Red, White and Blue Layered Flag Cake
A classic Red, White and Blue layered flag cake with a fluffy vanilla cake base and a whipped vanilla buttercream.
I have a classic Red, White and Blue dessert for you today!! I know I don’t usually post recipes over the weekend, but I wanted to give you plenty of time to add this patriotic cake to your July 4th menu. This red white and blue layered flag cake will be a stunner at your party, making you the STAR!
Want to know a secret? It’s extremely easy to put together. Don’t be fooled by the beautiful layers, any baker can pull this off in no time. It just takes some planning ahead and ideally should be made the day before your party.
I’ve been meaning to make this classic Red, White and Blue cake for a few years now but each year I put it off thinking it will be too much work and a total disaster. But I was so WRONG!! It is the easiest cake I ever made and definitely one of the prettiest.
As I was planning for this flag cake, I turned to the trusted Amanda of I am Baker for guidance. Her new book, Surprise-Inside Cakes, (<—affiliate link) is one of my favorite cookbooks and I’ve read it cover to cover. I knew her techniques and tips will come in handy so I looked at her red, white and blue cakes for guidelines which I loosely followed to make this cake.
So how do you make this flag cake? You start with your favorite yellow cake recipe and bake it in 4 8-inch pans. However, you need to color two portions red, 1 blue and the last portion left as white. The recipe below is my favorite yellow cake from scratch. But feel free to use your favorite box mix here. Once you have your cakes colored and baked, you will slice the red and white cakes in half horizontally and cut out 4-inch circles from some of the layers. That’s it. The rest is just assembling the cakes in the right order and frosting as desired. Be sure to read the instructions completely before starting so you have an idea of what the process entails.
This 4th of July consider making this beautiful patriotic flag cake for your BBQs, picnics and celebrations. It will definitely be a stunner and a crowd pleaser.
Red, White and Blue Layered Flag Cake
A classic Red, White and Blue layered flag cake with a fluffy vanilla cake base and a whipped vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups milk
- 2-3 tablespoons strawberry puree
- 2-3 tablespoons blueberry puree
- A few drops of red and blue gel food coloring.
- 3 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 4 8-inch cake pans, line with parchment and butter parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract.
- With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of milk and beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
- Divide batter into 4 equal parts.
- Color two of the four portions with strawberry puree and a few drops of red gel food coloring. Pour into two of the prepared pans. For Blue Cake: Color a third equal part with the blueberry puree and a few drops of blue gel food coloring. Pour into the third prepared pan. For White Cake: just pour batter into remaining pan smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
- Bake cakes until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 30-35 minutes.
- Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.
- Level cakes by trimming off any round tops. Slice cakes in half horizontally to make 4 thin layers. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter or a 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the center of 1 thin layer. Save the layer that was cut out of for a later use.
- Whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer. The butter will become pale and creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low speed for 1minute. Then increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until the frosting is very light, creamy and fluffy. Best used right away.
- On a cake stand, place a red layer down. Spread about ½ cup of the frosting on top using an offset spatula. Top with 1 white cake layer, spread another ½ cup frosting and top with a second red layer. Top with frosting and spread evenly. Gently top with the blue layer. Carefully spread thin layer of frosting inside of blue cake layer. Place the white 4-inch cake round into the center of blue cake. Top with frosting and then the red 4-inch cake round. press gently to fit. Frost the top and sides of cake. Decorate as desired.
More Red, White and Blue Desserts you will LOVE:
Angel Food Cake – this classic is always a delight at any BBQ.
Coconut Mascarpone Mousse – a light and refreshing no-bake dessert.
Red, White and Blue Cake – this cake is a simple vanilla cake that is decorated in star spangled banner sprinkles for a quick and easy patriotic cake.
Wow! This cake looks just incredible!
Thanks Medeja!
You did an amazing job with this Zainab! Perfect for the 4th!
Thank you Nancy!
omigosh WHAT a stunner!! This cake is a total show stopper! SO pretty and it looks soooo delicious!
thanks Kayle!! I love making cakes and wish I did more often. But cookies are so quick :0
This cake looks so great! The colours, the accuracy, great job Z!
Thanks Jessica!!
You really did such an amazing job on this cake! Seriously job well done. Incredible!
Thanks Jocelyn!!
Yay, it looks awesome, Zainab!! I tried to make a flag cake a couple years ago and it was a disaster, haha! Yours is gorgeous though, and I love Surprise Inside Cakes! There some seriously amazing stuff in that book. Amazing job! 🙂
Thank you Beth! I can’t believe you will fail at any cakes since you are such a talented baker. I’m sure you just need to remake 🙂 I’m obsessed with Amanda’s book. So many ideas!!
