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If you’re looking for an elevated game day dessert, then you need to make these mini football cupcakes! With team sprinkles and fluffy chocolate buttercream, they’re one of my favorite desserts for Super Bowl, watch parties, and tailgating. The buttercream decoration is also super easy, so you don’t have to be a cake decorator to make them. And since they’re mini, you get 60 servings for a big group!

A white platter of mini football cupcakes on a white tile counter next to green cups of beer, white bowls of chips, and football confetti.

I know next to zero things about football. But I know probably 1,000 things about snacking, drinking beer, throwing a theme party, and screaming at my TV. On paper, I’m a football girlie.

But, until they put out a high-drama reality show called Wives of the NFL or something, I’ll stick to the party part. And today, I’m starting off with these cupcakes which are cute enough to match the vibe but elevated for a grown-up party.

This recipe is based on my go-to cupcakes that I’ve been making since I was in pastry school. The cupcakes have an intense pop of vanilla and team color sprinkles for a funfetti-meets-yellow cake situation. And the frosting is deeply chocolatey and super fluffy. Ahhh they’re so good!

What I don’t love about most themed desserts is that they’re way too time consuming or use weird ingredients for the sake of aesthetics. And, after covering hundreds of cakes in fondant during pastry school, I’m honestly a bit over it lol. But what I love about these cupcakes is that they’re low-effort, high-reward thanks to sprinkles and an easy frosting technique.

Pair these cupcakes with extra mini M&M cookies or my chewy brownie bites and you have a crowd-pleasing, super simple Super Bowl dessert table!

Tools & ingredients

White and brown bowls of cocoa powder, oil, powdered sugar, milk, sugar, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, flour, sprinkles, and butter on a white counter.

The ingredients for this recipe are super basic! For the cupcakes, you just need all-purpose flour, baking powder, Morton’s Kosher salt, unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, neutral oil, vanilla extract, whole milk, and sprinkles. The frosting is made up of unsalted butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, whole milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of Kosher salt.

You also don’t need any super special tools. Just a mini cupcake pan, mini cupcake liners (I used green to mimic the football field!), a piping bag, and piping tips. You’ll want one small star tip for the footballs and one very small round tip for the white piping. I used Wilton tip #21 and Wilton tip #2.

Team sprinkles

White and brown bowls of sprinkles on a white counter next to green cupcake liners and piping tips.
You will need 2 Tablespoons (20 grams) of each color of sprinkles. That’s 1/4 cup (40 grams) per team or 1/2 cup (80 grams) of sprinkles total.

For the sprinkles, you will want classic rods or “jimmies”. Any other sprinkles will muddy the batter. In this batch, I used Miami Dolphins colors (my husband’s team) and 49ers colors (the team closest to where I live). But obviously, you can use colors for the Super Bowl teams, your favorite team, etc. in these cupcakes!

If you’re looking for specific team colors, you can usually find them online. Or, go to a craft store which usually have individual sprinkle colors for sale. I just bought teal, orange, red, and gold sprinkles from Michael’s and mixed them myself!

Bake the cupcakes

A silver bowl of butter and sugar on a white counter.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter & sugar until it’s light & fluffy.
A silver bowl of butter, sugar, an egg, and vanilla on a white counter.
Add the eggs one at a time. Then, stir in the vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
A silver bowl of butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and oil on a white counter.
Add the neutral oil and sour cream to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir well.
A silver bowl of butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, sour cream, and flour on a white counter.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, & milk in 2 batches.
A silver bowl of cake batter on a marble background.
Stir just until the batter is about 90% combined.
Two white bowls of cake batter with sprinkles on a marble table.
Evenly divide the batter in 2 bowls and add the sprinkles.
Two white bowls of cake batter with sprinkles on a white counter.
Fold the sprinkles into the batter just until they’re well-mixed.
A hand using a scoop to divide batter into a mini cupcake pan.
Divide the batter between the mini cupcake liners.
A pan with mini football cupcakes on a marble counter.
Bake the cupcakes at 350°F (177°C) for 11-12 minutes.

Don’t over-mix or the sprinkles will muddy the batter! You want to stir just until the sprinkles are well-combined and there are no more streaks of flour.

Make the chocolate frosting

A silver bowl of butter and powdered sugar on a white counter.
Add the butter and powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
A silver bowl with frosting and a whip attachment on a white counter.
Whip the frosting until it’s light and fluffy. Add the milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
A silver bowl of frosting and cocoa powder on a white counter next to a white bowl of frosting.
Save about 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting for later. Then, add the cocoa powder to the rest.
A hand holding a whip attachment with chocolate buttercream.
Whip the chocolate buttercream until it’s super flight and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Fluffy frosting is so much easier to pipe!
Two piping bags, one with vanilla frosting and one with chocolate buttercream, on a white counter.
Add the vanilla frosting to a piping bag with the small round tip. Scoop the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag with the star tip.

How to decorate

A piping bag piping chocolate frosting on mini football cupcakes.
Pipe the chocolate footballs.
A hand piping white frosting on mini football cupcakes on a white counter.
Add 1 horizontal white line.
A hand using a piping bag to pipe lines on mini football cupcakes.
Pipe 3 vertical white lines. Done!
  1. To start, pipe zigzag shapes over the tops of the cupcakes. You want the centers to be wider and the ends to be tapered for a football shape. The first few might feel awkward, but once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy!
  2. Then, use the vanilla frosting to pipe a horizontal line over the chocolate footballs. Make sure to apply even pressure, you want one consistent line!
  3. Lastly, pipe three vertical lines evenly across each horizontal line to mimic the laces. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect!

