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Sunday, June 19, 2011

4th of July Flag Cake



I recently made a simple vanilla cake in preparation for 4th of July.  You know, just your average white cake...
with an American Flag inside! 


Kind of cool, right?

I've seen this fun cake idea on several wonderful baking blogs.  The earliest post I found was from 17 and Baking, who credits her dad for the creative idea.   

I opted for an extra simple decorating style on the outside of the cake, knowing the "wow factor" would be on the inside.  I made a sweet patriotic cake bunting using stripped paper straws, a little twine and some festive ribbon.


There are several different ways this could be done.  I assembled the cake using a slightly different technique than the original cake shown on 17 and Baking, but she has a video showing how she did hers, so you may want to check that out as a starting point. 

~ How to put an American Flag inside a cake ~

I prepared a total of two Vanilla cake mixes (from a box- but feel free to use any Vanilla cake recipe you love).  Prepare two 8" cake pans by coating with a small amount of butter and flour, and placing parchment paper in the bottom.Prepare one batch of batter and color it red (I used Americolor super red gel).  Divide the batter equally and pour into the two prepared pans.  Bake as instucted by your recipe.

While the red cakes are baking, prepare another batch of batter.  Divide the batter into two bowl and color one of the bowl of batter blue (I used Americolor royal blue).  Leave the remaining bowl of batter uncolored.

When your red cakes have baked and cooled, remove from pans.  Wash and then prepare pans for the white and blue batter.  Bake.

However you get there, what you want to end up with is..
1- 8" round blue cake
1- 8" round white cake
2- 8" round red cakes
(below I had already cut out a 4" circle from one of the red cakes)


Then...
Slice the two red cake in half (horizontally), so you'll have a total of 4 red layers.  Set aside one layer, this will not be used for the cake.  Cut a 4" circle out of one of the layers.  So you want to have two 8" round layers and one 4" round layer. 

Cut the white cake in half as well.  Then use a 4" cookie cutter to cut a circle out of one of the halves.

Use a 4" cookie cutter again (or make cut out a 4" circle of cardboard and use that as your template) to cut out the center of your blue cake. 

You're ready to assemble your cake when you have...
1 thick layer of blue, with the center cut out
2- 8" layers of red
1- 4" layer of red
1- 8" layer of white
1- 4" layer of white

Prepare a batch of Vanilla frosting. I used my favorite Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

Assemble cake with a thin layer of frosting between each layer of cake, starting on the bottom with red cake, then white, then red, then blue.  Add some frosting along the inside "ring" of the blue cake to hold in the next two layer which will fit inside the opening.  Fill the hole in the blue cake with a 4" round layer of with cake, some frosting, then the 4" round of red.


Simple right??  Hopefully my photos explain it better than all the words!  Once assembled, frost the cake as desired.  Chill the frosted cake in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve it.  Then cut it open and smile at the pretty surprise inside.


 Happy Birthday my beloved U.S.A.!

92 comments:

  1. So, so, cute! I love everything about it. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. WOW! Gorgeous cake! I am always amazed at how I am Baker does all of her surprise designs inside her cakes! You did a fantastic job as well! And now I'm off to 17 and baking to see more about her cakes too!

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  3. That is awesome, Glory! So fun!

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  4. Wow. All I can say is wow. When I first say your cake, I thought, "I guess Glory is going simple this time". Then I scrolled down to see the masterpiece inside. What a fun surprise. I might have to try this myself.

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  5. omg, you are going to laugh, but I made something that looks just like a slice of you cake.;-)
    this looks wonderful!!!

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  6. Thenl you for a post, you are a genius ^_^ sorry for my bad english I'm a new your italian follower, bye!

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  7. Love that bunting! Great job Glory!

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  8. WOW! Simply wow! I told my son, come see this cake and I kept the laptop on that first picture and I said isn't that amazing? and being the good boy he is, he said, yeah, it's really nice. Then I scrolled down to the next photo and there was the WOW, that IS amazing! Fun stuff! Thanks for sharing Glory!

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  9. I will surprise everyone with this cake. Thank you for idea,
    Tatyana

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  10. Wow that looks exhausting to make but completely worth the effort. Look at those patriotic slices! and the bunting is sweet as well. Amazingly done.

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  11. This is so fun!!! I may have to attempt to make! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. This is so RAD!!! I've been wanting to attempt a rainbow cake, but I might just have to try this first. I love it!!

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  13. Greetings from Southern California

    I am your newest follower. I invite you to visit TOGB and become a follower, if you want too.

    Take care and have a nice day :-)

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  14. Lovely! 4th July this year is my 30th birthday! :) I love this cake it looks so great. But even more - I'm in LOVE with you cake stand!!! I recently found one but it costs sooo much to ship to Australia from the states. :(
    Love your work!

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  15. This is amazing! I love it! I really want to make this for our fourth of July! Thank you for this great idea! I love you!
    ~Cecilia

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  16. Now that is cool! I think I might just do that this year!

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  17. congrats on your HGTV feature!! love it!

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  18. WOW! I LOVE it! Will have to make this with my daughter this 4th of July! Thank you for sharing!

