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Flag Cake

Published: Aug 5, 2024 ¡ Modified: Dec 1, 2024 by Joanie Simon ¡ This post may contain affiliate links ¡ Leave a Comment

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This patriotic flag cake is a super moist and fluffy yellow sheet cake with funfetti. Made from scratch! Top it off with homemade tangy cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit.

Overhead view of a sheet cake decorated to look like the American flag

I've served this flag cake for 4th of July, and brought it to Memorial Day and Labor Day Parties. One year my youngest famously requested it for his birthday cake. No matter the celebration, this cake's a winner.

The Secret Ingredient: Greek Yogurt

I love using low-fat (2%) Greek Yogurt in baked goods for multiple reasons:

  • Greek Yogurt gives the cake a nice tangy flavor.
  • The acid in the yogurt helps to activate the leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda.
  • Low fat Greek yogurt adds a touch of richness to the cake without making it heavy.

You can substitute the Greek yogurt in this recipe with sour cream. It will yield a slightly richer texture in the final cake.

Side view of cake with slices missing to show the funfetti interior

Why Use Cake Flour?

This flag cake recipe, like many cakes, it best when it's made with cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.

All flours contain protein. The more protein in a flour, the more moisture it absorbs and the more gluten it forms. Gluten makes things chewy and a stronger crumb structure.

Things like sourdough bread benefit from more gluten and thus why they call for bread flour which has a higher protein content.

Cake flour, on the other hand, has less protein in contrast to bread flour and all-purpose flour. It contributes to a lighter cake. Plus, less protein means the flour absorbs less water. This will give you a delightfully moist cake.

butter and sugar creamed together
butter and sugar creamed together after 3 minutes
cake batter with red white and blue sprinkles
add the jimmies to your batter
mixed batter overhead in a bowl
fold in the jimmies
batter in a 9x13 pan ready to be baked
pour the batter into a prepared 9x13 pan
the cake after being baked
after the cake is baked to golden brown
prepared cream cheese frosting in a bowl
cream cheese frosting ready to go
decorating a cake with white frosting and fresh raspberries and blueberries
decorate the cake with fresh fruit

Recommended Tools

9 x 13 Cake Pan

I use this pan for so much more than cakes. It's my go-to for cinnamon rolls, brownies, focaccia, deep-dish pizza, and more! It's truly the best non-stick pan.

Flour Sifter

It might seem like I'm being extra by recommending you sift the flour. However, it does make a difference in this recipe.

I did a test of this cake using flour straight from the box and it baked up with a more uneven crumb texture and a bumpy top. It was still tasty, but for me, worth the extra step to sift.

Pastry Bag & Piping Tips

I love decorating cakes. If that's not your bag (literally) feel free to spread the frosting onto the cake with a spatula, add your fruit and enjoy!

If you are into decorating, I filled this large pastry bag with the frosting and used a large star piping tip to pipe the border around the whole cake and the white stripes between the raspberries.

I used a small piping bag and small star tip to pipe between the blueberries.

side view of a flag cake on a gingham napkin surrounded by more berries and serving plates for dessert

Instant Read Thermometer

One of the things that changed the baking game for me was using a thermometer. I always struggled to know if my baked goods were done or not.

The recommendation to poke cakes with a toothpick and to see if it came out clean just never felt precise enough. I'd still end up with underdone and overdone cakes and breads.

The most precise way to gauge doneness? Stick an instant-read thermometer into the center of the cake and take its temperature. I do this for bread, too!

Different types of baked goods have different target temperatures. For most cakes, you're aiming in the 200F - 205F range. This ensures the cake is fully cooked without going too far.

Overbaked cakes turn out more dry and crumbly. Underbaked cakes often sink in the middle and have a gummy texture.

slice of flag cake with a gold sparkler that's bursting with sparks

The Right Sprinkles for Funfetti

Not all sprinkles are ideal for funfetti cakes.

The little round nonpareils will bleed and you will end up with smeared, muddy colors when you start to fold in your sprinkles. This is due to the way that they are manufactured.

The kind you want for this cake are called jimmies. They are thin strands of cut sprinkles. They hold on to their color when mixed and baked and are perfect for funfetti-style cakes.

The sprinkles are optional in this flag cake recipe. But, given the chance, I will always opt to add a little extra flair. I used red, white and blue jimmies.

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clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
overhead view of a cake that looks like the American flag

Flag Cake

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  • Author: Joanie Simon
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 65
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 16 slices
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This patriotic flag cake is a super moist and fluffy yellow sheet cake with funfetti. Made from scratch! Top it off with homemade tangy cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit.


Ingredients

The Cake

  • 3 cups (360g) cake flour, sifted
  • 2 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups (298g) granulated sugar
  • 4 whole large eggs, room temperature
  • ž cup (180g) whole milk, room temperature
  • ⅔ cup (170g) 2% Greek yogurt, room temperature
  • Âź cup (55g) vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbs vanilla
  • ½ cup jimmies

The Frosting

  • 2oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 ž cups (460g) powdered sugar
  • Âź cup (60g) heavy cream, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 pinch salt

Garnish

  • 2 half pints of fresh raspberries
  • 1 half pint of fresh blueberries


Instructions

Prepare the Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 325F.
  2. Prepare a 9 x 13 cake pan by greasing it with butter or spraying it with nonstick baking spray.
  3. Combine cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  4. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes until the sugar is well incorporated and the mixture lightens in color.
  5. Add each egg, one at a time, to the butter with the mixer on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
  6. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, Greek yogurt, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk together until fully combined.
  7. Add half of the flour mixture you set aside earlier to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix in on the low setting. Then add in half of the Greek yogurt mixture to the mixer. Repeat to finish adding in the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Mix the batter for another 10 to 20 seconds so that the batter is nice and smooth.
  8. Take the bowl off of the stand mixer and fold the jimmies into the batter.
  9. Pour the batter into your prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake at 325 for 45 - 50 minutes. It is done when the top is a nice golden color and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center reads 200F - 205F.
  10. Once the cake is done, remove the pan from the oven and put it on a cooling rack to cool for two hours. Do not add frosting to the cake before it is fully cooled.
  11. Once the cake has cooled, you can either keep it in the pan to decorate it, or invert it onto a platter.

Prepare the Frosting and Decorate

  1. While the cake cools, make your frosting by combining the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar together in a bowl. You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix the cream cheese, butter and sugar for 1 minutes until they are all mixed together and nice and smooth.
  2. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the heavy cream into the frosting until it is all added. Then add in the vanilla and salt. Set the mixer on high and beat the frosting for 2 minutes until it gets light and fluffy. It should also be nice and stiff. If it seems too soft, add more powdered sugar by 1 Tbs at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
  3. When you are ready to decorate your flag cake, spread half of the frosting on top of the cake, then add the remainder into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Decorate the top of the cake with raspberries, blueberries and more frosting to create stars and stripes.

Notes

  1. The cake can be kept at room temperature until ready to serve. If you want to refrigerate it to keep it for longer, be sure to take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you want to serve so that the frosting softens. Since it’s primarily made of butter it’s rather firm when cold.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 596
  • Sugar: 54.3 g
  • Sodium: 155.7 mg
  • Fat: 31.9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 80.5 g
  • Fiber: 3.5 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Cholesterol: 114.3 mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me at @thebiteshot on Instagram. I'd love to see!

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Hi, I'm Joanie

Sharing everyday eats, from blood sugar-friendly meals to special occasion favorites. Ring The Dinner Bell with food that makes you feel good!

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