Football Cake + Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cake Recipe

SomethingSwanky is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

finally acquired a revolving cake stand and cake scraper for Christmas last year, and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to put them to use. It’s a far cry from those super smooth fancy-pants cakes in my Instagram feed, but I had fun putting my new tools to good use. Plus, I always enjoy thinking that if I can frost and decorate a cake– anybody can ????.

A few things to note about this recipe:

  • Of course you can use any cake recipe you’d like to pair with this chocolate chip cheesecake filling. But I’m providing you with my very favorite chocolate cake recipe below. I think it would be good with red velvet too!
  • I’ve found the easiest way to get the cheesecake to release from the cake pan is to line it with foil and give it a light spray before pouring the batter inside. I like using a cake pan for this cheesecake (instead of a springform pan) so that it’s the exact same size as the chocolate cake layers.
  • The reason I’m instructing you to place the cheesecake layer in between the layers of cake before chilling is that the condensation caused by the cakes moving from room temp to chilled causes them to stick together– rendering additional layers of frosting between the cakes unnecessary. Although, if you’d like to add extra frosting between the layers anyway, don’t let me stop you!

This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

What’s my favorite thing about this recipe?

The chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle, of course!!! You guys, there is just nothing better than chocolate cake, cheesecake, and a really good vanilla frosting. You’re going to wow the pants of your friends and family when they get a bite of this cake!

This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cake

Yield: 8-16

This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake:

  • 16 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

For the Vanilla Frosting:

  • 2 1/4 cup (5 sticks) butter, softened
  • 6 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon vanille extract
  • 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Optional:

  • Chocolate covered almonds (use white frosting or melted white chocolate to pipe football seams)
  • sprinkles
  • food coloring

Instructions

Prepare the chocolate cakes.

Prepare the cheesecake filling:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
  2. Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
  3. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and chocolate chips.
  4. Line a 9-inch cake tin with foil and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray, and pour in the batter.
  5. Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before layering the cheesecake in between the two layers of chocolate cake.

Cover the cakes and let chill completely.

Prepare the frosting:

  1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the butter until smooth.
  2. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, alternating each addition with a liquid (the vanilla and then the whipping cream) until everything has been added and frosting has reached desired consistency. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Keep covered in an airtight container until ready to use.
  4. If desired, reserve about 1/4 of the frosting to color.

Assembly:

  1. Place the three layers of cake (that should stick together after being chilled) on your serving plate.
  2. Frost the cake with an offset spatula.
  3. If you want to add colored frosting in the same way I did: pipe a thick colored stripe of frosting around the bottom and use an offset spatula to smooth it along with the white frosting. Press sprinkles around the bottom of the cake (it's a messy job, but I think it's a nice finish).
  4. Pipe colored frosting around the top of the cake using a large open star tip. Top each swirl (as pictured) with a chocolate almond football.

 This cake is perfect for the Super Bowl! Little footballs made using chocolate covered almonds sit atop a vanilla frosted chocolate cake with a surprise chocolate chip cheesecake in the middle.

Skip to Recipe