This American flag cake is such a beautiful cake, decorated on top to look like the American flag, it’s perfect for celebrating the Fourth of July this summer.
This American Flag sheet cake is such a perfect cake for your Fourth of July celebrations. It’s an easy white cake, topped with vanilla frosting, and some beautiful berries!
Of course I didn’t invent the idea of decorating a cake like a flag, but I thought this American flag cake turned out too beautiful to not share it with you guys. And a patriotic flag cake is such a fun and easy way to spruce up a cake for the summer!
My flag cake started with a white sheet cake and I topped it with some beautiful red raspberries and blueberries for the stars and stripes. You can make your cake with your favorite white cake, yellow cake, or even a simple cake mix. Another fun option would be to use a jello poke cake or a tres leches cake to make your flag cake. (Read the instructions on those cakes for information on how to prepare them and store them).
Then the cake can be topped with any white colored frosting, a simple butter cream frosting is great (like I used), a homemade cream cheese frosting, vanilla frosting from a can, or even with some fresh whipped cream, or cool whip!
The best part of the flag cake is of course the berries on top.
For the stars on the cake, you’ll want to use blueberries. The blueberries represent the blue material on the flag, and the spaces in between represent the stars. You can even use blueberry pie filling if you can’t find fresh berries, but don’t use frozen berries as the juices will run. You can also take some extra frosting and put it in a bag with a piping tip (the star tip is fun) and pipe stars across the top of the berries.
For the red stripes of the cake you can use sliced strawberries, raspberries, or even cherry pie filling. Once again, don’t use frozen berries or you’ll have a nice red juicy mess across the top of your cake.
After the cake is made and frosted, it’s as simple as decorating one of the corners in your blueberries, then arrange the red fruit in stripes horizontally along the rest of the cake.
How to make a flag cake ahead of time?
You can make this cake up to 2 days in advanced. The Before topping the cake with berries, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature, decorate the cake with berries just before serving. If you’re use whipped cream or a cream cheese frosting the cake will need to be stored in the fridge.
If you have any leftovers of the cake, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days, but the berries may soften and bleed a little. The cake is best enjoyed on the day the berries are added, but can be made ahead of time if needed.
This flag cake is the perfect cake for serving a crowd, but I promise you’ll want to go back for a second slice or two. Your friends and family will be so impressed by this beautiful patriotic American flag cake. It’s perfect for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July!
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American Flag Cake
Ingredients
For the Sheet Cake:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup butter (softened, 2 sticks)
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 TBS heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 dash salt
For the Berry Topping
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
For the Sheet Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spray a jelly roll pan (15x10inches) with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk together.
- In a medium sized sauce pan, add your butter and water, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Once boiling, remove from heat and pour butter mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until combined.
- Add in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract and stir it all together till just combined.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay).
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan completely.
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- Cream your butter in a large bowl till smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and beat at a low speed until well blended.
- Add in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and dash of salt and beat on medium speed until mixed.
- Beat for another 3 to 4 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy (the color should get more white as well)
- **Add in more powdered sugar or more heavy cream if needed for the right texture.
For the Berry Topping
- Arrange the blueberries in rows in the top left corner to form the blue portion of the flag.
- Line the raspberries in 6 rows to form the red stripes of the flag.
- Slice and serve
Nutrition
Sarah says
Recipe says “add eggs” but they are not listed in ingredients? How many? Thank you!
Aimee says
Oops, so sorry. There are two. It should be fixed now
Lauren says
Such a fun idea! Thanks Aimee!
Aimee says
Thank you Lauren!!