Stars and Stripes Cake

-->

Sorry, I realize that we've passed the fourth of July, but maybe you can remember this post and try it next year. Plus you can improvise and use the idea for lots of other holidays.

-->

I got the idea from my friend Cameron who made this cake for his office. Here's the blog post where he got the idea. I really recommend following the instructions on the blog for how to build the cake. First I'll share the recipe that I used to make the cake. I got the recipe from this blog and loved it.

-->

Easy White Cake
Ingredients

1 box MOIST white cake mix

1 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
3/4 t salt
4 egg whites
1 1/3 c water
2 T vegetable oil
1 c sour cream
1 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract

Instructions
I actual made two batches of the batter, it made for a really tall cake though. After mixing all the ingredients, put 1/4 the mix into a separate bowl (about 3 cups of batter). You will make this separated portion your blue batter, so add blue food coloring to get the color you desire. Divide the remaining batter in half. This will be your red and your white batter. You'll see on the website, they encourage you to buy the cookie cutters. I sort of made my own rings. I'd recommend the cookie cutters for a consistent size. I also recommend making sure the batter levels are even before removing the rings. My top layers were a little off because the batter distributed unevenly.

OK, for the baking part. Heat the oven to 350°. For the time, it depends on how thick the cake is. The blog says 12-15 minutes I think? Nope - mine took longer. But I set the timer for 18 minutes, and if it wasn't done, I'd add 5 more minutes. And of course, they cook a little in the pan.

Also, I recommend cutting the round top off the cakes before freezing the cakes. But freezing the cakes was a great suggestion.

For frosting, I made 2ish batches as well. I made a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.
Ingredients (for the doubled batch):
3 cubes cream cheese, room temperature
4 sticks butter, room temperature
the rind and the juice of 2 lemons
Enough powdered sugar to give the taste you like (I used a whole bag, but that's about 1/2 the recommended amount)

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to frosting the cake.

Here is a photo of the inside of my finished cake. You can see how my blue is uneven.

-->

I didn't decorate the outside until I got to my friend's home. I thought the kids would enjoy doing the decorating. So here's the cake ready to transport. The skewers did a great job of keeping the cake together for the 45 minute drive.

-->

I loved the blog's idea of using food coloring and cookie cutters for doing the decorating - so did Jackson.

-->

And it was so good, the kids didn't think silverware necessary.

-->

Enjoy!