A soft yellow cake topped with cream cheese frosting and fresh berries, this flag cake is the perfect patriotic dessert for a crowd.
A soft yellow cake topped with luscious cream cheese frosting and fresh berries, this festive flag cake is the ultimate July 4th dessert. I know that decorating cakes can be intimidating, especially for non-bakers, but this one is quick and easy — promise! Before we get to the step-by-step, I have to give credit where it’s due. The cake portion of this recipe comes from my all-time favorite cake cookbook, Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri. Decorating inspiration comes from Gaby Dalkin of the fun cooking blog What’s Gaby Cooking, whose easy method for creating the stars and stripes I copied. Instead of using a frosting-filled pastry bag fitted with a star tip to make the white portions of the flag design, she coats half of the berries in powdered sugar. This makes decorating the cake doable for everyone, even kids.
What You’ll Need To Make A Flag Cake
The ingredients for this flag cake are pretty straightforward. My only advice is to get the prettiest, firmest berries you can find. It will make decorating the cake much easier.
How To Make A Flag Cake
Step 1: Bake the Cake
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.
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.
Bake for about 30 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.
Step 2: Make the Frosting
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.”)
Step 3: Frost The Cake
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.
Step 4: Decorate with “Stars” and “Stripes”
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. 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. Dip a small handful of the remaining blueberries in the reserved frosting, and then in the remaining cup of confectioners’ sugar to make white “stars.” Evenly scatter the “stars” among the section of blueberries. Serve the cake directly from the pan. This flag cake is best made on the day of serving or one day ahead of time at most.
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Per serving (24 servings) Serving size: 1 piece Calories: 393 Fat: 16 g Saturated fat: 9 g Carbohydrates: 60 g Sugar: 46 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 4 g Sodium: 143 mg Cholesterol: 72 mg
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