This Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake starts with a moist chocolate cake that’s filled with sprinkles coloured to represent your favourite football team! Top it off with camouflage frosting and chocolate dipped football strawberries and you’ve got the ULTIMATE Superbowl dessert!
It’s Superbowl season and this super easy Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake is the perfect way to sweeten up Game Day!
The chocolate cake is filled with sprinkles coloured to represent different football teams. So if you’re planning on serving this at a Superbowl party, you can create a fun little game where guests have to guess what team their slice of cake represents! Or you can enjoy the sour looks on their faces if they end up with a team they hate.
How to make a Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake
This cake is super duper easy to make and can be made a day ahead of time so it’s ready to serve on game day.
We start by making a simple moist chocolate cake. The cake recipe is the same one I used in my Birthday Cake Oreo Cake, and it never fails me. I wanted the cake to be black instead of chocolate brown because I wanted the colourful sprinkle filling to pop against the dark cake.
To get the super black colour, I didn’t use any food colouring, instead I used some “black” unsweetened cocoa powder which gives the cake both it’s beautiful dark colour and it’s deep rich chocolate flavour.
The cake itself is completely fool-proof and comes together in 4 easy steps. First you whisk together the dry ingredients, then you whisk the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk them together, then mix in some boiling water. The cake is then baked at 300°F for about 45 minutes to ensure our cake comes out as moist as possible!
Football Team Sprinkle Filling
Once the cake has cooled completely, use the back of a large piping tip (I used this one) and make holes on top of the cake.
Now you have three options:
- You can fill the holes with sprinkles that represent your favourite team.
- You can fill them with sprinkles coloured to represent the two teams that are playing at the Superbowl.
- Or you can fill each hole with different coloured sprinkles to represent every football team!
I chose the third option, and after some research (I don’t watch sports), I created 12 different colour combos to represent 12 different football teams. Some sprinkles have the same colours because I couldn’t find certain colours like grey or darker toned blues, greens etc.
You’ll only need about 2 teaspoons of each colour, then mix them together and spoon them into the cake holes. I probably should have used a piping tip to act as a funnel when adding the sprinkles cause I made a bit of a mess, as you can see.
Camouflage Frosting
I couldn’t decide whether I wanted the frosting to be football brown or football field green, so I just went with both. Honestly, I think all green frosting would look better, and if I had a grass tip, I could’ve piped the frosting so it looked like a grass football field.
I hate that I think of better ideas when it’s too late!
Chocolate Dipped Football Strawberries
Alright I’m gonna be completely transparent with you, I hate the way the strawberries turned out. Don’t get me wrong, their super adorable and are the perfect addition to this cake.
Unfortunately, I completely rushed the piping of the lines so they barely look like Footballs! This is because the sun was rapidly going down while I was working so I tried to make them as quick as possible. Now that I think of it, I should’ve just made them the night before.
But don’t worry, I make the mistakes so you guys won’t have to. I’ll include the proper way to do things so that you guys end up with the results I wanted.
Serve this Football Sprinkle Sheet Cake at your Superbowl party and your guests will cheer at you instead of the screen!
Enjoy!
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Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake
This Football Sprinkle Surprise Sheet Cake starts with a moist chocolate cake that’s filled with sprinkles coloured to represent your favourite football team! Top it off with camouflage frosting and chocolate dipped football strawberries and you’ve got the ULTIMATE Superbowl dessert!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup “black” unsweetened cocoa powder (or regular unsweetened cocoa)
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- ¾ cup Vegetable oil
- 2 large Eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup hot coffee or boiling water
Chocolate Dipped Football Strawberries:
- 12-16 strawberries, rinsed and pat dry
- 8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
- 1 container of white frosting
Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
Green Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Few drops of green gel food colouring
Miami Dolphins Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon orange sprinkles
Green Bay Packers Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon green sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon yellow sprinkles
San Diego Chargers Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon yellow sprinkles
Dallas Cowboys Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
NY Giants Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon red sprinkles
Baltimore Ravens Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon black sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon purple sprinkles
New Orleans Saints Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon black sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon yellow sprinkles
Chicago Bears Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon orange sprinkles
New England Patriots Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon blue sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon red sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon black sprinkles
Philadelphia Eagles Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon grey or black sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon green sprinkles
Cleveland Browns Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon brown sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon orange sprinkles
Arizona Cardinals Sprinkle Mix:
- 2 teaspoon red sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon black sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon white sprinkles
- 2 teaspoon yellow sprinkles
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a whisk or hand mixer), sift the flour, Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Baking powder, Baking soda and salt. Mix on low speed until combined.
- In a measuring cup, combine the egg, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla. While the mixer is on low, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the bowl. Increase speed to medium and mix until combined. Add boiling water OR hot coffee and mix until combined and smooth. Batter will be runny.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Footballs:
- Wash and dry the strawberries. Set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or wax paper. Set aside.
- Melt dark chocolate and 1 tablespoon of shortening in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until fully melted and smooth.
- Using a toothpick or holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the strawberries in the chocolate. Shake off excess chocolate and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, spoon the canned frosting into a disposable piping bag fitted with a small round tip (like Wilton #4).
- Once set, remove strawberries from the refrigerator and pipe on the football strings. So a horizontal line on the top and bottom, then a small vertical line in the centre with three horizontal lines on top of it. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add the icing sugar 1 cup at a time and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Add the sifted cocoa and vanilla and mix on medium-high speed until combined. If the frosting starts to get thick, increase the speed to medium high to smoothen it out.
- Add heavy cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside until ready to assemble.
For the Green Frosting:
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the mixer to low, and gradually add half of the icing sugar 1 cup at a time and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla and mix on medium-high speed until combined.
- Add remaining half icing sugar and mix on low until combined. Tint with green gel food colouring.
- Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside until ready to assemble.
Assembly:
- Core holes on top of the cake using the bottom of a large piping tip, or an apple corer.
- Create each sprinkle mix above. Just add 2 teaspoons of each colour into a small bowl and stir to combine. Then use a small spoon to pour it into the hole. Repeat with the remaining sprinkle mixes, or create your own mix to represent your favourite team!
- Add a dollop of chocolate frosting in random areas of the cake. Then add the green frosting in the empty spots.
- Using a small offset spatula, spread the frosting into an even layer and swirl together to create a camouflage effect.
- Place a football strawberry over the top of the cake. Try putting a strawberry on top of where each sprinkle filling is. If you have any green sprinkles left, you can sprinkle them on top to act as grass.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day, serve at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- For the sprinkle filling, you can create sprinkle mixes that represent your favourite team or you can fill them with sprinkles coloured to represent the two teams that are playing at the Superbowl.
- For the frosting, you can make all green frosting (double the recipe) and use a grass piping tip to pipe grass on top of the cake to look like a football field.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder 100% Cocoa Extra Brute, 2.2 lb
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Wilton Decorating Tip, No.8B Star Open Stock (402-8800)
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KitchenAid Ultra Power 5-Speed Hand Mixer (Emp Red)
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Wilton Leaf Green Icing Color, 1 oz. - Green Food Coloring
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Cuisinart AMB-139CP 13 by 9-Inch Chef's Classic Nonstick Bakeware Cake Pan, Silver
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Love, Dedra
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