Love, love… LOVE! <3 This cake looks spectacular, Zainab. I’m awaiting on that book myself. I sent a copy to Amanda to sign for me.
I love how white the cake is itself. I have trouble getting mine that white. Might have to make myself some cake flour. So perfect for the festivities over there. Pinning.
Thanks Lisa! I’m not sure how they come out so white lol! I whip the butter and sugar well in the begining so maybe that helps?
WOW!!! GREAT job!!!! Love it, Z! 🙂
Thanks Alice 🙂
Oh my goodness, this cake is amazing!!! I’m completely terrified of making layer cakes! Yours is perfect! The layers turned out so good! I wish I had that talent. Your pictures are just stunning too. Loving it all.
Serene I was too but then I started practicing and got better at it!! You should give them a try 🙂
You did an amazing job Zainab! This cake is stunning! I wish I could have a giant slice!
Thanks Tanya!!
This cake is amazing!
Thanks!
So pretty! You did an amazing job on this cake. Love the look.
Have a marvelous week Zainab!
Thanks Melanie! Have a great week too 🙂
This is absolutely stunning! The prettiest flag cake I’ve seen yet! 🙂
Awww thanks Chelsea!!
You nailed it on this one, Z…but you always nail it! Amazing job! 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Zainab, this cake is a thing of (patriotic) beauty! I love the idea of a surprise inside and will have to try something like this the next time I bake a cake 🙂
Thank you Amy!!
Your cake turned out amazing! There is no way I would attempt something like this, but I am pinning it anyway for my daughter. She’s my go-to person!
You should Michelle! Wasn’t hard at all!! But I hope you can bake it with your daughter 🙂
This is seriously a phenomenal cake!
Your cake is so beautiful — I love those colors. They’re so eye-popping! I haven’t made a surprise inside cake yet, so this is inspiring. 🙂
Zainab this is such a beautiful cake! A cake like this would be a huge hit for 4th of July! Pinned!
Thanks Danae!!
The perfect cake for the 4th!! And how impressed would be people be?! Looks like you have some great instructions to follow 😀 thanks for sharing, have a wonderful day!!
Kelly thank you!! I hope the details will be helpful. let me know if you have any questions!
Made this yesterday and it was a big hit! Everyone loved the surprise inside! This was my first time making one and it came together pretty easily. I’m making cake pops out of the leftovers today. Check out my pic on pinterest…
Kate, oh my gosh!! Your cake looks so beautiful!!! It’s perfect. I’m so glad it came out great and the instructions were helpful. Why did I not think of cake pops with my leftovers? genius!!
Thanks!! I was very happy with the results. I am a big copy cat so I decorated the outside exactly the same. Such a beautiful clean look. Thank you for sharing the idea!!
Stunning! I want to serve that this Friday!
You are definitely the queen of cakes Zainab! That cake is gorgeous, and I’m so glad you posted it early. 🙂
I made a flag cake over the weekend, but it is not nearly this gorgeous!
I have seen cakes like this on Pinterest and have always meant to give it a try. Your cake is beautiful and would be the hit of any 4th of July barbecue!
okay,this does sound easier than I imagined? but I just know it can’t be! I know you have to have that extra something special that you do!!! this is awesome…I will get the nerve to try it sometime! perfect!
Thanks for sharing…pictures are amazing! Quick question regarding the cake…the ingredient list calls for “milk” but in the recipe you state “buttermilk”. ??
Kate, sorry about that I meant milk in the recipe. I sometimes use buttermilk but here I used milk! Hope you love how fluffy and moist this vanilla cake is 🙂 Happy weekend!!
I used the skills I learned from her cookbook for my flag cake too! Looks great.
I made flag cake too and love it, but it was not nearly this impressive! I can’t imagine how cool it would be to slice this at a party and have everyone be all surprised. So cool!
WOW. That cake looks like it would totally bring any BBQ to a whole new level! So, so impressive.
Just stunning!!! Pinned 🙂
Is this recipe for 2? Or for more? If it is for more, how can i go about making it a recipe for 2?
This recipe is NOT for 2. It’s an 8-inch or 9-inch cake.
I am going to make my Easter cake tomorrow and this seems the perfect dessert
Enjoy!
How do you make the purée?
By just blending fresh fruits in a blender. You can also just cook down the fresh fruits and the compote/flavor will be more intense.