American Flag Sheet Cake (From Scratch with Fresh Berries)
What better way to celebrate our country’s independence than with some cake? But not just any cake, a fresh and beautiful American flag sheet cake. A perfect combination of tender cake, lovely summer berries, and a reader-favorite cream cheese frosting. One warning: you’ll be forced to make this every Fourth of July from now on.
If you’ve never made a flag cake before, don’t stress! It’s easier than it looks. Start with a basic sheet cake, frost it smoothly, and use a toothpick to lightly outline the flag before adding your berries. Raspberries or sliced strawberries work great for the stripes, and a star piping tip gives the finishing touch. You can bake the cake a day ahead and frost it cold, which makes decorating even easier.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Keep everything at room temperature to make it easier to mix.
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If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- 10×16-inch rimmed sheet pan
- Wire rack
- piping bag with star tip
Ingredients
For The Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature; 1 stick)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
For The Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature; 2 sticks)
- 12 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To Assemble
- 1 cup blueberries
- 3 cups raspberries (you can also use strawberries)
How to Make A Flag Sheet Cake
Make The Cake
Step One: Prep
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and greasing a 10×16-inch rimmed sheet pan with non-stick baking spray.
Step Two: Beat Butter And Sugar
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next one, and stir in the vanilla.
Step Three: Combine Dry Ingredients
Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on low until everything is just combined. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Step Four: Pour Into Baking Sheet
Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Make The Frosting
Step One: Mix
Use a clean bowl to beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until it becomes fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until the frosting becomes smooth.
Assemble The Cake
Step One: Spread
Spread half the frosting over the cooled cake. Using a toothpick, draw a rectangle for blueberries in the upper left corner.
Step Two: Add The Berries
Fill the upper left square with blueberries. Make a double row of raspberries on top of the cake to the right of the blue square. You will want the bottom of the blue square to line up with the bottom of a raspberry row, so space the rows accordingly. Continue with double rows of raspberries, leaving space in between for white stripes.
Step Three: Add The Remaining Frosting
Finally, fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Pipe stars over the blueberries and stripes between the raspberry rows.
Step Four: Serve
When it’s time to serve, you can serve the cake directly from the pan and refrigerate any leftovers.
Storage Instructions
You can store leftovers in the refrigerator tightly sealed for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
You can make it 1 day ahead of time, seal it tightly in the refrigerator, and then frost it before serving.
What to Serve with Flag Sheet Cake
This is the perfect end to your summer party!
- Start the party off with glasses of strawberry lemonade.
- Have some salads, like this creamy Hawaiian macaroni salad.
- Grill some hamburgers, hot dogs, or some barbecue chicken drumsticks.
- Finish with some patriotic ice cream on the side of your cake!
More Sheet Cake Recipes
- This lemon sheet cake is easy and fresh for any time of year.
- You can also serve this strawberry Texas sheet cake for the 4th of July.
- If you’re into sourdough, make this one-bowl sourdough vanilla cake. Keep it plain or top it with berries.
- Sourdough apple cake is the perfect dessert for fall.
Printable Recipe
Flag Sheet Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 10×16-inch rimmed sheet pan
- Wire rack
- piping bag with star tip
Ingredients
For The Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature; 1 stick)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
For The Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature; 2 sticks)
- 12 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To Assemble
- 1 cup blueberries
- 3 cups raspberries
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Instructions
Make The Cake
- Prep. Start by preheating the oven to 350°F and greasing a 10×16-inch rimmed sheet pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Beat butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next one, and stir in the vanilla.
- Combine dry ingredients. Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on low until everything is just combined. Don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour into baking sheet. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Make The Frosting
- Mix. Use a clean bowl to beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until it becomes fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until the frosting becomes smooth.
Assemble The Cake
- Spread. Spread half the frosting over the cooled cake. Using a toothpick, draw a rectangle for blueberries in the upper left corner.
- Add the berries. Fill the upper left square with blueberries. Make a double row of raspberries on top of the cake to the right of the blue square. You will want the bottom of the blue square to line up with the bottom of a raspberry row, so space the rows accordingly. Continue with double rows of raspberries, leaving space in between for white stripes.
- Add the remaining frosting. Finally, fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Pipe stars over the blueberries and stripes between the raspberry rows.
- Serve. When it's time to serve, you can serve the cake directly from the pan and refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
This looks delicious, but I’m quite puzzled by your statement above:
“vanilla: vanilla is necessary as it adds a density to all baked goods”
I thought vanilla was used for flavour; how would it add density to a cake? And actually, why would you want a dense cake? I’m sure I’m misinterpreting what you’ve stated, so please help me to understand it. Thanks!
I have to say I agree with your comment. I had the exact same reaction when I read the instruction about vanilla adding density to the cake. It doesn’t make any sense at all to me.
hi ali! how strange! I used to have someone edit my posts and I wonder if she added it? I changed it; thank you!