This cake couldn’t get any easier beginning with the simplest of ingredients including a chocolate boxed cake mix and instant pudding. It will surely bring smiles to whatever football party you’re heading to this weekend. Go Packers!
HOW TO MAKE A FOOTBALL SHAPED CAKED:
- Mix the ingredients for cake according to the directions below and bake it in a 9″ round baking pan. Make sure you grease the pan so the cake comes out easily.
- Let it stand for 30-45 minutes or until it’s completely cooled.
- Once it’s cooled, cut the cake in half and then a 1″ strip from each side.
- Push the cakes together to form the shape of a football like shown below.
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE GANACHE:
Ganache is the simple process of introducing chopped chocolate to hot cream, allowing the chocolate to melt, and then stirring until it blends together into a rich, shiny icing. The cream does not need to boil, actually is should NOT boil. It simply needs to be hot enough to melt the chocolate.
For pourable ganache (like a chocolate fountain) the ratio should be 1 part chocolate to 1:5 parts cream.
- Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl that preferably has a lid.
- Bring the heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top in a saucepan, stirring occasionally. Just as soon as you see a simmer, remove it from the heat and poor it over the chocolate chips. Use a spoon to get them all coated.
- Place a lid over it to trap the heat and let sit undisturbed for a few minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir the chocolate chips with a whisk starting in the center and working outward until smooth. The longer the ganache is stirred the silkier it will become.
TO ICE THE CAKE:
- Place the cake on a cooling rack over a baking sheet and pour the ganache over the cake. Any excess will drip down onto the cooking sheet. Use a spoon or rubber basting brush to get the sides of the cake coated.
- Once cool, spoon a cup of Cool Whip or whipped cream into a Ziploc bag.
- Cut off a small tip to pipe the laces and lines on the cake.
How to Make a SIMPLE Chocolate Ganache Football Cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 40 min + 30 min cooling time
- Total Time: 90 min
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
Scale
FOR THE GANACHE:
- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 ½ Cups Chocolate Chips
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 box (18.25-ounces) Chocolate Cake Mix
- 1 Box (3.9 ounces) Chocolate Instant Pudding
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- ½ Cup Water
- 4 Eggs
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spray an 8″ round pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Beat for 2 minutes or until well-blended. Transfer the batter to prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean.
FOR THE GANACHE:
- Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside. Put the heavy cream in a small saucepan, and set it over medium-high heat. Once it begins to simmer, remove the pot from the heat and add the vanilla. Pour it over the chocolate. Stir it with a spoon to begin to melt the chocolate. Place a lid, tray, pan or plastic wrap on top and let it melt for a few minutes. Take the lid off and slowly whisk until the ganache is totally melted and combined. (This waiting period allows the hot cream to melt the chocolate while at the same time bringing down the temperature of the cream. Whisking while the cream is too hot could cause the ganache to break, resulting in a gritty final texture.)
TO MAKE THE FOOTBALL CAKE:
- Once the cake is cooled, place a serrated knife in the middle as if cutting the cake in half. Move the knife 1″ over to the left and cut. Repeat on the other side removing about a 2″ section from the middle of the cake.
- To cover the cake with poured ganache, the ganache needs to cool just a bit. As it is cooling, set up a wire rack over a baking tray. Set the cooled shaped cake on the rack sandwiching the 2 halves together forming a football. Carefully ladle the ganache over the cake in a steady stream, letting it run over the cake until covered.
TO MAKE THE LACES:
- Place ½ – 1 Cup Cool Whip or whipped cream in a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner off to pipe the lines and laces on the cake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 27.7
- Sodium: 680 mg
- Fat: 28
- Saturated Fat: 12.2
- Carbohydrates: 52.9
- Fiber: 2.1
- Protein: 6.9
- Cholesterol: 82 mg
4 Comments
Beth
January 24, 2020 at 4:20 pmHow fun !!!
Anonymous
January 26, 2020 at 2:28 pmAwesome!
Jen
October 1, 2023 at 2:56 pmI finally made this. It was the hit of the party.
★★★★★
simplepartyfood
October 1, 2023 at 4:13 pmThanks for giving it a go!