How to Create the American Berry Flag Cake with Raspberries & Blueberries
Nothing says 4th of July like a delicious American Flag Cake made with bright red and blue berries. Growing up I was obsessed with fireworks and determined to see them at whatever cost. I made my family pile into the car and head out as it got dark so we could see the sky light up for about a half hour and then fight traffic to get home way past our bedtime. After graduating college I moved to San Francisco where 4th of July can often mean wool sweaters and more fog than fireworks so I had to find my patriotic spirit elsewhere. I started making a flag cake each year.
Throughout about 15 years of baking (and some not so successful combinations) I have settled on this simple and classic flag cake made perfect with ripe, juicy Driscoll's Berries. The basic premise is simple, use blueberries to represent the stars on the flag and raspberries for the stripes.
The cake and frosting have a hint of coconut, which complements the sweetness of the blueberries and raspberries. To decorate the cake, first frost the assembled layers with a thin layer of frosting and chill in the refrigerator to let set for 15 to 30 minutes (this is called the crumb coat). Remove cake from the refrigerator and frost completely with frosting in a smooth layer.
Use a long, thin wooden skewer or a long piece of string or butcher twine to gently make straight lines across the cake where you will place the raspberries. Depending on the size of your raspberries, you should be making 6 or 7 stripes. Place the raspberries then pipe the extra frosting in between, using the raspberries as a guide. Place the blueberries next and pipe stars with frosting as the final step. Keep chilled until about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
To get the full Berry Flag Cake recipe and more 4th of July recipes click here.
Allison Kociuruba develops many of the recipes on Driscolls.com from her kitchen in Austin, Texas. A former food editor from Good Housekeeping Magazine, she now enjoys working at home with two devoted taste testers, her husband and her son (and raspberry-fanatic) who just turned one!