If you want the decorating to be even easier, you can just pipe one horizontal line across the footballs and skip the three vertical lines. They’ll still look super cute!

A white platter of mini football cupcakes on a white tile counter next to white bowls of snacks, green glasses of beer, and football confetti.
Try serving these cupcakes with other football snacks like chips & dip, wings, and pizza.
Two mini football cupcakes with bites taken out of them on a white tile counter next to football picks, confetti, and plates of football cupcakes.
I’m obsessed with these cupcakes! Are you going Team Dolphins or Team 49ers?

Storage & freezing tips

  • Store – place any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container & store at room temp for 2-3 days.
  • Freeze – store the cupcakes in an airtight container and freeze until solid, 1-2 hours. Once they’re frozen, cover the tops with a layer of parchment paper to keep them from getting icy. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost at room temp for 1 hour before serving.
A white platter of mini football cupcakes on a white tile counter next to white bowls of snacks, green beer cups, football picks, and star confetti.

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Easy Mini Football Cupcakes

Yield: 60 mini cupcakes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
If you're looking for an elevated game day dessert, then you need to make these mini football cupcakes! They have team sprinkles, lots of vanilla, and super fluffy chocolate buttercream for a simple and classic dessert. And since they're mini, you get 60 servings in under 1 hour!
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Ingredients

Sprinkle Cupcakes

  • 210 grams all-purpose flour  (1 3/4 cups)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 114 grams unsalted butter,  softened (1/2 cup)
  • 200 grams granulated sugar  (1 cup)
  • 2 large eggs,  room temperature
  • 60 grams full-fat sour cream  (1/4 cup)
  • 60 grams neutral oil  (1/4 cup)
  • 15 milliliters pure vanilla extract (1 Tablespoon)
  • 120 milliliters whole milk (1/2 cup)
  • 80 grams rod sprinkles (1/2 cup – 40 grams or 1/4 cup per team)

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 228 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)
  • 480 grams powdered sugar, sifted (4 cups)
  • Pinch of Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 30 milliliters whole milk, plus more as needed (2 Tablespoons)
  • 64 grams Dutch process cocoa powder (2/3 cup)

Equipment

  • Kitchen scale
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer
  • Mini cupcake pan
  • Mini cupcake liners
  • 2 piping bags
  • 1 small star tip (I use Wilton #21)
  • 1 Small round tip (I use Wilton #2)

Instructions 

Sprinkle Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a mini cupcake pan with paper liners. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until well-combined. Set aside.
  • Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until well-mixed. Then, stir in the sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract.
  • Pour half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, followed by half of the milk. Mix on low just until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk, stirring just until the batter comes together.
  • Evenly divide the batter into two small mixing bowls. Add the sprinkles from Team #1 into one bowl and the sprinkles from Team #2 in the second bowl. Stir each bowl of batter just a few times until the sprinkles are well-distributed. Don't over-mix or the sprinkles will bleed!
  • Using a #60 scoop, divide the batter evenly between 60 cupcake liners. They'll be about 2/3-3/4 of the way full. (You will need to work in batches if you only have 1 mini cupcake pan). Bake the cupcakes for 11-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cupcakes are ready when an inserted toothpick has just a few moist crumbs on it.
  • Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pan cool completely before you bake the rest of the cupcakes.

Chocolate Buttercream

  • Add the butter and half of the powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whip attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar until it's smooth. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, beating the mixture until it's well-combined. The frosting will be thick.
  • Add the salt, vanilla extract, and whole milk. Whip the frosting on medium-high speed until it's very fluffy, 3-4 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed. Then, reserve about 100 grams (1/2 cup) of vanilla buttercream for later.
  • Add the cocoa powder to the remaining buttercream and beat the frosting until well-combined. Add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time to thin the frosting as needed. Turn the mixer to high and beat 2-3 minutes until the chocolate buttercream is super fluffy.
  • Fit one piping bag with a small star tip and one piping bag with a small round tip. Spoon the chocolate buttercream in the bag with the star tip and the vanilla buttercream into the bag with the round tip.
  • Using the chocolate buttercream, pipe zigzag shapes over the tops of the cooled cupcakes. You want the centers to be wider and the ends to be tapered to make football shapes. The first few might feel awkward, but once you get the hang of it, it's super easy!
  • Then, use the vanilla frosting to pipe a horizontal line over the chocolate footballs. Make sure to apply even pressure, you want one consistent line! Lastly, pipe three vertical lines evenly across each horizontal line to mimic the laces. Enjoy the cupcakes immediately or store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Notes

For amazing cupcakes every time, measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale! If you don’t have one, you can use measuring cups, but make sure you’re measuring the flour the right way. First, fluff the flour with a whisk. Spoon the fluffed flour into the measuring cup until it’s overflowing and level it off without packing the flour in.
You will need 2 Tablespoons (20 grams) of each color of sprinkles. That’s 1/4 cup (40 grams) per team or 1/2 cup (80 grams) of sprinkles total. If you’re looking for specific team colors, you can usually find them online or at a craft store. I just bought teal, orange, red, and gold sprinkles from Michael’s and mixed them myself!
Don’t over-mix or the sprinkles will muddy the batter! You want to stir just until the sprinkles are well-combined and there are no more streaks of flour.
If you want the decorating to be even easier, you can just pipe one horizontal line across the footballs and skip the three vertical lines. They’ll still look super cute!
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Sara Lynn Hunt Broka
Serving: 1mini cupcake, Calories: 121kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 0.9g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 44mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 12g, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 0.4mg
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