Every 4th of July or Memorial Day party needs an American Flag Cake. This recipe is super easy and not complicated at all. Let the kids help and make it an annual tradition.
The blueberries and strawberries make such a pretty flag and the cake is delicious too. It’s a very simple cake recipe but looks so festive for a patriotic dessert.
This American Flag Cookie Cake is another favorite. Check out more of the Best 4th of July Cakes and 4th of July Sugar Cookies. We also make these Easy 4th of July Cookies.
Table of contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
The cake isn’t heavy or overly sweet. The berries really lighten it up, so you don’t feel like the cake is too much for hot weather. Everything tastes great and looks so pretty.
If you are looking for a fun dessert without much work or expense, this is a great recipe to try. Get your fireworks, good food and this luscious cake for a great celebration.
Ingredients
- Vanilla Cake Mix. You can use yellow if you prefer.
- Vanilla Icing. I used store bought frosting out of convenience.
- Blueberries and Strawberries. Fresh berries are a must.
Get the complete ingredient list at the bottom of the page.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use different Fruits – You can change the fruit to blackberries or rows of raspberries to makes this cake just as festive.
- Use Candy – If you don’t have fruit on hand, and need a last-minute dessert, use M&M’s. We always seem to have M&M’s and it was a great to use this on this cake.
- Sprinkles Work Great – You can even use patriotic sprinkles to make a flag cake.
- Frosting. Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe is another great option that can easily be made with a paddle attachment and your stand mixer. You can also use a pastry bag and star tip to decorate with icing.
How to make American flag cake
- Step 1. Prepare the Oven – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2. Make the cake in a large bowl according to the directions on the box for a 9×13 pan. Combine the cake mix flour mixture and wet ingredients with a mixer on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake. The sheet cake is done when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack before decorating.
Step 3. Frost the cake. Evenly spread the vanilla icing over the room temperature cake. You can use an offset spatula.
Step 4. Rinse and chop the blueberries and strawberries.
Step 5. Arrange the blueberries on the cake to resemble the stars on a flag.
Step 6. Add the strawberries in rows.
Step 7. Slice and serve the cake.
How do you decorate a cake like an American Flag?
- Place the blueberries in a rectangle on the cake in the upper left corner.
- Then lay the strawberries slightly overlapping them to make the red stripes. Leave enough space so you still have white stripes in between.
Frosting Options
You can even change the frosting. Here are some of our favorites:
- Cool Whip – Cool whip is easy frosting switch. We like that it is light and the fruit really holds up on the frosting.
- Change the coloring – You can easily change the coloring of the frosting by adding food coloring.
Pro Tips
- Preparing Berries – Slice the berries very thin so that they will lay flat to make the red stripes.
- Use different flavors of cake – We used a white cake mix but angel food cake or yellow cake would work as well. You could even use those patriotic funfetti cake mixes.
- Change the Color of the Cake – Try using food coloring to make the cake different colors. You can do a row of red layers and a row of blue layers. My always love when I do a red cake and a blue cake.
- Change the Frosting – Substitute whipped cream for the icing for a change. This is also really good!
- Refrigerator Cake – Make sure to keep this cake in the fridge or serve immediately.
- Make sure to use the right size of pan – Use a 9×13 pan to have plenty of room to make the flag design out of the fruit. Smaller size pans will not produce the desired outcome of a flag shape.
Can you make a Flag Cake ahead of time?
Yes, you can. You can prepare the cake and frost it and place in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve the cake, decorate it with your fruit topping to make a flag.
You can place the fruit on up to a day before serving. I don’t recommend doing it any earlier than that as your fruit might get mushy.
Storage
To store leftovers, cover the Fourth of July cake with plastic wrap or with the baking pan lid and place in the refrigerator. It will stay good for up to 3 days.
Try More 4th Of July Desserts
Easy 4th of July Desserts
Red White and Blue Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Easy 4th of July Desserts
American Flag Candy Charcuterie Board
Easy Candy
Patriotic Oreo Balls
Make this easy flag cake recipe for your next July 4th party. Please don’t forget to leave a comment! I love hearing from you.
American Flag Cake
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla cake mix – prepared
- 1 tub of vanilla icing
- 1 pint blueberries
- 2 lbs strawberries
Instructions
- Rinse blueberries and strawberries and set aside.
- Prepare the vanilla cake mix according to directions in a 9×13 pan. I used this Wilton pan for even baking.
- Allow to cool completely.
- Evenly spread the vanilla icing over the cake.
- Cut the stems of the strawberries off and slice the strawberries. The thinner the better, because it will lay flatter. I used my JA Henckels knife.
- Place the blueberries in a rectangle on the cake in the upper left corner.
- Then lay the strawberries slightly overlapping them to make the read stripes.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
I’ve made this a few times now for Fourth of July parties and it’s always all eaten up at the end of the day. I love it too.
Perfect for a holiday picnic