Flag Cake Recipes

ALL-AMERICAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Stir yellow cake mix, 1 cup water, vegetable oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl until moistened; beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
• Bake cake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Poke holes about 1 inch apart all over the cake with a fork.
• Dissolve strawberry gelatin in boiling water in a bowl and pour gelatin slowly over the cake, letting gelatin seep into holes. Refrigerate cake until gelatin sets, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to a serving platter and cut in half horizontally.
• Mix instant vanilla pudding mix with milk in a bowl and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes; stir in 1/2 cup blueberries. Spread blueberry filling onto bottom of cake and place top of cake over the filling. Spread 2 cups whipped topping smoothly over top and sides of cake and arrange 1/2 cup blueberries in a square in the upper left corner of the cake for stars. Arrange alternating layers of strawberries and miniature marshmallows into horizontal red and white stripes.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9x13-in metal pan, or use nonstick cooking spray with flour in it, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (Don't worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point.)
• Reduce the speed to low, then beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour, then scrape down the bowl and beat again until the batter is evenly combined. Do not overmix.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is set and lightly golden around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl if using a hand mixer), combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and light, about 2 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, mixing on low speed to combine. Once the confectioners' sugar is mixed in, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the frosting (you'll need it for the blueberry "stars.")
• When the cake is completely cool, use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly over top. The frosting won't show so no need to fuss over making it perfect.
• Outline the "stars" section on the upper left corner of the cake with a toothpick (or skip this step and just eyeball it) and fill with a generous layer of blueberries. Dip a small handful of the remaining blueberries in the reserved frosting, and then in the remaining 1½ cups of confectioners' sugar to make white "stars." Evenly scatter the "stars" over the section of blueberries. Arrange 1 row of raspberries across the top of the cake, laying them sideways, like a red stripe. Gently roll the next row of raspberries in the confectioners' sugar to make a white stripe, and alternate until the flag is completed. (I suggest using one hand for rolling and one for placing; if any powdered sugar accidentally gets on the red "stripes," use your fingertip to dab the berries lightly with water and it will come right off. )
• Cut the cake into squares and serve directly from the pan.
• Note: If you'd like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
• Note: The berries should be dry before decorating the cake. (In general, I don't rinse raspberries because they are so delicate.)
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The cake itself can be made one day ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Frost and decorate the cake before serving.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients; beat on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan., Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely., Transfer cake to a covered cake board. Using a small knife, cut out a 5x4-in. rectangle (1/2 in. deep) in the top left corner of cake, leaving a 1/2-in. border along edges of cake. For red stripes, cut out 1/2-in. wide rows (1/2 in. deep), leaving a 1/2-in. border. Using a fork, carefully remove cut-out cake pieces., In a small bowl, dissolve berry blue gelatin in 3/4 cup boiling water. Pour 1/2 cup cold water into a 2-cup measuring cup; add enough ice cubes to measure 1-1/4 cups. Stir into gelatin until slightly thickened. Scoop out and discard any remaining ice cubes. Repeat, making strawberry gelatin., In a small bowl, combine strawberries and 1 cup strawberry gelatin. In another bowl, combine blueberries and 1 cup blue gelatin. Refrigerate 20 minutes or just until soft-set. (Save remaining gelatin for another use.), Stir gelatin mixtures. Slowly pour blueberry mixture into rectangle; spoon strawberry mixture into stripes., In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy; beat in confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Add marshmallow creme; beat well until light and fluffy. Spread 1 cup over sides and top edge of cake. Refrigerate remaining frosting 20 minutes., Cut a small hole in the corner of pastry or plastic bag; insert a large star tip. Fill the bag with remaining frosting. Pipe frosting in between rows of strawberry gelatin and around edges of cake. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until gelatin is set.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place cake on tray. Frost top and sides of cake with frosting.
• For flag design, arrange blueberries on upper left corner of frosted cake to create stars; arrange strawberries in rows over frosted cake to create stripes. Serve immediately. Store covered in refrigerator.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and coat again with the spray.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time until combined, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in half the buttermilk and then repeat, adding the flour in 2 more increments and alternating with the second half of the buttermilk. Stir in the sprinkles. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back to a light touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan.
• Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to release the sides and turn the cake out onto a baking sheet. Remove the parchment paper and then flip again onto a serving platter or cutting board so the top of the cake is back on top. Cool completely before frosting.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the white chocolate and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very smooth and fluffy.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a small rosette tip. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
• For the garnish: Place the blueberries in 6 rows of 6 berries each in the top left-hand corner of the cake. Trim and halve the strawberries lengthwise and make 4 rows of strawberries across the cake. Pipe stars between the blueberries and use the remaining frosting to pipe a border around the bottom of the cake. Brush the berries with the melted jelly. Cut and serve.

AMERICAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line 4 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Combine white cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds using an electric mixer on low speed. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes. The batter will still be slightly lumpy.
• To make the red cakes, measure half the batter into a separate bowl and whisk in red food coloring. Evenly transfer the red batter into 2 of the 8-inch prepared cake pans; smooth tops of batter with a spatula. Transfer half of the remaining uncolored batter into a 3rd prepared cake pan; smooth top as before. This will be the white cake portion.
• Add blue food coloring to the remaining uncolored batter in the large mixing bowl; fold 1 cup white chocolate chips into blue batter until combined. Transfer batter to remaining prepared 8-inch cake pan; smooth top of batter with a spatula.
• Bake all 4 cakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from oven and place onto cooling racks until cooled completely.
• Run a knife around edge of each cooled cake. Invert cakes, remove pans, and peel off parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to trim tops of cakes flat and even.
• Cut both of the red cake layers and the white cake layer in half horizontally. You will have 4 thin red cake layers and 2 thin white cake layers.
• Place a 4-inch round stencil on top of 1 thin red cake layer; cut out a 4-inch red cake round. Repeat, placing stencil on 1 thin white cake layer to make 1 4-inch white cake round. Center the 4-inch round stencil on the blue cake; cut out and remove center portion covered by the stencil to make a blue cake ring.
• To assemble the cake, you will need 2 thin 8-inch red cake layers, 1 thin 8-inch white cake layer, 1 4-inch thin red cake circle, 1 4-inch thin white cake circle, and 1 blue 8-inch cake ring. Reserve the leftover thin red cake layer and other cake pieces for making crumbs for decorating.
• To assemble cake, place 1 8-inch thin red cake layer on a cake pan and frost the top generously with white frosting. Place the thin 8-inch white cake layer on top of the red one, and frost the top. Place remaining 8-inch thin red cake layer atop the white one. Frost the red layer.
• Place the blue ring cake on top of the 2nd red cake layer and carefully frost the inside of the blue cake ring. Gently fit the 4-inch white cake layer into the blue cake ring. Frost the top of the 4-inch white center. Place the 4-inch red cake layer on top of the white one. Gently press small cake circles flush with the top of the blue ring.
• Frost the entire outside of the cake generously with the remaining frosting.
• Crumble red and blue pieces of leftover cake into 2 separate bowls. Score lines into the top of the cake's frosting with a kitchen knife to make a flag design on top of the cake. It should have a 2-inch square at the upper left for blue field and white stars, and 7 thick horizontal stripes about 1 inch wide.
• Fill the square field at the upper left with blue crumbs and press 1 tablespoon white chocolate chips upside-down into the blue crumbs to make 'stars.' Fill the bottom stripe and every other stripe with red crumbs to make red stripes. Sprinkle white sugar generously into the white stripes to make them stand out.
• To serve, cut cake into wedges. The inside of the cake will reveal its layers of red and white stripes and blue field with white chocolate chip stars in every slice.

AMERICAN FLAG COOKIE CAKE

Steps:

• For the shortbread: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into pieces, and using 2 forks or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it's the consistency of wet sand. Press the dough firmly and evenly into a nonstick 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until the shortbread is pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the baking sheet on a wire rack. Once it has cooled, use a sharp knife to carefully cut around the edges then invert the shortbread onto a serving platter.
• For the toppings: Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and continue beating on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract then sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl and mix on low speed just until combined. (Overmixing will cause the frosting to be too runny.)
• Spread the cream cheese frosting in an even layer on the shortbread. Arrange 6 of the blueberries in the top left corner in each of 5 rows to form the blue portion of the flag. Arrange the raspberries in about 6 horizontal rows across the cake, leaving about 1 inch between each row, to form the stripes. Place the white chocolate chips between the blueberries to form the stars.
• Using a sharp knife, slice and serve the cookie cake immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve the same day. To make the cake in advance, wrap the shortbread tightly in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate the frosting for up to 2 days. Then assemble the cake shortly before serving so the berries don't release juices into the frosting.