Red, White and Blue Flag Cake

4th of July is upon us yet again, but this year I wanted to make a different cake than the one I usually serve, which is a flag cake made out of strawberries and blueberries OR using blueberry or cherry pie filling to make the stars and stripes.

I searched around online and then I saw it.  My jaw hit the ground and I thought "NO WAY".  I was just completely taken with the cake and even more so when I realized that the creator is none other than Elissa from 17 and Baking.  Yeah folks, a now 19 year old, Elissa and her dad came up with this creation for the 4th of July and if you've never seen it before, you're going to flip out.  Just imagine your guests reaction when you serve them a slice of this cake.

Red, White and Blue Flag Cake

Credit:  Elissa

Baking Directions:
To make this cake you will need three full layers of white cake, all the same height (make two recipes of cake or two cake mixes - you will end up with four layers so use one for another purpose). One layer will need to be white, one layer will need to be red and one layer will need to be blue. Use food coloring to get desired shade. Bake the layers in 9" round greased and floured rounds. Let cool. Freeze the layers to make them easier to work with during assembly.

Assembly:
Split the white layer and the red layer in half horizontally using a long serrated knife. (You can also use a cake leveler to help keep the cut even.) Do not split the blue layer. Start assembly by placing one split white layer on a cake plate. Frost the top of this layer using white icing. Place one of the red split layers on top of the frosted white layer and frost it with icing. Set aside.

Place the remaining red split layer and the remaining white split layer on top of the full blue layer. Place a round bowl (or paper pattern) approximately 5" diameter on the top of the cakes in the center and cut through all the layers using the bowl as a guide.

You should now have a circle cut through the layers. Keep the center red circle, the center white circle and the outer (approximately 2" wide) blue cake ring. Set aside all other cake pieces for a different use.

Place the outer blue cake ring piece on the iced white and red cake layers.

Carefully spread icing around the inside of the blue ring.

Insert the round white cake piece in the center of the blue ring and ice. Insert the red round cake piece making sure it is flush with the blue cake ring.

You should now have a complete cake ready to ice. Finish by icing the entire cake with white icing and decorating as desired.

To serve, cut into slices and be amazed at the cool flag each piece becomes!