Football Stadium Cake

Friends, Get ready to impress with this show-stopping football stadium cake, perfect for your game day celebrations! I love this fun creative dessert with a simple cake decorated to look like a vibrant football field. Ofcourse, we complete it with a full house of fans in the stands.

Table of Contents

A Cake For All Occasions

This football cakes works for all occasions. Aka cheering for your favorite team, the big game, hosting a tailgate party, a treat for your football practise or a football themed birthday party. Yeap, got you covered.

I like to serve this football stadium cake in the center of my table as a stunning centerpiece with these best super bowl recipes and awesome blistered shishito peppers. I do notice that I have to be the one that cuts into it because nobody ever wants to take the first slice. So keep that in mind.

One of the thing I love most about this super bowl cake is that the cake portion comes together in just one bowl. As easy as that. Ps check out this Texas sheet cake recipe too.

Why Make This Recipe

Pantry Staple Ingredients are all that’s needed to make this delectable cake.
Can easily feed a crowd. Make a couple extra for big parties
Adaptable – use other store bought ingredients to to make it even simpler. See suggestions below.

A slice of cake with green frosting like a football field.

What You’ll Need

For the cake:

vegetable oil – I like vegetable oil for cakes because it is pure fat unlike butter which contains some water.
Granulated sugar
eggs – use room temperature eggs.
extracts – use a mixture of vanilla extract and almond extract. If you prefer, you can use all vanilla extract instead of adding almond.
all-purpose flour – If you’re looking for a gluten free option, you can substitute a gluten free all-purpose flour in a 1:1 ratio.
baking powder – Baking powder gives rise to your cake.
baking soda – Baking soda is another leavening agent that helps to not only make the cake rise but also to keep it tender and fluffy.
salt – Adding salt helps to highlight the sweetness in the cake.
buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can combine 1 cup of regular milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before using. This makes the cake ultra tender and moist.

For the frosting:

unsalted butter – I like to control the amount of salt in my baked goods but you could use salted butter and leave out the additional salt.
powdered sugar – Also known confectioners sugar.
salt – Skip if using salted butter.
heavy whipping cream – Heavy whipping cream helps keep this buttercream frosting light and fluffy. It’s almost like adding whipped cream to the frosting.
vanilla extract – Love the extra fragrance added by this.
Colouring – Use a water based green food coloring

For decorating:

¼ cup nonpareil sprinkles

Ingredients for a football stadium cake.

Handy Tip: Use Good Kitchen Tools!

For the best tools to help make your recipe even easier and more successful, check out my collection of the Best Kitchen Tools on Amazon.

How To Make It

Get complete ingredients list and instructions from recipe card further below.

For the cake:

Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Using a large bowl and a whisk to stir the vegetable oil and sugar together until fully combined.
Add the eggs and continue to whisk until fully incorporated.
Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
Sift in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and use a whisk or rubber spatula to combine just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. It’s ok if there are just a few dry spots or streaks.
Add the buttermilk last and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix or you’ll have a dense cake.
Transfer the batter to the casserole dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or until you can insert a skewer or toothpick into the center and have it come out with just a few moist crumbs.

A collage showing how to make the cake batter for the Football Cake.

For the frosting:

While the cake bakes, make the frosting. Add the butter to a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the butter and half of the powdered sugar on low until combined.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and add the rest of the powdered sugar.
Add the salt, whipping cream, and vanilla extract, and mix on high for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. It will look chunky at first and you’ll think you messed something up but trust the process and keep beating.
Remove about ½ cup of the frosting and set aside.
Add the food coloring and beat until it’s completely incorporated.
After the cake has cooled completely, use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the frosting over the top of the cake.

To assemble:

Cut a piece of parchment paper to about 6 inches wide and place it in the center of the frosted cake.
Sprinkle the exposed sides of the frosted cake with the nonpareil sprinkles and then carefully peel back the parchment.
Add the white frosting to a piping bag or resealable bag and cut a small piece off the corner of the bag.
Draw a straight, horizontal white line, across the center of the green part of the cake to represent the 50 yard line. Label with a 5 on one side of the line and a 0 on the opposite side.
Make 2 additional horizontal lines on either side of the 50 yard line to represent the 30 and 10 yard lines respectively and label them 30 and 10 in the same manner that you did the 50 yard line.
Slice and serve.

Recipe Tips and Variations

The thing I love most about this football stadium cake is that the cake portion comes together in just one bowl. Here are a few baking tips to make sure that this cake comes together perfectly.

