When it comes to 4th of July desserts, it doesn’t get much easier than using fresh fruit to make a flag design on a simple sheet cake. The effect is impressive and patriotic without any complicated decorating or piping skills needed. Make this for Flag Day, Memorial Day, or Veterans Day, not just the 4th of July. It’s one of our go-to patriotic dessert recipes and everybody loves it! You can also just enjoy the white Texas sheet cake recipe plain or use any fruit you like the rest of the summer! If you need more red, white, and blue dessert inspiration, be sure to check out our Patriotic Popsicles, Patriotic Pretzel Rods, and our 4th of July Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Flour – Regular all-purpose flour works great for this cake recipe. Sugar – You’ll use white granulated sugar for the cake batter and powdered sugar for the icing. Eggs – A couple of eggs helps bind the cake and give it a nice flavor and texture. Sour Cream – Adds moisture and richness to the cake base. Butter – You will need butter both for the cake itself as well as the icing. I use salted butter in almost all my baking unless otherwise specified. Baking powder & baking soda – These are leavening agents that give the cake a nice lift and tender crumb. Vanilla & almond extract – I love the little something extra that a little almond extract gives to this cake, especially when paired with the fresh fruit. Water – Water adds moisture to the cake batter to bring it together. Milk – For the icing, which is sort of a cross between a frosting and a glaze. Salt – Keeps things from being bland or overly sweet. Fresh fruit – I used sliced strawberries and blueberries this time, but I have also used blackberries and raspberries in the past for blue and red options.
How to Make a Flag Cake
Tips for Success
Use star cut outs. Another cute decorating idea if you don’t want a flag design is to just arrange red and blue fruit in another decorative pattern or randomly around the top rather than in a flag design. Then use a small star cutter to cut out sliced strawberry stars, water melon stars, pineapple stars, or apple stars instead for another great design. I have more helpful tips on how to do this in my patriotic popsicles post where I show pics of how it’s done. Make it funfetti! Add some red, white, and blue sprinkles to your cake batter just before pouring it into the pan to bake for a confetti surprise. Don’t skimp on the fruit. The pieces with both blueberries and strawberries are most popular, so I like to serve this with a bowl of additional blueberries on the side since they cover the least amount of cake.
Storage Instructions
You can prepare the cake up to 3 days in advance and it will still taste fresh and delicious if you keep it covered with a layer of plastic wrap or foil. Use a couple of toothpicks stuck into the top of the cake to tent the foil or plastic wrap so it doesn’t actually touch the surface of the cake and store it in the fridge without the fruit decoration for best results. I recommend waiting to top with fruit until shortly before serving because the strawberries have a tendency to release their juices on sliced and in contact with the sugar in the frosting.
More 4th of July Recipes
Old Glory American Flag Pie Red, White, and Blue Bundt Cake Red, White, and Blue Berry Trifle Chantilly Cake Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Easy Patriotic Popsicles in Red, White, And Blue
Patriotic Pretzel Rods
4th of July Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip
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