Celebrating the 4th with a Flag Cake.....

Last summer I wanted to make Ina's American Flag cake for the 4th of July but never got the chance to. So this year I was bound and determined to try this Flag cake recipe. We were going to Pat and Ray's house for a 4th of July bbq and thought that would be a perfect gathering to make it for. Plus Thad was super excited and supportive of me making it, which made it even more fun.

I love all that goes into cooking...finding the recipe, making it, decorating it and serving it to those I love and seeing the smiles on their faces which makes it all worth it.

I used Ina Garten's Flag Cake recipe. I loved how hers looked and the recipe sounded rich and divine. It turned out beautiful and was a hit at the 4th of July BBQ.


Flag Cake
18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
To assemble:
2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries


Frosting
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Begin by setting the oven to 350 degrees. Then butter and flour a 18 x 13 x 1 1/2 inch pan (I used a 18x13x.5 inch pan and it turn out fine). If you are going to decorate it outside of the pan also line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.


Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth and pretty.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Cool to room temperature. Since I was decorating the cake outside the pan, I let it cool completely and then laid out a sheet of parchment paper and turned the cake out onto the parchment paper.

For aesthetic and presentation I had gone to Hobby Lobby and purchased 13 x 19 inch cake boards (you can buy a set of 4 for under $5), I slid one board under the cake and one on top and turn it over and was able to get the cake cleanly on a cake board.

Next step is the frosting of the cake. All I did was make sure the cream cheese and butter were at room temperature. Then I combined the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth. You want the end product to be light and smooth.

Once done with the frosting, place parchment or wax paper around the edges of the cake for easy clean-up and for a pretty presentation. Spread three-fourths of the frosting on the top of the cooled sheet cake.

Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Placing 8 rows down and 12 blueberries across. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 2-3 rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I then let it chill for a few hours to set.

This cake will be the star (no pun intended) at any party and what better way to celebrate the 4th than with a American Flag Cake, plus it is a lot of fun to make.

Enjoy!