

Football Cake

Make a fun football cake - complete with football, grass, and 10 through 50 yard lines! Makes enough to feed a large crowd! (24+ servings)
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time37 minutes
Decorating time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 42 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Football Cake, Super Bowl Cake
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 718kcal
Author: Sarah H

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake layers

  • 3 ½ cups all purpose flour (525g)
  • 3 ½ cups caster sugar (675g)
  • 1 ž cups cocoa powder (150g)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda (7g)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (5g)
  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks/24 T/375g, softened)
  • 6 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 Âź cups buttermilk (500mL; at room temperature)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (15mL)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • 16 ounces cream cheese (2 packages, softened)
  • 1 1/2 cups butter (24 Tbsp or three sticks, softened)
  • 10-11 cups powdered sugar
  • 4-5 Tablespoons milk
  • 2 Tablespoons clear vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
  • ž cup cocoa powder (for top tier; save and add later! You can add a bit of brown gel color for a darker color if desired)
  • 3-4 drops green gel food color (for base tier; save and add later!)

Instructions

Football Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F(180C) or 325 F(160C) for a convection oven. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and 2 6-inch pans with baker's floured spray and/or line pans with parchment paper.
  • Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or hand mixer or whisk) until well combined.
  • Continuing to mix on low, add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the 3 / 2 pans evenly (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part. I had about 550 grams in my 8-inch pans, and about 350 in my 6-inch pans.) 
  • Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt and beat until well combined.
  • Reserve about ½ cup of white frosting to use for decorating. Remove 1/3 of the remaining frosting and stir in cocoa powder – you’ll use this for the top tier. Color the remaining frosting green.

Assembly

  • Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed; these cakes usually bake fairly flat). Place a smear of frosting on your large cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first large cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting, and center your next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers - I like to flip my top layer upside down to make smoothing the frosting easier.
  • Next, repeat the same process with your smaller cardboard circle and cake layers. Of note – if your circles aren’t pre-center-punched, be sure to grab a dowel or straw and make your own hole in the exact center of the circle. This will allow you to center the top tier on the base tier later on.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake tiers to keep crumbs out of your final layer.
  • Once your crumb coats have set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layers of frosting and smooth. I like to use a large offset spatula and bench scraper for this part.
  • For my larger tier, I was able to smooth the frosting fairly well free-handed, but I struggled getting the sides smoothed on my smaller one. Trimming the layers just smaller than the cake circle and using the cardboard as a guide for my bench scraper worked well for smoothing the frosting on the top tier! Once your cakes are covered, place them into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.

Okaaaay. Stacking the tiers!

  • ‘How to Make a Tiered Cake’ by Chelsweets is still my favorite video tutorial to date – sometimes seeing the process can be very helpful!
  • It helps to grab a ruler for this part! To center a 6-inch cake on top of an 8-inch cake, I place the straws into the base tier just over one inch from the cake edge at quarter intervals around the cake. Place your last, tallest straw or dowel into the exact center of the cake, making sure to keep it straight up as you press down.
  • Now you’re ready – center the hole in the bottom of your top tier cake circle over the tallest dowel and let the top tier gently down onto the base tier. The dowel will poke into the center of the top tier to hold it in place.

Decorating!

  • I found that my cardboard cake circle showed more than I was happy with, so I piped a little extra frosting onto the base of the top tier to hide it!
  • Use a flat frosting tip to pipe alternating lines 2/3 and 1/3 of the way up the sides of the base tier.
  • Add the football pattern to the top tier (I did that first while I had the flat tip on!) Switch to the small round tip and pipe on the line marker numbers.
  • I also used a grass piping tip to add green ‘grass’ frosting to the edge of the base tier, but this is optional (and a little messy)!
  • Step back, admire your cake, and find someone to give you a high-five! (Shoot me a DM on Instagram if you can’t find anyone right away!) ;)

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice (1/24th cake) | Calories: 718kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 38g

Did you make this Football Cake? 

Let me know how it went - or find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo! 

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