Festive cake is hit for patriotic day

This patriotic cake will be a big hit at Fourth of July parties.

Robin McDaniel

Robin McDaniel is a community columnist for Blount Today and writes the weekly column - In The Kitchen. Every week she prepares or collaborates on a recipe then cooks and photographs the dish for Blount Today. Robin must consider it a labor of love. You can certainly see the love and care she puts into In the Kitchen each week.

Wow them at your Fourth of July cookout with this festive Flag Cake that is fun to make and delicious to eat. To get ready for the holiday, I asked some friends what was the first thing they thought of when someone said “patriotism.” Answers included parades, flags, cookouts, soldiers in uniforms, love for country and loyalty to country.

This patriotic cake covers some of those answers and will be a hit at your Fourth of July gathering. I kept the recipe simple by using a box cake mix, but you can substitute your favorite cake if you like. I also love raspberries, so I chose to use those. Strawberries will also work. Slice them in half, lengthwise.

Bring on the sparklers and set up for a game of “pitching horseshoes” and family cookouts. At our family Independence Day celebration, we traditionally gather around the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance. Enjoy the Fourth with family and friends. By the way, a happy birthday to my father-in-law John McDaniel, who has the most patriotic birthday of July 4.

Flag Cake

1 box white cake mix, baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan

Bake cake according to directions. Cool, then invert onto platter.

Icing:

1 box confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup (or more) water

3 half-pint of raspberries

1 half-pint of blueberries

Combine sugar, shortening, extract and water. Add more water if needed to achieve a better spreading consistency. Using the mixer, blend for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

To assemble, spread 3/4 of the icing on top and sides of cooled sheet cake. Fill in upper left hand corner of cake with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake, like a red stripe. Drop down and make another row. Repeat until last row on the cake.

Put remaining icing in a pastry bag. Using a star tip, pipe a row of icing between raspberries. Pipe some small stars on top of the blueberries.