Take your time: When creaming together the oil and sugar for the cake make sure to take the full 2-3 minutes. Beating in extra air at this point will help your cake have a fluffy and tender texture.
Use room temperature ingredients: When you are baking your cake, make sure to use room temperature ingredients. This helps them to incorporate better with each other and cuts down on mixing time.
Mix your dry ingredients until just incorporated: Overmixing the dry ingredients will give you a dense cake.
Add the acid to your cake batter last. The baking soda in the batter acts as a leavening agent and helps give rise to your cake making it light and fluffy but it needs an acid to help it do that. The buttermilk is acidic enough to activate the baking soda right away so make sure that you add it at the end, right before you’re ready to bake your cake.
Make it even easier. If you’re running short on time, you can prepare your favorite box of cake mix instead of making the cake from scratch. You could even use a store bought vanilla or cream cheese frosting and whip it in a bowl with green food coloring to make this cake come together in a flash. Just don’t forget to scoop out a bit to keep white for the lines across the cake.

Storage

Store – In an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Freeze – Yes! You can make both the cake and the frosting and freeze them separately. You can freeze your the cake after you’ve wrapped it in plastic and then aluminum foil for about a month. When you’re ready to decorate your cake, allow both the cake and the frosting to come to room temperature. You may need to whip the frosting slightly to get the right consistency before using it.

FAQs

Can I make this ahead of time and freeze it?

Yes! You can make both the cake and the frosting and freeze them separately. When you’re ready to decorate your cake, allow both the cake and the frosting to come to room temperature. You may need to whip the frosting slightly to get the right consistency before using it.

More Recipes You Might Like

Best game day appetizers recipes.
Easy Dips. everyone will love.
Best Super Bowl Party Food Ideas.
Easy Party Food Ideas.

Handy Tip: Use Good Kitchen Tools!

For the best tools to help make your recipe even easier and more successful, check out my collection of the Best Kitchen Tools on Amazon.

Did you make this recipe? Then I would love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a comment and star rating below. And I really appreciate you sharing this recipe with your family and friends. Enjoy every mouthful 😊🍲 – Bintu

Get The Super Bowl Stadium Cake Recipe

This Football Stadium Cake is perfect for game day and will be a great talking point.

Print Pin Rate Save Recipe

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Servings: servings

Calories: 545kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy | Budget Delicious

Ingredients

For the cake:

½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
1 ¼ cup (250g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 ¼ cup (155g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk

For the frosting:

1 cup (225g) 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups (360g) powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup (160ml) heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon green food coloring water based

For decorating:

¼ cup (30g) nonpareil sprinkles

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat your oven to 350 F / 180 C / Gas mark 4 and lightly spray a 9×13 casserole dish or cake tray with non-stick cooking spray.
Whisk together the vegetable oil and sugar in a large bowl until fully combined.
Stir in the eggs and continue whisking until fully incorporated and then mix in the vanilla extract and almond extract.
Sift in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and use a spatula to combine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Then carefully add in the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Avoid over-mixing otherwise you’ll end up with a dense cake.
Pour cake batter to the prepared dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Make the frosting:

Make the frosting whilst the cake is baking. Add the butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the butter and half of the powdered sugar on low until thoroughly combined.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and then add in the remaining powdered sugar. followed by the salt, heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Mix everythin gon high for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. It will look chunky at first and you’ll think you messed something up but trust the process and keep beating.
Remove about ½ cup of the frosting and set aside.
Add the food coloring and beat until it’s completely incorporated.
After the cake has cooled completely, use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the frosting over the top of the cake.

To assemble:

Cut a piece of parchment paper to about 6 inches wide and place it in the center of the frosted cake.
Sprinkle the exposed sides of the frosted cake with the nonpareil sprinkles and then carefully peel back the parchment.
Add the white frosting to a piping bag or resealable bag and cut a small piece off the corner of the bag.
Draw a straight, horizontal white line, across the center of the green part of the cake to represent the 50 yard line. Label with a 5 on one side of the line and a 0 on the opposite side.
Make 2 additional horizontal lines on either side of the 50 yard line to represent the 30 and 10 yard lines respectively and label them 30 and 10 in the same manner that you did the 50 yard line.
Slice and serve.

Notes

Take your time: When creaming together the oil and sugar for the cake make sure to take the full 2-3 minutes. Beating in extra air at this point will help your cake have a fluffy and tender texture.

Use room temperature ingredients: When you are baking your cake, make sure to use room temperature ingredients. This helps them to incorporate better with each other and cuts down on mixing time.

Mix your dry ingredients until just incorporated: Overmixing the dry ingredients will give you a dense cake.

Add the acid to your cake batter last. The baking soda in the batter acts as a leavening agent and helps give rise to your cake making it light and fluffy but it needs an acid to help it do that. The buttermilk is acidic enough to activate the baking soda right away so make sure that you add it at the end, right before you’re ready to bake your cake.

Make it even easier. If you’re running short on time, you can prepare your favorite box of cake mix instead of making the cake from scratch. You could even use a store bought vanilla or cream cheese frosting and whip it in a bowl with green food coloring to make this cake come together in a flash. Just don’t forget to scoop out a bit to keep white for the lines across the cake.