If you're hosting a Super Bowl party, chances are you're searching the internet for easy recipes that feed a crowd. Well, consider dessert done, because not only does this sheet pan cake tick the "easy" box, it also doubles as an impressive centerpiece for your football food table. No special baking or cake decorating skills are needed. Simply slice it up at halftime and let guests serve themselves right from the pan. Go team!
Things You\’ll Need
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Box cake mix (plus required ingredients)
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12-by-17-inch sheet pan
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Cooking spray
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Green frosting (or green food coloring and white frosting)
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Parchment paper
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Sprinkles
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White cooking icing
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Gummy bears
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Tootsie roll or candy football
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Pretzel sticks
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Chocolate chips
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Sports teams toothpick flags (optional)
Step 1
Mix up your favorite box cake mix (or homemade recipe) according to the instructions. One box will fill a 12-by-17-inch sheet pan, but if you want a thicker cake, you can make two boxes.
Step 2
Coat the sheet pan with cookie spray, and then pour the batter into the pan. Smooth the batter into the corners, and shake the pan to ensure the batter levels out evenly. Place in the oven to bake. We baked one box of cake mix at 350° for 24 minutes, but you may need to adjust this based on your oven and how many boxes you make.
Step 3
Let the cake cool completely, and then frost the entire cake with green frosting. If you can't find ready-made green frosting, simply mix several drops of green food coloring into white frosting until you get a deep green color.
Step 4
Cut a piece of parchment paper smaller than the cake's width so that it leaves a two-inch border on each side of the cake, and place it lightly on the center of the cake. Add sprinkles (a lot of them!) along the sides of the cake, and gently press them into the frosting so they don't roll around.
Step 5
Once the sides are completely covered in sprinkles, remove the parchment paper and smooth out the frosting. (Dipping your knife in hot water and wiping it off beforehand will make your frosting nice and smooth.) Pipe lines of white icing across the cake to create grid lines. It's easiest to place a ruler next to the sheet pan, find the mid-point, and pipe the middle line first. Then pipe three evenly spaced lines on each side of the middle line.
Step 6
Time to decorate! Add 11 gummy bear "players" on each side of the "field." Bonus points if you use gummy bears in the team's colors. Place a candy football in the middle of the field. We shaped a tootsie roll into a football and drew laces with icing, but you can also use a store-bought candy football, or even a small chocolate egg.
To make the goal posts, we melted a tablespoon of chocolate chips in the microwave to serve as the "glue" and dipped pretzel sticks into the chocolate before arranging them into a goal post shape. Make a few extra goal posts in case one breaks. Let the chocolate harden before sticking a goal post into each end of the field.
Step 7
Either buy toothpick flags with the team's pennants, or screenshot the pennants from the internet and use a free template to print them out. Stick a couple of flags into each side of the sprinkles.
Your sheet pan stadium cake is ready to impress your guests — and feed a hungry crowd of football fans!
