Ina Garten’s flag cake is a show stopper.  It’s such a great, rich cake and I’ve made it for many forth of July parties.  This year, I’m mixing things up and making it for Memorial Day.  There are so many holidays that it is perfect for.  I read recently that an Ina Garten fan iced the whole cake and just sprinkled the raspberries and blueberries randomly throughout the cake for an easy variation. 

If you’re bring this cake to a party, leave it in the half sheet pan to decorate and cover with our half sheet pan cover for easy transportation.

The icing spreads evenly - with those pretty little peaks that I always see on Pinterest cakes. (I used the large straight blade.) And the Decorating Kit is just so much fun and easy to use - makes me want to decorate everything with icing!

Our half sheet pan (the same one Ina uses) is the perfect size for the cake. When it comes to decorating, you don’t need to squish everything on to make the stars and stripes look good. And with the cover – I can frost and decorate, and then easily take it along to wherever we’re going.

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. 

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 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 F. Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan (half sheet pan).

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium 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 speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. 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, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth. Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan (half sheet pan). If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.