Stars & Stripes 4EVA

The 4th of July is here! That means red, white, and blue baked goods reign. What better use of my farmers market berries could I ask for? It was time to make that flag cake, the one with the blueberries and strawberries that graced the women’s magazine at the grocery store check-out when I was a sweet-lovin’ impressionable little rugrat. The flag would require lots of prep and patience… America demands it.

I baked in the largest Pyrex in the house with a double-batch of vegan white cake. The cake baked to a golden hue, the perfect canvas for a smooth spread of vanilla buttercream. I used parchment on the bottom of my pan because I knew I needed a smooth and easy release, lest I be left with a broken, uneven flag. Next time I won’t skimp on the parchment so I can use the long overlap for easy removal from the pan.

When the cake is ready to be frosted, I put it in its serving tray. It’s a really good idea to line the cake’s perimeter with wax paper. This way you don’t dirty up the serving tray. Just lift that spongey beauty up and slide the wax paper a couple of inches underneath. Now I am ready to go.

Flash forward to totally done! Isn’t she beautiful? I wound up slicing the blueberries in half so I could have enough to fill the upper left with blue. I really wanted to be accurate with my placement of strawberry stripes, I just didn’t have enough surface area.

Happy Independence Day!

I had a vision of lining the sides with yellow rock sugar… and I found a great tip online to get them on there. Cut a strip of wax paper and spray lightly with some spray oil stuff. Pour on a layer of your sprinkles and press the strip into the side of your cake carefully. I had little patience left after decorating for this task, considering my serving plate swooped upward and made it much more difficult to place the strip. But it’s still a good tip.

The cake was delicious, as confirmed by The Electrician–who is not the biggest fan of baked goods. Happy 4th of July! (and my last cake tip: Forget covering the whole cake with foil! Use (and re-use) a strip of wax paper or parchment to cover the exposed cake when storing in the fridge.