This red, white and blue layer cake is the perfect to serve for your 4th July celebrations! Made from scratch, this vanilla cake is topped with buttercream and is the perfect centerpiece to wow your guests!
Red White and Blue Cake Recipe
This fun and colorful cake needs to make a an appearance on your 4th July holiday!
Bright and festive, this red white and blue layered cake, not only looks good, but it’s super delicious too! Vanilla cake is layered with buttercream for one tasty bite.
Don’t forget the sparklers!
Be sure to check out my Chocolate Pound Cake and Lemon Angel Food Cake too!
Why You’ll Love this 4th of July Cake Recipe:
- Made from scratch: You will be so proud of this cake once you’ve made it, and you can tell everyone there’s no box cake mix involved!
- Easy: Despite its fancy appearances, this is a basic cake recipe that even the most novice of bakers will master this!
- So fun! Your guests will be blown away when you bring this cake out! It’s a great recipe to get little hands to help you with too!
How to Make 4th of July Layer Cake
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Make the batter for the cake.
- Separate into bowls and color two of the batters red and blue, leave the other plain.
- Pour into prepared cake pans, bake and let cool.
- Make the frosting while the cakes cool.
- Frost between the layers to build the cake and frost the sides.
- Press red sanding sugar on the bottom half of the cake and pipe frosting on top.
- Finish with a sparkler!
This red, white, and blue cake is obviously perfect for the 4th of July celebrations, but you can easily swap the colors to make it perfect for any occasion. Make it orange and black for Halloween, and red and green for Christmas. It makes for a great birthday cake too when decorated with sprinkles and made in favorite colors.
Once you have frosted your cake, keep it covered and refrigerated. It will keep well for 1 week. The unfrosted cake will keep well covered at room temperature for 24 hours and up to 3 days in the refrigerator. The buttercream frosting will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.
Yes! Both the cake and the frosting will keep well frozen for up to 3 months. You can freeze the cake with the frosting, though I find it easier to do it separately. The cakes can be thawed at room temperature to be frosted, and the buttercream should be defrosted in the refrigerator overnight.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I like to make the cake the day before and frost it the day of serving. That way I know that the cake will be fully cooled.
- The cakes will take around 20 minutes to bake, and they are ready to cool when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
This 4th July cake is so fun and festive, it’s one delicious way to impress your guests! Be sure to share your photos with me of your creations!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
4th of July Layer Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360 grams
- 3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix 96 grams (1 package)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder 10 grams
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 2 grams
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1⅔ cups granulated sugar 333 grams
- 4 large eggs 200 grams
- ¾ cup milk 170 grams
- ½ cup vegetable oil 100 grams
- ½ cup yogurt 114 grams
- Red and blue food coloring
For the Frosting
- 7½ cups powdered sugar 848 grams
- 2 cups butter 452 grams, room temperature (4 sticks)
- ¼ cup milk 57 grams
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Red and blue food coloring
For Decorating
- 1 cup Red sanding sugar optional
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease them. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, vanilla pudding, salt, and baking soda. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, milk, vegetable oil and yogurt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until the flour is incorporated.3 cups all-purpose flour, 3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix, 2½ teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1⅔ cups granulated sugar, 4 large eggs, ¾ cup milk, ½ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup yogurt
- Evenly divide the batter between 3 separate bowls. Mix red food coloring into one of the bowls of batter. Mix blue food coloring into one of the bowls of batter. Leave one of the bowls of batter plain.Red and blue food coloring
- Pour the batter into each of the prepared cake pans. Place into the oven to bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool.
For the Frosting
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the frosting ingredients except for the food coloring. Beat on low for 1 minute to allow the powdered sugar to incorporate so that your kitchen does not become dusted with powdered sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to beat for an additional 3 minutes, or until a smooth and fluffy frosting has formed.7½ cups powdered sugar, 2 cups butter, ¼ cup milk, 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Equally portion about ⅓ of the frosting into 2 separate bowls. Color each bowl with red food coloring and blue food coloring, respectively. Leave the remaining ⅔ of the frosting white.Red and blue food coloring
- Using the back of a spoon, spread a little bit of red frosting on the sides of the inside of a piping bag fitted with a tip. Spread a little bit of the blue frosting in spaces where there is not red frosting. Fill the bag with about ¾ cup of the white frosting.
Assembly
- Once the cakes are cooled, place the red layer down on a plate or cake plate. Using an offset spatula or rubber spatula, spread ⅓ cup of white frosting over the surface of the bottom layer. Place the white layer directly on top of the red layer and frost with another ⅓ cup of the white frosting. Place the blue layer on top of the white layer. Frost the top and the sides of the cake with the remaining white frosting.
- For smooth frosting, spread the frosting with the spatula at a 45 degree angle for optimal smoothing. Frost the top first then the sides so that a wall of frosting forms around the top edge of the cake. Smoothing the sides may take several times around the cake to achieve. Once the wall is formed, pull the frosting in a circle towards the center and then smooth the top.
- Cup your hand at the base of the cake and fill with red sanding sugar and press onto the sides of the cake. Frost swirls onto the top of the cake with the prepared colored frosting. To achieve a round circle, pipe in a clock formation. When you pipe one swirl, pipe another directly across from it. Pipe first in a 4 star point then continue piping around the cake.1 cup Red sanding sugar
- Once the cake is frosted, slice and serve!
Notes
- I like to make the cake the day before and frost it the day of serving. That way I know that the cake will be fully cooled.
- The cakes will take around 20 minutes to bake, and they are ready to cool when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Do you use cake flour or all purpose flour for cake?