Red, White & Blue Fourth of July Cake

You guys, it is full on summer over in my part of the world! We had a really long drawn out winter, short and sweet spring, and I feel like I woke up one day and it was 90 degrees out! I love summer though, so I’m not complaining. As I write this someone is mowing their lawn, and the smell of fresh grass is coming through my open window. Pure summer, right there.

And you know what else is pure summer? This cake! I’ve always felt like 4th of July really kicks off the summer season. It’s officially July, the weather is almost always hot and sunny, and everyone is full into their summer routines. Well believe it or not, the 4th of July is just three short weeks away, and it will be here before we know it. So today I’m sharing my ultimate 4th of July dessert – Red, White and Blue cake!

This delicious cake is beyond perfect for whatever 4th of July event you’re planning, and is guaranteed to be the talk of the party. The very best part is cutting into it and seeing those fun colors pop through! Sure to delight kids and adults alike.

Cake Ingredients: 

2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup full-fat vanilla yogurt (greek or regular is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk
Red and blue gel food coloring

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients:

2 cups butter, softened (4 sticks)
6-8 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream, if needed to thin out the frosting

Cake Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the bottoms of three 6″ cake pans with parchment paper.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through salt.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar until combined. Add in the eggs, vanilla, yogurt and buttermilk and mix on low until all ingredients are incorporated. Then add the flour mixture, mixing on low until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

For A Red, White and Blue Cake: Distribute the cake batter evenly into three bowls of the same weight – I used three large cereal bowls. Using a kitchen scale, distribute the cake batter evenly between the three bowls. Empty one bowl into a prepared cake pan (this will be your white).

For the other two, add red and blue gel food coloring. I recommend this kit! You will want to use gel, because liquid will change the cake consistency. The colors will strengthen slightly as they bake, but make sure that the red and blue look about the color that you want the cake layers to look.

Spoon the red and blue batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the cake pans, and then invert the cakes onto a cooling rack with the “top” of the cake down. This will help flatten the cakes. Once the cakes come to room temperature, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before frosting.

Buttercream Directions: 

Whip the butter in you stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Increase the speed to high, and mix about 2-3 minutes. Add heavy cream if needed.

If you want to see a video of this cake coming together, be sure to follow me on Instagram (@thiscelebratedlife)! I’ll be posting it in the next few days, and you won’t want to miss it!