Red White and Blue Cake

Make this three-layer multi-flavor red white and blue cake for the 4th of July, Memorial day, or any Patriotic holiday occasion.

Each layer of this festive dessert is a different flavor with vibrant colors for your patriotic celebration.

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I love tricks with cake mix, especially when the result is such a fun and flavorful dessert. The trick with this delicious cake is to create a blue batter and red batter without using food coloring. It all begins with white cake mix.

Ingredients

Jello adds both flavor and color to the cake layers. You can use gel food coloring to achieve the colors if you prefer but it won’t give you the berry flavors of my recipe.

• 1 box of white cake mix
• One cup of water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp* of Berry Blue jello gelatin
• 3 tbsp* box Strawberry jello gelatin
• 3 eggs

Cake Instructions

These will be thin layers. If you want thicker layers (and that would make a very large cake), use 2 cake mixes. See my Rainbow Layer Cake which is 2 mixes and each of the four layers is a different flavor.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare your cake pans with grease and flour. I do not recommend non-stick spray in cake pans.

Note

I baked my square cake in an 8″ square brownie pan, like this. Because I only have one brownie pan, I baked one layer at a time. It took about 20 minutes per layer in my convection oven.

Step 2

Follow the instructions on the back of the box to make the cake. It should say to add the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes until blended.

Step 3

Divide batter evenly between 3 small bowls. You should have about 4 cups of batter which means to add 1 1/3 cups of batter to each bowl.

In one bowl, add 3 tablespoons* of Berry Blue jello and stir using a rubber spatula until the jello is completely dissolved and well blended.

Do the same with the Strawberry jello (3 tbsp)* in the next bowl of cake batter. Leave the final bowl of cake batter plain for the white layer.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

*Use the remaining jello in the traditional way, to make a dish of jello following the directions on the box but mix the remainder two flavors together. Another way to use the leftover jello is to sprinkle it over a big bowl of frozen mixed fruit, then drizzle it with honey. Let the flavors marinade for several hours in the refrigerator and enjoy.

Step 4

Bake according to package directions for 8″ round cake pans which is likely about 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is done when it is separating from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 5

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

Step 6

Decorate your red white and blue cake however you like. I used red white and blue candy sprinkles to create a festive fourth of July cake for my family.

Make the frosting

My patriotic layer cake is a recipe cheat using a mix with jello pudding. The vanilla buttercream frosting is made from scratch.

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 2 pkg. (16 oz.) Confectioners sugar sifted
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract, I prefer Watkins (buy it on Amazon)
• 2 tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy.

Begin adding sugar a little at a time to keep it from splashing out.

Add 1 tbsp of milk, then more sugar a little at a time and continue until all of the sugar and milk have been added.

Add the vanilla and continue to mix until you have the desired consistency.

Pro-Tip

If you get the frosting too thin, add more powdered sugar about one tablespoon at a time. If it is too thick, add more milk just a drop at a time.

Transfer the blue layer to your cake plate and cover the top and sides with frosting. Add the white second layer of cake and continue to frost with your vanilla frosting. Continue until done then decorate as you please for your occasion.

Decorating your red white and blue patriotic cake

Use fresh berries like strawberries and blueberries to decorate the top of the cake if you like.

Candied sprinkles are perfect. Be sure to add some to the sides of the cake.

Each of the cake layers is a different flavor. The blue layer has a blueberry flavor, the red layer is strawberry and the white layer is just plain yummy.

Add this delicious patriotic cake to your Memorial Day cake ideas, easy 4th of July cakes to make, and even Labor Day. If you just happen to cheer for a sports team with these patriotic colors, well this is the perfect cake for your team.

Cakes like this three-layer Patriotic cake are worth the extra effort to add some fun to family celebrations. See more of my cake recipes below.

More Fun Cake Recipes