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Active Time
45 minutes
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Total Time
1 hour 25 minutes
No Fourth of July celebration is complete without a traditional flag cake studded with sweet summer berries. But slice into our Stars and Stripes creation and you'll quickly discover this isn't your everyday vanilla sheet cake with buttercream frosting. For a fresh new take on everyone's favorite red, white, and blue finale, we paired moist chocolate cake with tangy cream cheese frosting, and finished with juicy raspberries and blueberries. Have no fear if cake decorating isn't your strong suit. You'll be able to master this patriotic design using ourstep-by-step photos and tipsfor frosting and adorning the ultimate Independence Day dessert.
Ingredients
Makes 1 (13- by 9-inch) cake
For the cake:
For the frosting:
For the decorations:
Make the cake:
Step 1
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
Step 2
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, knocking out any excess.
Step 3
In a medium bowl, whisk together the boiling water, cocoa powder, and instant coffee granules until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.
Step 4
In a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and cocoa powder mixtures in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (The batter may look curdled.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top, and bake the cake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove the wax or parchment paper, and let it cool completely. DO AHEAD:The unfrosted cake, can be cooled, wrapped securely in plastic wrap, and stored at room temperature up to 24 hours, before assembling and serving.
Make the frosting:
Step 6
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat until creamy and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the sifted confectioners' sugar in three batches, mixing until fully incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before assembling the cake.
Assemble and serve the cake:
Step 7
Frost the top and sides of the cake with 2 1/2 cups of the frosting. Transfer the remaining frosting to a pastry bag fitted with the star tip.
Step 8
Using a toothpick or small knife, outline a 4 1/2-inch-long by 3 1/2-inch-wide rectangle in the top left corner of the cake. This area will be reserved for blueberries.
Step 9
Starting with the longer side of the cake that is closest to you, pipe a line of frosting along the top edge of the cake then arrange two horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the line of frosting. Pipe a second line of frosting above the raspberries and arrange two more horizontal rows of raspberries directly above the frosting. Repeat this process two more times, making sure to exclude the top left corner that is reserved for the blueberries. Arrange the blueberries in horizontal rows in the top left corner of the cake.
Step 10
Slice and serve the cake immediately or store it, covered securely in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Leave a Review
Reviews (14)
Back to TopI made this cake for our 4th of July celebration. After reading the reviews, I opted not to go with the listed cake recipe, but I did use the butter cream recipe. Before sharing my experiences with the frosting, I must preface by saying that it was hot out. It was about 95F, which is weather one might expect on the 4th of July. Although I chilled the frosting in the refrigerator over night, it took me 3 hours to frost the cake because I constantly had to throw the cake and the frosting back into the refrigerator to firm it back up. Needless to say, I was unable to proudly display the cake on the counter with the rest of the feast and had to spend the night informing my guests that there was cake in the fridge. In the future, if I ever attempt this frosting during the summer (because it was tasty), I would probably only use one stick of butter. P.S. I only did one row of raspberries with 2 lines of piped icing because my tip was too small. It worked out perfectly.
jjadel
7/7/2014
I read the mixed reviews, but tried this anyway and will totally make it again! I did add just 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, since that's all I add. My family and I thought it was plenty chocolatey. The frosting was really nice too - made more than I actually needed, which I appreciated. I have to be skimpy on that.
debjeske
Seattle, WA
7/4/2014
This cake was great! One of the reviews said how it was not chocolate-y enough, so I added a cup of cocoa rather than the 3/4 cup. Other than that I made no changes. Was a big hit at the 4th of July picnic. Cake was moist and dense. Definitely took the advice of other reviews and left the cake in the fridge until I was ready to serve it - the icing melts quickly.
melanieyan
Arzier, Switzterland
7/30/2013
This was a very easy recipe to make. Make cake came out perfectly!! The Frosting was a bit runny; I just chilled it for an hour before frosting my cake and decorating. Everyone loved it!
Missa_Bee
Vero Beach, FL
7/12/2013
After reading the first few reviews (on 7/5) I decided against making the original recipe and went ahead and revised it by adding 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, more boiling water, less cocoa, 1/2 c of sour cream, and making a buttercream frosting. It turned out to be quite good - everyone loved it and, I've gotta say, the presentation was quite a hit. However, I'd revise even further on second try - it needed even more chocolate flavor. So - 4 forks for the decoration, 2 for the recipe.
lizvc62
Boston, MA
7/9/2013
had all ingredients available so made on a whim. i liked the fact that the cake wasn't too sweet/chocolatey, but it is very dense and can overcook and become dry in a hurry. my family loved the frosting! not a classic, thick, overpoweringly sweet cream cheese frosting- but rather a lighter version with buttercream overtones- i will use this again on my chocolate zucchini cake- i am sure it will freeze well. there are better chocolate cake recipes out there, but i thought the combo of chocolate,frosting and fruit was a hit! all my family loved it!
mtnmommy
spokane,wa
7/9/2013
This is lovely for a party because it's such a pretty presentation (comes out just like the picture) and impresses guests. I would definitely not recommend serving it fridge cold though, it was lovely before I refrigerated it....the next day after refrigeration the cake was dense and almost pasty. I warmed it up in the microwave just a tad and that fixed it.
Ama1
TX
7/8/2013
I was very pleased with this cake. I baked in a 10x15" pan because that's what I had. It was not as tall as in the photo, but the cake was moist, tender and the chocolate flavor was great. I only used a teaspoon of coffee because I didn't want it to be too prominent. The icing was soft but I kept the frosted cake in the fridge until party time and it was fine. Everyone at the party was impressed!
Sprout2
Los Angeles, CA
7/7/2013
非常失望!蛋糕看起来很好,但它was dry (followed directions exactly) and did not have lots of flavor. The coffee taste was non-existent. The icing seemed a bit "sour"--not a real butter-creamy taste. There are so many excellent chocolate sheet cakes--relegating this one to the circular file.
jcmce9323
Georgia
7/5/2013
Easy, delicious, big hit, looked just like the picture. I was in a rush, and am not a fan of cream cheese, so used store-bought vanilla icing, and also the Easy Frost can with a star tip. Added semi-sweet bits as well to the batter. So good!
MOD4692
Wilton, CT
7/5/2013
Boy was this a hit at the 4th of July picnic. It really got rave reviews. People said it was "not too sweet."
Pattypieable
Wisconsin
7/4/2013
Made this for my son's birthday and 4th of July celebrations. Overall, happy with the finished cake. It looked like the picture. I had to put the piping bag in the freezer to keep the icing from becoming too soft. I only give it 3 stars b/c the cake was a bit too dense and not chocolatey enough for me.
kbpoole
Toronto, Canada
7/4/2013
Made this cake with my son. It was very easy and tasted delicious! The icing does soften very fast, so put the cake in the fridge once you've finished frosting. Dry berries are a must. The cake sank a little in the middle when it was cooling, so I but the largest raspberries there so you couldn't tell there was a dip.
kerbelsr
San Diego, CA
7/4/2013
The cake was easy to bake, I tasted a sliver and it is tasty. Icing is yummy but gets very soft very quickly while piping so start with it chilled. Make sure your berries are dry otherwise they will run. I washed mine ahead of time and allowed them to air dry on towels. The finished product looks just like the picture!
tlsimon
Pittsburgh
7/4/2013
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