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  19. That is amazing. Ok, I'm going to try it. If it shows up on cakewrecks...I'm terribly sorry.

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  20. Glory, this is awesome. I've seen the tutorial at 17 & baking and i am baker but yours is clearer (IMHO). I like the step by step photo, really help as I'm a visual learner.

    I'm going to try this next week :). So excited!

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  21. Love it, I'm going to make one. Thanks!

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  22. We live on the parade route in Bristol, RI, where the longest running parade...>225 years takes place. The cake is perfect.

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  23. This is great...I posted about it on my blog...couldn't resist.

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  24. THIS has got to be one of the cutest cakes I have ever seen *claps*

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  25. A-MAZ-ING! We just featured this on our blog!

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  26. I feel like you're a magician that just revealed the secret behind her magic tricks! It's amazing how simply that cakes come together, when the wow factor is so huge. I'm so happy to have stumbled upon your blog, I'm a new follower! Now I have this cake and your mini donuts on my baking to-do list…

    xoxo Molly

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  27. this is beautiful! so festive, i cannot wait to bake it! thanks for sharing!!!

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  28. This cake is so awesome! I have to put it on my to do wishlist.

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  29. If I could carry my Kitchen Aid with me on the boat, I think I'd have to take a stab at this one. What an amazingly Patriotic idea! Love it1

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  30. Love it! Can't wait to try it. :)

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  31. LOVE this! My son was born on the 4th of July. He will be 2 this year. He loves flags! I have been known to say I will make his b-day and the 4th two distinct celebrations. I may have to go back on my word and make this cake for his birthday this year and every year after. It is just that fabulous!

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  32. I can't wait to see the look of surprise when this cake
    is cut. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!

    Here's a link for a "Fruity Sparkler" kabob you might
    enjoy from the EasyFunSchool site:
    http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1175.html

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  33. Did you make one or two batches of your vanilla cream cheese frosting? Your recipe says it's enough for a 2-layer 9" cake, but this is actually 3 layers so I'm wondering if I need to double the recipe? Also, I can only find 9" cake pans, not 8"-- will that make a difference?
    THANKS!

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  34. Michelle- I make just one batch of frosting and it was just enough, if you're in doubt you could make 1 and a half of the frosting recipe. The 9" pans will work, you layers will just be thinnner.

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  35. I love this! I'll be trying it this weekend. Hope mine turns out as lovely (best part is I own the same bright blue cake stand to put it on!)

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  36. Ok Glorious, I think this is the 20th time I've read over your recipe, LOVING it each time and I am publicly declaring my commitment to making it this weekend! Scares me, excites me, thrills me, challenges me... but I can do it I promise! Thanks for the beautiful blog! You're fabulous!

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  37. I LOVE this cake! Such a fun surprise when you cut into it.

    I'd love to have you share this recipe on Sweet Tooth Friday. I hope to see you there. http://alli-n-son.com/2011/06/30/4th-july-dessert-lemon-bars/

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  38. VERY cool idea! and your tutorial makes it seem so easy!

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  39. Ooh... you'd have some of each color cake left over -- totally calling cake pops for the extra.

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  40. I have been making some sort of "red, white,and blue FLAG TOP decorated cakes, brownies, desserts for years BUT I have never thought of this!! You are a genius!! Thanks for the posting!! :)

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  41. Your photos turned out lovely! I am reblogging this on my blog nynewb.blogspot.com (and of course giving you credit!) because I love it so much :-) Have a great 4th of July weekend!

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  42. You stole this cake from 17 and baking and didnt give any credit. Asshole move.

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  43. Anonymous- Tempted to remove your rude comment... but apparently you're rude and can't read. I DID fully credit 17 and Baking- twice!

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  44. I love this Glory - so clever xxx

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  45. Funny-I actually found 17 and Baking BECAUSE of Glorys post about this cake and her links to 17's blog. So if u are throwing the A word around how bout putting a DUMB in front of it and referencing yourself Anonymous---try actually reading blogs as a hobby instead of criticizing them.

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  46. @anonymous...I have some other words for you. Illiterate perhaps? Bitter, cowardly, ignorant. Does this sound familiar? Rather than read the post, you left a comment that leaves others with the impression that besides being all the things above, you have nothing better to do than troll the internet spreading misery.

    I too found 17 and Baking via Glorious Treats, and one of the first things I read when visiting her site was her suggestion, " Why not tackle my 4th of July Flag Cake? People have been making it ever since its creation 2 years ago. It's deceptively simple and always impressive. Check out the post for instructions, plus a video of me making it." Which is exactly what Glorious Treats did, with proper credit.

    Asshole comment.

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  47. I made this cake for a gathering if friends and used the extra cake scraps to assemble a second backwards cake. Love it!!

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  48. ooooooooh! I can leave anonymous comments too. You're an idiot and a jerk. She gave credit to the other girl...STUPID!

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  49. Geez...read the blog instead of just looking at the pictures. She gave full credit where it was due. Pretty brave to comment anonymous, isn't it.

