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Festive fruit-topped American Flag Cake is a simple, light, and refreshing way to celebrate any patriotic holiday!

Close up of American Flag Cake decorated with strawberries and blueberries.

We LOve A Festive Treat

We love celebrating our patriotic holidays with family and delicious food – especially desserts!

Fourth of July and Memorial Day are filled with so many favorite treats like today’s American Flag Cake (which is so simple, festive and delicious).

After you try this yummy recipe that is based off of our White Chocolate Sheet Cake, you’ll see why this is one of our go-to 4th of July desserts.

Why we love it:

  • Fresh summer produce. It’s a light and refreshing dessert covered in fresh berries, perfect for summer gatherings.
  • Change the flavors. The recipe is versatile and can be adapted to different cake flavors and fruit designs for different holidays.
  • Party perfect. This cake fills a sheet pan so it’s great for feeding a crowd!
Butter and water being brought to a boil for cake recipe.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs room temperature eggs incorporate better with the other ingredients
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract

Frosting

  • 2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar – sift to get rid of any hard lumps
  • ⅓ cup pineapple juice
  • 2 – 3 cups (about 1 pound) strawberries This recipe uses strawberry slices, but strawberry halves or rows of raspberries would also work.
  • 1 cup blueberries avoid frozen blueberries as they will become mushy and bleed juices when they thaw.

How to Make Flag Cake

  1. PREP. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease an 11×15 baking pan and set aside, or  Line the baking pan with parchment paper
  2. BATTER. Bring 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of water to a boil in a saucepan.
    • Remove from heat and whisk in 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, ½ cup sour cream, and ½ teaspoon almond extract until smooth.
  3. BAKE. Pour into a greased baking pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    • Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
  4. FROST. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, cream 2 (8-ounce) blocks of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons softened butter, 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar, and ⅓ cup pineapple juice with the hand mixer.
    • Spread frosting over the cooled cake.
  5. DECORATE. Add 1 cup blueberries and 2 – 3 cups sliced strawberries to look like a flag. Chill for 1 hour before serving.
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5 from 11 votes

American Flag Cake

By: Lil’ Luna
Festive fruit-topped American Flag cake is a simple, light, and refreshing way to celebrate any patriotic holiday!
Servings: 24
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients 

Cake

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract

Frosting

  • 2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
  • cup pineapple juice
  • 2 – 3 cups (about 1 pound) strawberries, sliced
  • 1 cup blueberries
Save This Recipe!
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!

Instructions 

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease an 11×15 baking pan and set aside.
  • Bring butter and water to a boil in a saucepan.
  • Remove from heat and whisk in flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and almond extract until smooth.
  • Pour into a greased baking pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Frosting

  • While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, cream the cream cheese, softened butter, 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar, and pineapple juice with the hand mixer. Spread frosting over the cooled cake.
  • Add blueberries and sliced strawberries to look like a flag. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Video

Notes

Make ahead of time. Fully prepare and top the flag cake recipe one day in advance. Keep it covered and put it in the fridge until ready to serve. To prepare it sooner, leave the fruit topping off and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days. 
Freeze ahead of time. Freeze the cake and the frosting separately. Allow the cake to cool completely, and wrap it with plastic wrap and again with foil. Freeze for 2-3 months. Place the cream cheese frosting in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the frosting before spreading it on the cake. 
STORE. Cover and store American flag fruit cake in the fridge for 2-3 days, or wrap tightly with plastic and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove the berries when storing for longer than a couple of days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 312kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 39mg, Sodium: 212mg, Potassium: 110mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 45g, Vitamin A: 326IU, Vitamin C: 30mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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Recipe FAQ

  • Make a red cake or blue cake by adding food coloring to the cake batter.
  • Instead of making the cake from scratch, use a box of white cake mix. Replace the buttercream frosting with canned frosting, Whipped Cream, or Cool Whip. Decorate the top with fresh berries as instructed.
  • Make a double batch of frosting. Make ¼ of it blue and ¼ of it red. Use a small star tip to add dollops of blue stars in the corner. Use a large round tip to pipe the red stripes. If you don’t have a pastry bag or piping tips, you can use a gallon Ziploc and snip off one of the corners.
  • Once the sheet cake cools, cut it in half widthwise. Add a layer of frosting on top of one side of the cake. Place the other half of the cake on the frosting. Frost the top of the cake and decorate it to look like a flag. 
  • Fully prepare and frost the top of the flag cake recipe one day in advance. Keep it covered and add the fresh fruit up to 3 hours before serving.
  • Freeze the cake and the frosting separately. Allow the cake to cool completely, and wrap it with plastic wrap and again with foil. Freeze for 2-3 months. Place the cream cheese frosting in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the frosting before spreading it on the cake and adding fresh fruit. 
  • Cover and store American flag fruit cake in the fridge for 2-3 days, or wrap tightly with plastic and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove the berries when storing for longer than a couple of days.

For More Patriotic Recipes:

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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5 from 11 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




12 Comments

  1. Tina briones says:

    Do i need to cook down the butter and water before adding the eggs? Thank you!

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Yes!

  2. Joylyn says:

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. It is the perfect summertime festive treat. My kids love helping with the berries.

  3. Linda says:

    5 stars
    So easy, light and festive cake. I’ve made this cake before and received rave reviews.

  4. Sally Bryan says:

    5 stars
    Super fun cake! I did it in the sheet pan, but cheated a bit and used a box cake mix. I made the icing and used my cute piping decorators to add a bit more to the white sections and used raspberries instead of strawberries. Was super fun and yummy. Thank you Kristyn for the great ideas and recipes.

  5. Jeannie Moore says:

    5 stars
    My grandkids loved helping me make the flag cake! It is so festive and tastes delicious!

  6. Jeannie Moore says:

    5 stars
    Love this patriotic cake! It is so festive and tastes great! My grandson and granddaughter had fun helping to make it!

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Oh I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!

  7. Leslie says:

    5 stars
    This is a particularly attractive cake. I have seen the flag cake idea before, but this is the prettiest. The design is lined up beautifully. I never considered the importance of lining up the “core” stripe in the middle of the strawberry slice. You have those stripes in such a straight line. It makes all the difference. I will be sure to follow your example.

  8. Judith Knapp says:

    The cake didn’t rise up like a usual cake.

  9. Kim says:

    Can this be made in a 9×13 pan? (Single layer?)

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Yes, but baking time might need to be adjusted slightly. You’ll know the cake is done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Also, make sure not to overfill the 9×13 pan, since the cake will rise when baking. So you may or may not use all the batter. I’d say fill the pan to 2/3 full, no more.