This fresh berry flag cake is made from scratch and is moist, flavorful, and perfect to serve for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! It's decorated with loads of berries and cream cheese frosting!
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 4th of July Cake, American Flag Cake, cream cheese frosting
Servings: 20Slices
Calories: 420kcal
Ingredients
For the strawberry puree
1poundripe strawberrieshulled and quartered ((can also use frozen berries))
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar
For the cake
¾cupbuttermilkat room temperature
6large egg whitesat room temperature
½cupstrawberry pureeat room temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
2 ¼cupscake floursifted ((see notes))
3teaspoonsbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoontable salt
12tablespoonsunsalted butter(1 ½ sticks)
1 ¾cupsgranulated sugar
For the cream cheese frosting
6ouncescream cheeseat room temperature ((¾ of a block))
8tablespoonsunsalted butterat room temperature ((one stick))
4cupspowdered sugar
For the garnish
1pintblueberries
1pintraspberrieshalved
1poundstrawberriescut in half with tops removed
Instructions
For the strawberry puree
Combine strawberries and sugar in pot over med heat and cook until the strawberries start to burst and simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have reduced to 1 ½ cups, about 20 min. Cool to room temperature.
For the cake
Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch cake plan. I recommend lining the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper, also buttered and floured. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of the strawberry puree, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix with fork until well blended.
In a separate bowl, add sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix with a whisk to combine.
In bowl of stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream softened butter and sugar, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed to get all of the sugar creamed into the butter.
Gradually add the egg whites and blend on low until well incorporated, about a minute.
Alternately, in 3 additions for the liquid and 2 additions for the dry, add liquid mixture and dry mixture on med-low speed, beginning and ending with liquid. Scrape down the sides of bowl and mix until all ingredients are just combined. The batter will be slightly lumpy and will look like homemade strawberry ice cream mix.
Pour cake batter into prepared pan and place on a rack in the center of your oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cake rest in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of cake pan and turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting/assembly
While the cake cools, make the frosting. With the whisk attachment of a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until combined. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix on low speed until all of the sugar is added and mostly incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
Place the cooled cake on a serving platter. Frost with cream cheese frosting. At this point, you can refrigerate the cake for up to 1 day before decorating with berries, or proceed with decorating and serving. Reserve about ½ cup of frosting for piping stars and white strips.
Arrange blueberries in the top left corner of cake. Use strawberry halves to create 4 rows/strips of berries. Use the raspberry halves and remaining blueberries to line the bottom sides of cake.
Using a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip, pipe small white stars onto the blueberries of the flag. If desired, you can also pipe white rows between the strawberry strips to add extra texture to the cake.
Notes
This cake gets better as it sits! I highly recommend baking and frosting it one day, then decorating it with berries and serving on day 2. The cake will keep in your fridge for up to 3 days after decorating. Alternatively, you can freeze the frosted cake for up to 1 month before thawing and decorate with berries.Feel free to try a cupcake version! I bake mine in muffin liners for 18 minutes.Leftover strawberry puree can be frozen for future cakes or used in smoothies, frozen drinks, or even Popsicles!