Photo: Flag Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake:
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup stone-ground white cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons rainbow or red, white and blue sprinkles
Frosting:
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ounces chopped white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish:
- 1 cup blueberries
- One 16-ounce container strawberries
- 1 tablespoon apple jelly or apricot jam, melted
Special equipment:
- Pastry bag
- Rosette tip
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and coat again with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
Beat the butter with the granulated sugar on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, and then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in half the buttermilk and then repeat, adding the flour in two more increments and alternating with the second half of the buttermilk. Stir in the sprinkles. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. Bake until golden brown and the top springs back to a light touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan.
Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to release the sides and turn the cake out onto a baking sheet. Remove the parchment paper and then flip again onto a serving platter or cutting board so the top of the cake is back on top. Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting: Place the butter and salt in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the white chocolate and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very smooth and fluffy.
Transfer 1/2 cup of the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a small rosette tip. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
For the garnish: Place the blueberries in six rows of 6 berries each in the top left hand corner of the cake. Trim and halve the strawberries lengthwise and make four rows of strawberries across the cake. Pipe 13 stars between the blueberries and use the remaining frosting to pipe a border around the bottom of the cake. Brush the berries with the melted jelly. Cut and serve.
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By CarlafromTexas
Eustace, 83
on August 04, 2012
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I made this cake for a huge 4th of July lake party and was a huge hit. It is very time consuming, but well worth it.Next time I will make more of the frosting. Also, just from common sense, didn't use the cornmeal. Oh, and this is not easy, you should be an intermediate cook to tackle this recipe.
By abarlow_9534731
san ramon, CA
on July 05, 2012
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Cornmeal -- bad idea. My daughter and I spent the afternoon making this cake, just for fun. It has the potential to be a good cake, but not as long as you include the cornmeal in the recipe. I should have known better. Next time, stick to a basic white cake recipe as Jarnette did. AND, make 150% of the frosting recipe, or you simply won't have enough. I can only assume, based on quantity and texture, the the photo for this cake had a fondant icing rather than the buttercream that the recipe called for. The addition of the white chocolate is a great idea. So -- to turn this into a recipe worth spending the afternoon on, skip the cornmeal and make 50% more frosting. THAT will be a delicious cake.
By jarnette
San Diego, CA
on July 04, 2012
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I used a different white cake recipe; I made a whipped cream frosting and chilled cake before frosting. I did use that decoration -- in fact, I've been making July 4 cakes like that since the mid '80s. My family has always loved them, and now my grandkids are blown away by them (I love little ones!!.
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