Red White and Blue Cake

Red, White and Blue Layer Cake

This is such a fun cake to make and serve because of the surprise of the colored layers. Everyone thinks it’s just a basic layer cake. Maybe it’s chocolate cake. Or maybe it’s yellow cake. But the crowd is really delighted when you cut into the cake to see the red, white and blue layers inside. And if you like the patriotic theme, you will probably enjoy my flag cake recipe too!

🛒 Ingredients Needed:

• cake flour
• baking powder and salt
• buttermilk
• egg whites
• granulated white sugar
• unsalted butter
• vanilla extract
• red and blue gel paste
• frosting recipe of your choice!

✏️ How to make a Red White and Blue Cake:

*The complete, printable recipe with all ingredients and instructions is at the end of this post.

1. Center two racks in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Add a spoonful of flour to each, shake it around and tap out the excess. (You can also use the baking spray that already has flour in it).
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend together the butter and sugar; beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the mixture is very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the buttermilk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the buttermilk and eggs, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2 minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
4. Divide the batter evenly between three glass bowls. Color two of the bowls of batter, one dark red and one dark blue. Just add the color a little at a time until you reach the hue you’d like. Scoop each of the batters into their own prepared pan.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for 8 inch rounds (15 to 20 for 9 inch), or until the cakes have risen and are springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up on wire racks.
6. When cooled, frost the cake as you would a 3 layer cake, frosting each layer before adding the next, and then covering the whole cake with frosting. 

✔️ How to store a layer cake:

Once the frosting is set, cover the entire cake loosely with plastic wrap or a cake keeper. Make sure the covering does not touch the frosting directly to avoid messing up the design.

Store the frosted cake in the refrigerator. Most frosted cakes can be stored in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. If the frosting contains dairy products (like buttercream or cream cheese frosting), refrigeration is necessary to prevent spoilage.