This cake is always a hit! I am not amazing at cake decorating but Ina has made decorating this cake really easy. All skill levels can make this cake look great - especially the kids!
I make the cake a few days in advance and decorate it right before serving. I usually make it around the fourth of July each year but it's such a festive cake for Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Veterans Day too!
It's the best cake to bring to a party because it bakes up in the half sheet pan which can be covered, with the half sheet pan cover, and easily transported.
This time we were eating it at home so I flipped it over and served on a cutting board. It's a big cake so I always line it with parchment paper before baking to ensure that it will easily come out of the pan. Having people over this weekend? Have the kids all get together and decorate the flag cake! Happy 4th everyone! Cassandra-
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Ina Garten's Flag Cake
Ingredients
18 tablespoons (2-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
For the Icing
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
To Assemble
2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a half sheet pan (see note).
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 3 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. (If the butter is too cool to be light and fluffy, add a teaspoon or two of warm water,) On medium-low speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir the batter with a rubber spatula and pour into the prepared half sheet pan. Smooth the top and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until very smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed. Stir with a rubber spatula to be sure the icing is well mixed.
Spread three quarters of the icing on the cake. Using a toothpick, outline a flag on the cake. Fill in the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like the red stripes. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternately add 2 rows of raspberries and 2 rows of icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.
Note: If you don’t want to serve your cake from the pan, line the pan with parchment paper and turn it out into a board before you ice and decorate it.
Use the Half Sheet Pan Cover to cover the cake for easy storage or transportation.
Copyright 2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved
1 comment
I don’t have a half sheet cake pan. Is it supposed to be that thin? Can it be made in a 9×13? Thanks!