In my book, desserts are a must! If you are looking for more dessert recipes to serve at your patriotic bash, I recommend homemade apple crumble, so much easier to make than an apple pie. Easy brownies recipe are always a winning, crowd friendly recipe. And if you are grilling out, you have to try spicy grilled shrimp!!
America’s Favorite Birthday Cake
Happy 250th Birthday America!! What better way to celebrate a birthday than with cake?? And this one is extra special because it looks just like the flag. This patriotic cake with it’s red, white, and blue design is pretty enough to take center stage on the dessert table and the moist white cake with the thick frosting and fresh fruit may just steal the spotlight.
This cake takes a white sheet cake and arranges the berries on top of the white frosting to make it look like the North American flag. The raspberries get laid out in rows to make the stripes and the blueberries make the little stars that represent the fifty states. Because ‘Merica!
Flag Cake Ingredients
- Flour: You want to measure the flour with a scale to get the perfect weight.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Make sure they are fresh and not expired. You can easily test baking soda by add a pinch of it to some vinegar. If it foams up it’s still good.
- Salt: Just a small amount is needed to bring out the sweetness of the cake.
- Butter: Pull out the butter (you need four sticks for cake and frosting) a couple hours in advance of making the cake. You want the butter softened but not mushy. Using real unsalted butter will give you the best flavor.
- Sugar: Granulates sugar makes this cake sweet. Confectioners sugar is used for the frosting.
- Vanilla and Almond Extract: Use real extracts and not imitation flavors. They need to be added to the cake and the frosting.
- Heavy Cream: You just need a small amount to help loosen up the frosting. You can also use milk.
- Egg: You want to use egg whites to keep the cake white.
- Buttermilk: This helps add a lot of moisture to the cake.
How to Make Flag Cake
Here are the basic instructions to make this white cake and the frosting. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post with full ingredients and instructions to make it.
Cooking Tips and Tricks
- Do not overmix the batter once you add the flour. Mix until just combined.
- Cool the cake completely before adding the frosting.
- If you want more of a vanilla flavor, I recommend using clear vanilla extract. You can add up to 1 1/2 tablespoons. That will help keep the cake white.
- Decorate the cake with the fruit right before you serve it to keep it looking its best. The berries may start to weap a little.
Recipe Variations
- Use sliced strawberries to make up the stripes rather than using raspberries.
- Instead of spacing the blueberries to make little star spaces, tightly line up the blueberries.
- If you don’t love vanilla buttercream frosting, use your favorite cream cheese frosting or a stabilized whipped cream frosting instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen berries for this cake? Nope, they need to be fresh. Thawed frozen berries are going to be soft and messy.
Can I make this cake the night before? Yes, you can make the cake the night before keep it tightly covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap at room temperature. Don’t make or add the frosting or the berries until the day you are going to serve it for best results.
How to Store & Reheat
How to store it? The fully frosted and decorated cake needs to be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should last about 2-3 days in the fridge.
How to freeze? The cake, without frosting or berries on top, can be frozen for up to 3 months. Store in an airtight, freezer safe container and make sure to label with what it is and the date.
Try these other summer recipes!
- Strawberry Salad
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
- Air Fryer Peaches
- Air Fryer Peach Cobbler
- Cream Cheese Bars
If you’ve tried this American flag cake recipe, don’t forget to give me a star rating and leave me a comment below in the comment section. I love to hear from people who have made my recipes.
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American Flag Cake
Ingredients
For Cake
- 310 grams cake flour, about 2 3/4 cups
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not squishy
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup buttermilk
For Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened but not squishy
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Cake Topping
- 1 pint blueberries
- 2-3 pints raspberries, need about 63 raspberries
Instructions
Cake Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and white sugar for about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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With the mixer on the lowest speed, add in vanilla and almond extracts. Then slowly add the egg whites a little at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Pour in the buttermilk and mix.
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Keeping mixer at low speed. Add in about half of the flour mixture. Once mostly mixed in, add the rest of the flour. Combine until flour is just mixed in, do not overmix.
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Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.
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Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Start checking at 38 minutes. Do not overbake.
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Let the cake cool completely about 2-3 hours in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
Frosting Instructions
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Add the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with an electric mixer) and beat on low speed until creamy.
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Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, vanilla extract ,and almond extract mix until combined.
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Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar. Then add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until completely combined and fluffy. If you add too much liquid just add more powdered sugar to thicken it back up or a little more cream to thin it out if it's too thick.
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Once cake is cooled, spread it over the cake evenly.
Topping Instructions
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In the left hand corner, lay out blueberries these are the "stars". You can leave little spaces or put them side by side in lines. Then make lines of raspberries, these represent the original 13 colonies.
Recipe Notes
- Do not over mix the batter once you add the flour. Mix until just combined.
- Recommend weighing the flour but if you have no scale it should be 2 3/4 cups of flour.
- Cool the cake completely before adding the frosting.
- If you want more of a vanilla flavor, I recommend using clear vanilla extract. You can add up to 1 1/2 tablespoons. That will help keep the cake white.
- Decorate the cake with the fruit right before you serve it to keep it looking its best. The berries may start to weap a little.
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Nutrition Information
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