This Red, White, and Blue Cake is a festive showstopper, perfect for celebrating the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or any patriotic occasion. With vibrant layers and a sweet, tender cake, it’s as fun to make as it is to slice and share.
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Make sure to check out my smoked chicken thighs, tri-tip marinade, pepperoni pasta salad, and hot artichoke dip to serve up at your 4th of July BBQ!
This fun Bundt cake is a great dessert for after the meal and is something I often refer to as a Firecracker Cake. It has three colors, lots of sprinkles, and is just plain fun!
Why This Recipe Works:
- Festive and Eye-Catching: Bold red, white, and blue layers make this cake a stunning centerpiece for any patriotic celebration.
- Light and Fluffy Texture: The moist cake and creamy frosting create a crowd-pleasing combination that’s both sweet and satisfying.
- Easy to Customize: Use your favorite cake flavor, food coloring, or add fresh berries for a fun and personalized twist.
- Perfect for Celebrations: Whether it’s a holiday BBQ or a family gathering, this cake brings the fun and flavor to the party.
What You Need for Red, White, and Blue Cake?
- Box of White Cake Mix- In a pinch, you can use yellow cake, but we really want the White for the contrast!
- Additional Cake Mix Ingredients: I like to doctor my cake mix with a little Sour Cream, Heavy Cream, and extra Egg Whites, but you can just follow the box instructions, plus add in some food coloring.
- Decorations: Red and Blue Gel Food Coloring, Sprinkles
- Frosting: Unsalted Butter, Powdered Sugar, Heavy Cream, Red and Blue Food Coloring, Sprinkles ( I used red, white, and blue Jimmies and Stars)
- Bundt Pan- 6 cup or 12 cup size
Boxed Cake Mix or From Scratch?
If you have a favorite white cake recipe made from scratch, then use it! I just recommend baking and coloring it according to this recipe's directions.
However, if you are crunched on time, ingredients, or just want something simple, I love using a simple boxed cake mix. You can even add the extra ingredients I've included in the recipe for a more homemade taste!
How to Make Red, White, and Blue Cake?
- Step 1: Mix together the oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream, and egg whites. Then mix together the boxed cake mix.
- Step 2: Place 1 cup of cake batter in a bowl and stir in red food coloring. Place another cup of batter in a separate bowl and mix in the blue food coloring.
- Step 3: Spray your bundt pan with nonstick spray (I like the kind with flour like Baker's Joy), then spread the red batter along the bottom of the pan.
- Step 4: Then pour the white batter over the red, and then follow that by the blue.
- Step 5: Bake your cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!
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How to Decorate the Cake?
- Step 5: Make the white buttercream frosting, divide it into three portions, and add red gel food coloring and blue gel food coloring to their own portions.
- Step 6: Heat frosting for 5-10 seconds until it is thin enough to drizzle on the cake, working with one color at a time.
- Step 7: Drizzle the frosting using a spoon or cut the corner off a Ziploc baggie. Top with your favorite sprinkles and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Food Gel Coloring darkens as it sits! Let your cake batter sit for 5-10 minutes to deepen the color or red and blue.
- Bundt Pan Sizing: If using a 6-cup pan, remove ½- ¾ cup of white batter. The cake will still bake fine if you don't remove the batter, but it will rise above the edge of the pan as it bakes, and you will want to slice that extra bit off, resulting in less blue.
- A 12-cup Bundt pan is quite large (as you can see here with my gingerbread bundt cake) and will create a shorter Bundt cake, but still delicious.
- Frosting: Setting the cake on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet makes for easy cleanup!
- Cream Cheese Frosting is another delicious frosting that works great on this cake!
This cake is one that is easy to make, and because of the colors becomes a showstopper! Almost as much as the fireworks at your party!
Frequently Asked Questions
I love using a box cake mix and then doctoring it to make it taste like it’s from scratch. By adding sour cream, heavy cream, and extra egg whites, you won’t believe how good this cake is!
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Eat within 4-5 days for optimal freshness.
Yes! You can make the bundt cake ahead of time. Wrap it (unfrosted) in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer ziploc baggie. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, defrost in the refrigerator the night before, then frost, and enjoy.
More Related Recipes
If you like this recipe, check out my chocolate chip pie recipe, funfetti birthday cupcakes, whipped cream cheese frosting recipe, and my caramel corn for other tasty treats perfect for a get together!
If you like this recipe make sure to give it a 5-star review and leave a comment down below!
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Red White and Blue Cake
Equipment
- 1 Bundt Pan 6 cup or 12 cup*
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box of white cake mix
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbs vanilla
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring
- 1 teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 ½ tbs heavy cream
- ¼-½ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring
- ¼-½ teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray with flour- like Baker's Joy (or use a spray like Pam and then dust the pan with flour.
- Mix the oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream, and egg whites. in a bowl, then mix in the boxed cake mix.1 box of white cake mix, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbs vanilla, ¾ cup sour cream, ¾ cup heavy cream, 4 egg whites
- Scoop out ¾ cup cake mix into a bowl and mix in red food coloring. Scoop out another ¾ cup of cake mix into a small bowl and mix in blue food coloring.1 teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring, 1 teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
- Pour red batter into the bottom of the bundt pan. Then, carefully pour the white cake batter over the red. Pour the blue batter over the white, focusing on creating a band in the center of the white.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and it reaches an internal temperature of 205°F on a food thermometer.
- Once done baking, let the cake stand for 10 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack and remove from the bundt pan. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a stand mixer, whip your butter on medium-high speed until the butter is light and fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla and salt.½ cup unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Alternating between powdered sugar and heavy cream, mix each in until fully incorporated.2 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2 ½ tbs heavy cream
- Divide the frosting into three separate bowls. Mix in red food coloring to one bowl, blue to another, and leave the third white.¼-½ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring, ¼-½ teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
How to Decorate Cake:
- Place the cake on a cooling rack.
- Microwave white frosting for 5 to 10 seconds, stir, and repeat until frosting is runny and a good consistency to drizzle. Drizzle over cake with a spoon or a bag with the corner cut off, using back-and-forth motions to make stripes.
- Repeat with the red frosting, then the blue. Once the cake is drizzled with the blue, add sprinkles to the top and allow the frosting to set up for 30 minutes.Sprinkles
Notes
- *Bundt Pan Sizing- If using a 6-cup pan, remove ½- ¾ cup of white batter. If not, the cake will still bake fine, it will just rise above the edge of the pan, and you will want to slice that extra bit off, resulting in less blue (like in the pics above). A 12-cup bundt pan is quite large and will create a shorter bundt cake, but still delicious.
- If you need to soften your butter fast, place it on a microwave-safe dish in the microwave, turn your microwave to 30% power, and microwave for 15-second intervals until soft.
- If the frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thicken it. If it’s too thick, add more heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s at your desired consistency.
Marlene Ealy says
This was absolutely the best cake ever, I did one several years ago, but it wasn’t as moist this. It was just good all the way around the icing was absolutely marvelous. I recommend it for anybody that wants a good cake.
Lisa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it! It is definitely moist!
Lisa says
Love this cake! It's so good and always gets eaten up right away!