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featured 4th of july cake

4th of July Layer Cake Recipe

Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 1142kcal
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!
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • Kitchen Scale (optional)
  • 3 8-inch Round Cake Pan
  • Stand Mixer
  • Piping Tip Set

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour 360 grams
  • 3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix 96 grams (1 package)
  • 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

  • cups powdered sugar 848 grams
  • 2 cups butter 452 grams, room temperature (4 sticks)
  • ¼ cup milk 57 grams
  • teaspoons pure vanilla extract 6 grams
  • teaspoon kosher salt
  • Red and blue food coloring

For Decorating

  • 1 cup Red sanding sugar 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.
Storage: Store unfrosted cake tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 24 hours, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store frosted cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store buttercream frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 1142kcal | Carbohydrates: 168g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 446mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 136g | Vitamin A: 1281IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 2mg