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    Home ยป Recipes ยป 4th of July

    Red White and Blue Cake

    Published: Mar 28, 2023 by Lisa Killian ยท This post may contain affiliate links. Please read myย  disclosure policy.

    โ†“ Jump to Recipe

    This Red, White, and Blue Cake is tender, delicious, and easy to make! It is the perfect cake for the patriotic holidays like 4th of July and Memorial Day!

    close up of the cake frosting

    I recently shared my 4th of July cake, 4th of July cupcakes, and red white and blue cheesecake salad but I had one more cake I had to share!

    This fun bundt cake is something I often refer to as a Firecracker Cake. It has three colors, lots of sprinkles, and is just plain fun!

    showing the inside of cake
    Every slice shows the hidden blue surprise!

    What you need for Red White and Blue Cake?

    • Box of White Cake Mix
    • Additional Cake Mix Ingredients: Vegetable Oil, Sour Cream, Heavy Creamy, Egg Whites, Red and Blue Gel Food Coloring
    • Frosting: Unsalted Butter, Powdered Sugar, Heavy Cream, Red and Blue Food Coloring, Sprinkles
    • Bundt Pan- 6 cup or 12 cup size (amazon affiliate links)
    white cake ingredients
    Using a white cake mix makes this so easy!
    frosting and decorating ingredients
    My frosting is a winner every time!

    This cake is extra fun because of the three colors of cake! It makes for a show stopping experience!

    Why use boxed cake mix?

    I love using a box cake mix and then doctoring it to make it taste like itโ€™s from scratch. By adding sour cream, heavy cream, and extra egg whites you wonโ€™t believe how good this cake is!

    cutting into a slice of cake with a fork

    How to make Red, White, and Blue Cake?

    • Mix together the oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream, and egg whites. Then mix together the boxed cake mix.
    • 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.
    mixed cake batter
    Whip up the easy cake batter!
    cake batter dyed red and blue
    Add dye to make the bright colors!
    • 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. Then pour the white batter over the red, and then follow that by the blue.
    • I like to pour the blue in a thin band in the center of the white to get it to balloon into the center of the cake.
    adding red cake batter to bottom of bundt pan
    Red goes on the bottom.
    adding white cake batter to bundt pan
    Followed by white.
    adding blue batter to bundt pan
    Then add the blue in a smaller line.

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    • Bake your cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!

    Pro Tip: 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 ยฝ- ยพ 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.

    baked cake in bundt pan showing how it raised in baking past the edge of the pan
    If it bakes above the rim you may need to cut the cake so it's level.

    A 12 cup bundt pan is quite large and will create a shorter bundt cake, but still delicious.

    cake from above
    This cake is so fun to make and even more fun to decorate!

    How to decorate the cake?

    • Make the frosting, divide into three portions and add red gel food coloring and blue gel food coloring to their own portions.
    red white and blue frosting
    Food gel makes really vibrant colors!
    • Heat frosting for 5-10 seconds until it is thin enough to drizzle on the cake, working with one color at a time.
    • Drizzle the frosting using a spoon or cut the corner off a Ziploc baggie. Top with your favorite sprinkles and enjoy!
    drizzled white frosting on cake
    I like to start with whites.
    cake with all frosting colors drizzled
    Then add red, blue, and sprinkles.

    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!

    If you like this recipe, check out my chocolate chip pie recipe, 4th of July Cookies, whipped cream cheese frosting recipe, and my caramel corn for other tasty treats perfect for a get together!

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    red white and blue bundt cake side view

    Red White and Blue Cake

    This Red, White, and Blue Cake is tender, delicious, and easy to make! It is the perfect cake for the patriotic holidays like 4th of July and Memorial Day!
    4.80 from 5 votes
    Print Pin
    Author: Lisa Killian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16

    Equipment

    • 1 Bundt Pan 6 cup or 12 cup*

    Ingredients

    Cake

    • 1 box of white cake mix
    • ยฝ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 tbs vanilla
    • ยพ cup sour cream
    • ยพ cup heavy cream
    • 4 egg whites
    • 1 teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring
    • 1 teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring

    Frosting

    • ยฝ cup unsalted butter
    • ยฝ teaspoon vanilla
    • ยผ teaspoon salt
    • 2 ยฝ cups powdered sugar
    • 2 ยฝ tbs heavy cream
    • ยผ-ยฝ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring
    • ยผ-ยฝ teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
    • Sprinkles

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray with flour- like Baker's Joy (or use a spray like Pam and then dust pan with flour.
    • Mix together the oil, vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream and egg whites. Then mix in the boxed cake mix.
      1 box of white cake mix, ยฝ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbs vanilla, ยพ cup sour cream, ยพ cup heavy cream, 4 egg whites
      mixed cake batter
    • Scoop out ยพ cup cake mix into a bowl and mix in red food coloring. Scoop out another ยพ 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
      cake batter dyed red and blue
    • 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 creating a band in the center of the white.
      adding red cake batter to bottom of bundt pan
    • Bake for 40-45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and it reaches 205ยฐF on a food thermometer.
      adding blue batter to bundt pan
    • Once done baking, let the cake to stand for 10 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack and remove from the bundt pan. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
      baked cake in bundt pan showing how it raised in baking past the edge of the pan

    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.
      ยฝ cup unsalted butter, ยฝ teaspoon vanilla, ยผ teaspoon salt
    • Alternating between powdered sugar and heavy cream, mix each in until fully incorporated.
      2 ยฝ cups powdered sugar, 2 ยฝ tbs heavy cream
      vanilla buttercream on paddle
    • Divide frosting into three separate bowls. Mix in red food coloring to one bowl, blue to another, and leave the third white.
      ยผ-ยฝ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring, ยผ-ยฝ teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
      red white and blue frosting

    How to decorate cake:

    • Place cake on a cooling rack.
      drizzled white frosting on cake
    • 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.
      cake with all frosting colors drizzled
    • Repeat with the red frosting, then the blue. Once the cake is drizzled with the blue, add sprinkles to the top and allow frosting to set up for 30 minutes.
      Sprinkles
      close up of entire decorated cake

    Notes

    Tips and Tricks
    • *Bundt Pan Sizing- If using a 6 cup pan remove ยฝ- ยพ 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. (affiliate links)
    • 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 tbs at a time, to thicken it. If itโ€™s too thick add more heavy cream, 1 tbs at a time until itโ€™s at your desired consistency.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 443IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg

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    Comments

      4.80 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Marlene Ealy says

      July 08, 2023 at 6:59 am

      This was absolutely the best cake ever, I did one several years ago, but it wasnโ€™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.

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        July 10, 2023 at 3:53 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed it! It is definitely moist!

        Reply
    2. Lisa says

      March 28, 2023 at 1:00 pm

      5 stars
      Love this cake! It's so good and always gets eaten up right away!

      Reply
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    Hey, I'm Lisa!

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