Whether your team is playing in the big game or not, Super Bowl parties are highly popular, bringing people together to eat, drink and enjoy the game and the commercials. Along with the buffalo wings, pizza and other snacks, adding Super Bowl cupcakes to the menu is a popular option. This guide explains how to make Super Bowl cupcakes that are sure to please fans of all types.

While the decorations on the cupcakes is the most common way to show team spirit, the cakes themselves can be varied to meet the occasion. Any type of cake can be used, including chocolate cake, yellow cake, white cake and even fruity flavors.

Once the cakes are baked and cooled, the decorating fun begins. Popular decorating options range from frosting the cupcakes in team colors to drawing team logos on the cakes to arranging the completed batch in the shape of a team logo, name or even a football. Other options include decorating the cupcakes with jersey numbers and arranging them in formations on a green background to simulate a football game.

There are numerous ways to prepare Super Bowl cupcakes and this page will explain how to make the cupcakes then decorate them individually or as a group.

While any flavor of cake can be used, this recipe shows the ingredients and preparation method for making a a basic yellow cake. Feel free to vary the cake flavor if you wish.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk

Preparation Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line cupcake tins with paper liners or grease generously and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
4. Mix the eggs and sugar in a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer if possible. Beat for about three minutes or until the color lightens to that of a lemon.
5. Add in the butter and vanilla and mix until well combined.
6. Stir in one half of the flour mixture, beating until fully incorporated.
7. Mix in the milk, then add in the rest of the flour mixture. Beat until just combined, but do not overmix.
8. Spoon or pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tins, filling each cupcake well about 2/3 full.
9. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
10. Cool briefly in the tins then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, the fun of decorating them begins. There is no right or wrong way to decorate them individually. Several popular ideas for individually decorating Super Bowl cupcakes include:

• Frost the cupcakes with icing colored the same as the teams playing in the game.
• Top the cupcakes with green icing, to make them look like grass, then top them with football-shaped candy or draw a football on each using brown and white icing.
• Frost the cupcakes with a solid color icing, such as white or chocolate, then using team colors, draw team logos on each cupcake. Fondant works well for intricate designs like team logos.http://www.flickr.com/photos/twopartssugar/3212340224/
• Frost one-half of the cupcake green, like a football field, and the other half with a solid color, like an endzone. Use white icing to separate the halves and to draw lines on the green side to look like yard lines. Top the solid color side with sprinkles and top with a football-shaped candy.http://www.wilton.com/idea/First-Down

1. Frost the cupcakes with a solid color of your choice and top with small purchased plastic trinkets, like helmets or other images that correspond to the teams.http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/Superbowlcupcakes.htm
2. Carefully cut the cupcakes into football shapes using a sharp knife. Frost them with a brown or chocolate icing and make the laces and detail of the footballs with white icing.http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/Superbowlcupcakes.htm

For a nice presentation, the cupcakes can be placed together to form a unique shape and frosted as a group. Ideas for decorating Super Bowl cupcakes as a group include:

1. Arrange the cupcakes into a large rectangle. Frost them all green, to appear as grass, then use white icing to draw yard lines and endzones.
2. Frost the cupcakes in team colors and draw jersey numbers of the starting lineup, one number on each cupcake. Arrange them in a formation on a green background.http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/319/1042/1600/wk41c.jpg
3. Arrange the cupcakes in the shape of a football and use white icing to draw the laces and other markings of a football.http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/Superbowlcupcakes.htm
4. Pick a phrase like "Go Team!" or "Super Bowl" and line up the cupcakes with one cupcake representing each letter. Frost the tops in a solid color, then draw one letter on each to spell out your phrase.http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/Superbowlcupcakes.htm
5. Arrange the cupcakes in the shape of a team logo. Decorate them as a group to look like the team logo.
6. Frost all cupcakes one color, then arrange them into the shape of a logo or to spell out a team name or NFL.
7. Arrange the cupcakes in a circle and decorate them like the logo of the specific Super Bowl.