Favorite Football Cake For Kid Birthdays Or A Big Game

Football Cake

My youngest child has been obsessed with footballs, soccer balls, and basketballs for the past two years, so I decided to make him a cake for his second birthday to celebrate that love. It’s now a yearly tradition—we’ve since made it for his third and fourth birthdays—and I just love that this is part of our celebration. This cake is also a perfect Super Bowl dessert as it’s both simple and fun. And you really don’t need any special cake decorating skills to pull it off. I love that this chocolate cake is easy to make, is just sweet enough, and stores really well if you want to make it ahead of time.

Ingredients You Need

To make this recipe you need to have the following ingredients on hand. Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox.

Flour: You can use whole wheat, all-purpose, or a mixture of the two. I usually use all-purpose flour for light and tender results.Vegetable oil: I typically use canola oil or vegetable oil here, but avocado oil would work, too.Sugar: A little granulated sugar is the sweetener of choice in this cake because it blends in so well and adds moisture.Baking soda: Fresh, active baking soda helps the cake bake through and rise nicely. (This works much better than baking powder, so do be sure to use baking soda.)Cocoa powder: I like SACO or Hershey’s Special Dark for the best chocolate flavor.Salt: A dash of salt helps enhance the rest of the flavors and deepen the chocolate flavor.White vinegar: This works with the other ingredients to deliver the perfect texture you expect in a chocolate cake. Please do not skip this!Vanilla extract: Paired with cocoa powder, vanilla extract is an extra flavor note.Quick Chocolate Frosting: Or a frosting of your choice.

TIP: The cake is dairy and egg-free, and there’s not even any butter. You can make it gluten-free by using a gluten-free cup-for-cup flour blend. It’s like a magic cake!

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make the Cake

Here’s a look at how to make this football cake so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information. TIP: You can bake the cake up to this point the day before you plan to serve it. Store it, once cooled, tightly wrapped or in an airtight container.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Frost the Football Cake

TIP: Assemble your cake on the platter or surface on which you plan to serve it to keep things easy.

How to Store

You can make it up to a day ahead and store it in an airtight container at room temperature. Frost closer to serving if possible. You can also make the whole thing, with frosting, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I would let it sit out at room temperature for an hour before serving if possible to allow the cake to soften a smidge.

Best Tips for Success

You can make the Football Cake for the Super Bowl, a game day, or a kid’s birthday.Use a serrated knife to slice out a 2-inch wide strip of the center piece.I prefer to use an offset or straight frosting spatula to frost the cake. (A butter knife will work if that’s all you have.)Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.Use my Quick Chocolate Frosting or Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. (I prefer the cream cheese frosting since it’s a little thicker but both work!)Set aside a small amount of frosting into a zip top bag or pastry bag before adding the cocoa powder so you can make the laces.

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