• Bake the cupcakes according to package directions, or use our homemade chocolate fudge cupcake recipe. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Make the chocolate buttercream frosting

• Add your butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a whisk attachment. Beat the butter for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides from time to time, until the butter is light yellow, fluffy, and creamy. Don't skimp on this step! It's the key to fluffy buttercream frosting.
• Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream or milk, salt, and vanilla. Beat all of the ingredients together on low for about 1 minute. Then increase the speed to high speed and beat together for about 1 to 2 minutes, just until all of the cocoa powder and powdered sugar are evenly incorporated into the frosting.
• Transfer chocolate frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #21 piping tip.

Make the vanilla buttercream frosting

• In the bowl of a stand mixer -- or in a large bowl and using a hand mixer -- beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in the powdered sugar until incorporated.Then add the heavy cream, vanilla, and pinch of salt.If the frosting is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time. If the frosting is too thick, add a little more heavy cream, one teaspoon at a time.
• Divide the vanilla buttercream frosting into two bowls, with one bowl containing about ¾ of frosting and the other containing about ¼ frosting.
• Leave the ¾ frosting white. Transfer the white vanilla frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #3 piping tip.
• Add green food coloring to the bowl with ¼ frosting and stir until all of the white frosting becomes green. Add more drops of green dye as needed and stir until you get the desired green color.
• Transfer the green frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #233 piping tip.

To create the football effect with chocolate buttercream frosting:

• Place a cupcake on a sturdy, flat surface. Carefully pipe the chocolate frosting on top of the cupcake so that it loosely resembles a football shape. You do this by starting with a small swirl at top then weaving twice from one side to the other until you reach the middle, going wider each time and the widest section being in the middle. Then repeat going side to side toward the bottom, this time creating shorter lines and ending with a small swirl at the end.

To create the football lines with white vanilla buttercream frosting

• Using Wilton piping tip #3, pipe one straight line down the middle of the football shape, leaving some space of chocolate frosting at both ends. Then pipe three short lines across, starting with the middle and then one slightly above and one slightly below.

Make the green grass

• Using piping tip #233, pipe grass strands around the football shape in short movements straight upward from the cupcake. Continue all the way around the cupcake.