Red, white and blue stars and stripes made with fresh fruit atop a simple, decorated moist yellow cake or red velvet cake, will transform any occasion into a star-spangled holiday. To get the desired American "flag" shape, it is important to use a 9 X 13-inch metal or glass cake pan. This size will allow plenty of space for stars and stripes.
Red, White and Blue Flag Cake — Cake Mix Recipe
A quick and easy way to make this patriotic flag cake is with a boxed cake mix. Both Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines are equally good for this recipe, as are store brand generic cake mixes. Using a cake mix with pudding in it assures the cake will be nice and moist. To make this patriotic flag cake even easier, use canned white frosting to decorate the cake before adding the strawberry "stripes" and blueberry "stars."
Red, White and Blue Flag Cake — Basic Scratch Cake Recipe
Make this patriotic flag cake when there is more time to spend on baking and decorating. Use the Basic Yellow Cake from Scratch Recipe below for a delicious flag cake, or use an alternative favorite cake recipe for the base. Likewise, fluffy white buttercream frosting is the perfect "canvas" to show off the red strawberry stripes and blue blueberry stars on this 4th of July patriotic flag cake.
Basic Yellow Cake From Scratch Recipe
- 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
- 1 batch white buttercream frosting
- 2 pints fresh juicy strawberries, hulled, and sliced lengthwise
- 1 pint fresh large plump blueberries
How To Make a Patriotic Flag Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour one 9 X 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using an electric stand mixer or a hand held mixer, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and scrape once more.
- Add flour mixture 1 cup at a time,alternating with buttermilk until all is combined. Do not over mix batter, just enough to remove all lumps.
- Pour yellow cake batter into prepared pan and rap the pan on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles.
- Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean.The scratch cake recipe may take a few minutes longer.
- Cool cake completely on a wire rack before frosting or freezing.
- Frost yellow cake with white buttercream frosting. With a large star tip, pipe a border of icing all the way around if desired.
- To make the "stars", place blueberries in the upper left hand corner of the cake, staggering them as the stars would be on a flag.
- Starting at the top of the cake, right next to the blueberries, place sliced strawberries in rows, leaving equal sized white rows between the remaining rows of strawberries. Continue all the way down the cake.
- Makes one 9 X 13 inch yellow cake that serves 15-20.
- Chill until ready to serve, Likewise, refrigerate all leftovers.
Red, White and Blue Strawberry, Blueberry Shortcake Recipe: Use the basic buttermilk biscuits recipe and whipped cream recipe. To make these traditional strawberry shortcakes extra special, use half strawberries and half blueberries. Follow the recipe as stated, and top the shortcakes with fresh whipped cream.
Donna Diegel - Donna Diegel is an experienced baker and published author with more than 25 years of experience in the food industry.
