Our festive red, white & blue cake is a patriotic cake perfect for the 4th! Easy, showstopper red, white and blue cake recipe that uses cake mix!
This patriotic cake is perfect for all the festive summer holidays with its gorgeous red, white and blue layers. Making this easy red white and blue cake starts with a cake mix base, then frosted with delicious homemade buttercream and decorated with cheery sprinkles and cherries.
Festive Red White and Blue Layer Cake for 4th of July
Serving layered cakes are always fun at parties and there is no bigger summer celebration than the 4th of July! From the BBQ’s, to the outdoor activities and fireworks, this is a day people look forward to every year. Your cake will join that list of things to look forward to as everyone waits for the moment to come when it is sliced are served. This cake is always a show stopping centerpiece that everyone will want a slice of!
Why we think you should make this recipe today!
- It is a simple recipe. Despite the fancy appearance, this recipe is brought together so easily with boxed cake mixes and an easy homemade buttercream frosting. It does not get any easier than this!
- Festive and fun. Colorful layers of cake in every slice make it that much more enjoyable but you can even take it up a notch by adding sprinkles to the white cake layer for a funfetti appearance.
- It is customizable. Add food coloring to the frosting so that the outside is just as festive and fun as the inside or swap out the garnishes for other berries like strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries! Anything red or blue colored will work well.
Red White Blue Cake Ingredients
Cake mix: You will need (2) 15.25-ounce-sized boxes of white cake mix. You can use your favorite brand or even gluten free, there is no wrong way to go with the cake mixes you choose.
Egg white: Use 6 egg whites to give the cake the right consistency without changing the color (egg yolks make cake batter yellow).
Oil: You will need 1 cup of vegetable oil to moisten the cake so it does not taste dry.
Water: Adding in 2 cups of water will get the cake batter to the right consistency.
Food coloring: For festive colors, you will need red and blue food coloring. The total amount needed will vary depending on which food coloring you use. I find gel food coloring gives you the most vibrant colors.
For the buttercream frosting, you will need:
Butter: 1 cup of softened unsalted butter (2 sticks) is what will make our buttercream extra rich and flavorful.
Powdered sugar: To get the buttercream sweet and smooth add in 4-5 cups of powdered sugar. The actual amount used may vary.
Milk: You will need about 3-4 tablespoons of milk or cream to get your frosting to a nice spreadable consistency.
Vanilla extract: Use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract extra to make the frosting taste incredible.
Garnishes: For festive and fun garnishes on this cake you may want to use some cherries and/or sprinkles.
How to Make our Festive Red White and Blue Cake
Prep
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
Then, spray (3) 8-inch round cake pans well with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Cake batter
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or stand mixer, combine the 2 cake mixes, egg whites, oil, and water, mix until well combined.
Next, evenly divide the batter between three small bowls. You can keep 1/3 of the batter in the main large bowl, that can be the “white” layer. The other two bowls are going to be the red and blue batter.
Then, use the red food coloring in one of the bowls and blue food coloring in the other. Add just a few drops of each and mix until your desired color is achieved.
Now, pour the batter into each of the prepared cake pans, giving each pan its own color. One red, one white, and one blue.
Bake
Proceed to put each cake pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
After baking is complete, let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes before turning them over onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
When the cakes have completely cooled, begin to prepare the buttercream.
Buttercream frosting instructions
Start by creaming the butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
Then, add in the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
If you have a hard time getting your frosting fluffy, add in milk or cream, one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is achieved. Or if it is too runny, add a tablespoon of powder sugar at a time.
Assemble the cake
Place the red cake layer on a cake plate and spoon a bit of frosting in the middle and spread it out to the edges.
Then stack the white cake on top of the red and add some frosting on top. Spread it out to the edges.
Lastly, add the blue cake layer on top and cover the entire cake in the remaining frosting. I like to place it into a piping bag and go around the edges and top.
If desired, add maraschino cherries and sprinkles for added festive decorations.
Place the cake into the fridge for at least one hour to chill and set.
Slice, serve and enjoy!
When to serve this joyful and festive cake!
This cake would be great served at any 4th of July gathering, it makes a great center piece to the holiday treat table. It would also do well around Memorial Day or even President’s Day as well. Any patriotic-themed event would also be lucky to have such a fun cake served up. That said you can always omit or change out the food coloring to make this cake recipe fit any other occasion you might have coming up too. This cake would make a great Easter treat, use pink, yellow, and blue colors to layer the cake. Or even red, white and pink for a pretty Valentine’s Day dessert. Have fun with it and enjoy!
FESTIVE RED, WHITE AND BLUE CAKE
Ingredients
- 2 boxes (15.25 oz each) white cake mixes
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups water
- Red and blue food coloring
Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, 2 sticks
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk or cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Cherries and sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, spray (3) 8-inch round cakepans well with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer or whisk combine the 2 cake mixes, egg whites, oil and water until combined.
- Next, evenly divide the batter between three small bowls. You can keep 1/3 of the batter in the main large bowl, that can be the "white" layer. The other two bowls are going to be the red and blue batter.
- Use the red food dye in one and the blue food dye in the other. Just a few drops of each to get your desired shade will do.
- Next pour the red batter into one of the prepared pans, the blue in another and the white batter in a third pan.
- Proceed to put each cake pan in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. When the cakes are completely cool it is time to make the butter cream.
- HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING: Start by creaming the butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
- Then, add in the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- If you have a hard time getting your frosting fluffy, add in milk or cream, one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is achieved. Or if it is too runny, add a tablespoon of powder sugar at a time.
- ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Place the red layer on your cake plate and spoon a bit of the frosting in the middle and spread out.
- Stack the white layer on top of the red, add frosting to the top of the white layer and repeat with the blue layer.
- Once your layers are stacked finish completely frosting the cake with the buttercream.
- I like to take whatever buttercream is leftover and place into a piping bag and pipe around the edges and top. I add sprinkles and maraschino cherries to decorate.
- Place the cake into the fridge for at least an hour to chill and set up. Slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
How long is layered cake good for?
You can keep this cake stored (covered) in the fridge for up to 5 days. For the best tasting results, I recommend eating it within about 3 days.
How to prevent cakes from sticking to the pan:
Make sure to grease the inside of your cake pan well and then add in a dusting of flour to help as well. For chocolate-based cakes, using cocoa powder instead of flour works well but flour is best for the lighter colored cakes. You can also use a nonstick baking spray with flour in the mix to make it a little easier as well but I’ve found that manually adding grease + flour works best as the spray doesn’t always help cakes to come out flawlessly.
Check out some more great patriotic recipes to enjoy soon
- BLUEBERRY JELLO SALAD
- PATRIOTIC LAYERED JELLO SALAD
- 4TH OF JULY DESSERTS
- 4TH OF JULY CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES
- PATRIOTIC JELLO SUGAR COOKIES
- BEST MEMORIAL DAY BBQ RECIPES
- STRAWBERRY TRES LECHES CAKE
- 4TH OF JULY COOKIES
- TRIPLE BERRY TRIFLE
- PATRIOTIC CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIE BARS
- RED, WHITE & BLUE CUPCAKES
- SWIRLED RED, WHITE & BLUE COOKIE BARS
- MINI PAVLOVA RECIPE
This red white and blue cake recipe is a patriotic treat that everyone can enjoy a slice of. Serve your cake up for the Fourth of July and enjoy your celebrations with this winning dessert.
Leave a Reply