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  50. Oh my!!! This is so adorable!!! Ya know...I can do almost anything I put my mind to but baking has always stumped me! So seeing what you did with this cake is AMAZING to me!! Love it!!! Great job!!
    I am going to tweet about this!!
    I am your newest follower! I hope you will follow me too!
    ~~~rhonda!!!

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  51. just fabulous Glory!!

    Thanks for linking up! I featured your post in my wrap up today http://tidymom.net/2011/im-lovin-it-wrap-up-4th-of-july-ideas/

    Have a great holiday!

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  52. I just finished making this gorgeous surprise layer cake and it's sitting in my fridge. Even though I know what lies beneath that creamy white layer, I still want to cut into that bad boy to see how it looks inside :D
    I will try to hold myself back until Monday.

    Just a suggestion: For those of you making this with 9" pans and box cake mixes, use 3 boxes of mix. I made mine with 9" pans and only 2 mixes and it is fraught with dangerously thin, torte-like layers. It was a close call, but I think she'll make it. 3 mixes would have been perfect.
    Thanks so much for sharing this perfectly patriotic delight!

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  53. MY cake turned out perfect, and everyone was impressed. YAY

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  54. This is a really fun cake, although I had some bad "cake karma" today, and I had difficulty getting my cakes to rise enough. All that I have left is to ice the cake, though, and I am looking forward to surprising my friends who are coming over to celebrate the 4th with us! Thanks for presenting this - what a lovely way to tell our country happy birthday!
    http://decadentphilistines.blogspot.com

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  55. Did it! Thanks so much! Loved the process, and even more so the slicing and serving! Great fun!

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  56. So wonderful! Your blog is awesome!

    I just linked to this post and used one of your photos, but please let me know if you'd prefer I take it down.

    Cheers,
    Kim

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  57. Whoahhh.<3
    Nice work.(:
    I really love the inside.
    Yummm.<3

    http://czarinacuison.blogspot.com/

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  58. Okay, well I'm baking the cakes as we speak, I just hope that there is a 4" cookie cutter at the store or I'm gonna have to improvise!

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  59. I've seen this cake reposted everywhere and it is just beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

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  60. thanks again for fabulous inspiration! I made three of these cakes this weekend, and they all came in to rave reviews!

    Credited you for the idea on my little blog:

    http://bakedbyrachel.blogspot.com/2011/07/happy-4th-of-july.html

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  61. Beautiful cake! I just wanted to let you know I stumbled across you amazing photo on another site. I left them a comment that they should send credit your way, so hopefully they do the right thing and update their post. It's a popular site, so it would be great if they could send some traffic your way!
    http://www.gorjuss.co.uk/blog/?p=4131

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  62. Great Cake! Happy 4th to you Glory!

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  63. Rachel- Thanks so much for sharing! Your cake looks great!

    Dawn's recipes- Wow, you're so thoughtful to look out for me. Looks like they've added a link now (pretty low in the post- but better than nothing!). Thanks!

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  64. Doing this today. So excited. You're a genius.

    <3 Maddie
    http://www.spidatter.com

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  65. I saw your webite a couple weeks ago, and knew I HAD to make this cake. Well, today is July 4th, and I surprised everyone with this beautiful cake, and they absolutely LOVED it! Thank you for such a wonderful idea!

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  66. just made our version of your lovely cake! everyone raved about the design and the surprise flag inside!! this may become our traditional fourth of july treat!

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  67. Made the cake for dinner tonight. I'm not a baker, but somehow I managed to get it together. Everyone was very surprised. My high school cousin was like, "Ohh, it's a flag!" LOL Thanks for posting!

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  68. Simply amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

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  69. So fun it must have been to make. I'm inspired. Love the cake banner too! All of it...genius!

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  70. What a fun cake to make, look at, and eat!!
    Thank you for your inspiration!!

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  71. I saw this cake on another blog and had to make it since we were going to a cookout and my son's birthday for the 4th. Just wanted something a little different. I did use 3 white box mixes with 9in pans. I was easier for me so I didn't have to measure the batter. It came out great and everyone was suprised when I cut the cake. Thank you for sharing the ideas.

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  72. This is amazing.. and looks SO yummy!! Found it while stumbling.. thumbs up!

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  73. Oh that is so beautiful! I am from Australia and just adore your ideas, so happy I found "glorious treats" will have to follow everything you do from now on. Mmmm, I want to make that cake.

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  74. You did a wonderful job on this beautiful cake!

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  75. Just saw this posted on pinterest. Love it!!

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  76. Glory, I have a grandson that will celebrate his first birthday on July 4th, and this is the cake I will be making! It's perfectly beautiful!!! I need to make a little smash cake too...maybe just red, white and blue layers for that one:)

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  77. For those mom's who have children born on the 4th of July. Let me tell you from experience this is the greatest day to have a b-day. My son also was born on the 4th of July and it was always such a festive bday celebration. He grew up thinking everyone in the world was celebrating his birthday. His own official colors were red white and blue. He is now 43 and he has always loved that his birthday was such a special day. For the lady who wanted to keep her son's birthday seperate from the holiday I say don't bother.

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