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5 from 13 votes

Red White and Blue Cake

Make a spectacular red white and blue cake that's beautifully festive, delicious, and incredibly easy to put together!
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chill Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Author: Lil' Luna

Ingredients

Cake

Frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 (8-inch) cake pans with parchment paper, then grease and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside.
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, egg whites, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until combined.
  • Divide the batter into 3 bowls and add red food coloring to one and blue to another, keeping third white. Pour into three prepared cake pans.
    Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
  • To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt, and mix to combine. Add milk or powdered sugar as needed to make a smooth frosting. Beat on high for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  • To assemble the cake, level the tops of each of the cake layers with a serrated knife. Place the blue cake layer down on a cake turntable or serving platter. Spread with one cup of the frosting. Place the white cake layer on top and spread with another cup of frosting. Place the red layer on top, then spread the frosting around the top and sides.
  • For a smoother look, add a light layer of frosting (known as a crumb coat) around the top and sides of the cake, then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Once the cake has chilled slightly, spread a thicker layer of frosting around the sides and over the top, and add dollops of frosting for decoration, if desired. Sprinkle with patriotic sprinkles. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Notes

Recipe tip. Doing the crumb coat first and then refrigerating the cake made it easy to frost and decorate. I highly recommend it! Adding the sprinkles to the bottom sides of the cake works really well while putting a baking sheet under the cake to catch all of the excess sprinkles so I could use them again.
Make ahead of time. Make the cake rounds ahead of time and store them until ready to assemble and decorate the cake. Wrap cooled round in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-5 days. Add a layer of aluminum foil and freeze up to 3 months.If desired, layer the cakes and add a crumb coating (light thin layer of frosting) over the entire cake. The light layer will help keep the cake from drying out and it can be kept in the fridge overnight.  
Store frosted cake at room temperature or in the fridge for a couple of days. Use a cake keeper or cover with a large bowl to keep dust off. Be aware of odors in your fridge that could seep into the cake. Do not top with fresh berries or fresh flowers until 1-2 hours before serving. 
Store leftover cake. Remove any fresh fruit before storing it. Keep the cake in an airtight container(s) at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Freeze frosted cake. Wrap the cake in plastic and freeze for 3-4 months. It will be safe for longer but will begin to lose some of its flavors.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 952kcal | Carbohydrates: 123g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 688mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 94g | Vitamin A: 1539IU | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1mg