If you’re looking for some fun football cupcake ideas for a big game or the Superbowl, you’ve come to the right spot!

These football cupcakes are made with moist chocolate cupcakes and decorated with homemade buttercream to create these easy and adorable designs.

Substitutions and Swaps – Chocolate Cupcakes

Before we dive into the designs of these football cupcakes, let’s talk about the ingredients!!

This recipe use quite a few ingredients and I know you might not have all of them on hand.

Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered. Below are some swaps and substitutions that you can make.

• Chocolate Chips – You can use milk, dark or semi-sweet chocolate to make these chocolate cupcakes! Just be sure it’s a good quality chocolate so it will melt down smoothly.
• Instant Espresso or Coffee – You can also use 3/4 cup of strong brewed coffee in place of the hot water and instant espresso to make the cupcake batter, or you can omit the instant espresso if you dislike the taste of coffee.
• All Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with AP flour, but you can use a gluten free flour blend or cake flour if that’s all you have on hand.
• Granulated Sugar – I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar as it will change the texture of these cupcakes.
• Vegetable Oil – You can use any flavorless oil in this recipe. Canola or sunflower oil would work great!
• Large Eggs – If you have an egg allergy you can use 2 flaxseed eggs instead or a vegan egg replacer like this made by Bob’s Red Mill.
• Vinegar – This recipe needs a bit of vinegar because it uses baking soda as a leavening agent. The vinegar activates the baking soda and helps the cupcakes rise. You can use white or apple cider vinegar.
• Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract helps enhance the chocolate flavor in these cupcakes, but you can use any extract you want like almond or coconut or omit it all together.

Substitutions and Swaps – Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this frosting recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Heavy Cream – Whipping cream, coconut cream or alternative milk (soy, almond, oat, coconut) will work fine in this frosting recipe if that’s what you have on hand.
• Melted Chocolate – Any type of chocolate will work in this frosting! You can use milk, semi-sweet, or dark. You can also use chopped up chocolate, or chocolate chips.
• Cocoa Powder – Unsweetened baking cocoa powder works best in this recipe! You can also use dark cocoa powder or if you don’t have any on hand you can omit it.
• Vanilla Extract – Other extracts can also be used in place of the vanilla extract. Feel free to use coconut extract, hazelnut extract or even pistachio extract.

Football Cupcake Design #1: Chocolate Frosting Football

To make this football cupcake design, pipe chocolate buttercream in a squiggle on top of the cupcake using a small French tip.

Pipe grass around the chocolate buttercream with green buttercream using a grass tip. Then pipe white buttercream on top of the football to look like its laces.

Football Cupcake Design #2: The Yard Line Cupcake

To make this yard line cupcake design, pipe grass on top of the cupcake with green buttercream using a grass tip.

Then use white buttercream to pipe a yard line on the left side of the cupcake.

Place 1 tootsie roll in the microwave and heat it for 8-10 seconds to make it soft. Carefully knead it then shape it to look like a small football.

Let it cool on a piece of parchment paper for 10 minutes, then place it on the cupcake and use white buttercream to pipe the football’s laces.

Football Cupcake Design #3: The Field and Fans Cupcake

To make this field and fans football cupcake, pipe chocolate buttercream on half of the cupcake. Dunk the cupcake into a small bowl of nonpareil sprinkles.

Pipe green buttercream on the unfrosted half of the cupcake, then pipe white lines on top of the green buttercream to look like field lines.

Football Cupcake Design #4: The Winning Pass

To make this cupcake design, pipe grass on top of the cupcake with green buttercream using a grass tip.

Place 1 tootsie roll in the microwave and heat it for 8-10 seconds to make it soft. Carefully knead it then shape it to look like a small football.

Let the tootsie roll football on a piece of parchment paper to cool for 10 minutes, then place it on the cupcake and use white buttercream to pipe the football’s laces and white dashes around the football.

Football Cupcake Design #5: TOUCHDOWN!!!

To make this touchdown cupcake, pipe an even layer of chocolate buttercream on top of the cupcake.

Dunk the cupcake into a small bowl of nonpareil sprinkles to completely cover the frosting, then use white buttercream to write touchdown on top of the sprinkles.

Tips for Making the Best Football Chocolate Cupcakes

• Ingredients at room temp mix together better. Be sure you set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Mix your cupcake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This will ensure your cupcakes are tender and fluffy.
• Use a large cookie scoop to easily fill your cupcake liners. It also makes sure your cupcakes end up being the same height.
• Seal off the top of each of your piping bags with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out the top of the bag and make the piping bags easier to use.
• Use gel food coloring to color your green buttercream! It allows you to get a vibrant color without throwing off the consistency of the frosting.

Making These Football Chocolate Cupcakes in Advance & How to Store Them

You can make these cupcakes in advance! If stored unfrosted in an airtight container, they can sit out overnight at room temperature or be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

These cupcakes can also last up to 3 months in the freezer. If you plan to freeze them, wait to fill and frost them until they’re thawed.

You can also make your buttercream ahead of time or save any leftovers. The buttercream frosting will last in the fridge for up to a month.

Be sure to give the frosting a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again. You can also store buttercream in piping bags in the fridge.

I find they keep their consistency well in piping bags and don’t require any mixing after they’ve thawed.

Frosted cupcakes can sit at room temperature for a couple days or can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. However, like all baked goods these cupcakes taste best when they’re freshly baked!

Let Me Know What You Think

If you make these football cupcakes, I’d love to hear what you think of them! Please leave a rating below.

Also please tag me @chelsweets! Use the #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media.

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