American Flag Ice Cream Cake Recipes

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare the raspberry purée: In a medium saucepan, stir together the raspberries, sugar and salt. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until the berries start to break down, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a potato masher or large fork to smash the berries until they are soft and lumpy.
• Strain the purée over a large bowl, discarding the solids. (You should have about 1½ cups/360 milliliters of purée.) Stir in the vanilla extract, and let cool to room temperature.
• Make the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the bowl well. With the mixer still on medium speed, add the cream gradually in a slow, steady stream, pausing for a moment if the milk begins to splash up.
• Continue to whip the mixture on medium speed until it forms soft peaks. Scoop about half of the whipped cream (about 3¼ cups) into the bowl with the raspberry purée, reserving the remaining half in the mixer bowl. Use a whisk to mix the raspberry mixture and cream just until combined. (It should still look thick, but also smooth and creamy. Do not overwhip.)
• Line a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, pressing it firmly into the base, corners and sides and leaving enough excess to wrap the surface of the cake later. Transfer ⅓ of the white whipped cream mixture to a disposable piping bag, or a zip-top bag with a ½-inch opening cut from a lower corner of the bag. (Working with a batch at a time keeps the cream from becoming overworked as you squeeze the bag.) Pipe back and forth to fill the base of the pan with an even layer of white cream. (Alternately, you could dollop the cream into the pan and spread into an even layer.) Arrange 8 saltines evenly on top of the cream, pressing gently to affix them. Pour or spoon ⅓ of the raspberry whipped cream mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Arrange 8 saltines evenly over the raspberry-cream cheese mixture, pressing gently into it.
• Repeat this process twice more, layering the white whipped cream, saltines, raspberry whipped cream and saltines again until the pan is full. The final layer or two may rise slightly above the top rim of the pan, which is O.K.! (If you can't fill your pan any more, and still have a little cream left, save it in the refrigerator to use as a topping for ice cream.)
• Use the excess plastic wrap to cover the top of the assembled cake. Transfer it to the fridge for 12 hours or overnight.
• Unwrap the top of the cake, then invert the pan onto a platter or serving dish. The cake should easily pop out of the loaf pan, but if it doesn't, you can use the plastic wrap to help to pull it away from the pan. Remove and discard the plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve. The cake slices well directly from the refrigerator, but for even cleaner, sharper slices, you can freeze the cake for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing and serving. When ready to serve, pile raspberries and blueberries on top of the cake and dust with confectioners' sugar.

ALL-AMERICAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Stir yellow cake mix, 1 cup water, vegetable oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl until moistened; beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
• Bake cake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Poke holes about 1 inch apart all over the cake with a fork.
• Dissolve strawberry gelatin in boiling water in a bowl and pour gelatin slowly over the cake, letting gelatin seep into holes. Refrigerate cake until gelatin sets, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to a serving platter and cut in half horizontally.
• Mix instant vanilla pudding mix with milk in a bowl and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes; stir in 1/2 cup blueberries. Spread blueberry filling onto bottom of cake and place top of cake over the filling. Spread 2 cups whipped topping smoothly over top and sides of cake and arrange 1/2 cup blueberries in a square in the upper left corner of the cake for stars. Arrange alternating layers of strawberries and miniature marshmallows into horizontal red and white stripes.

AMERICAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line 4 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Combine white cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds using an electric mixer on low speed. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes. The batter will still be slightly lumpy.
• To make the red cakes, measure half the batter into a separate bowl and whisk in red food coloring. Evenly transfer the red batter into 2 of the 8-inch prepared cake pans; smooth tops of batter with a spatula. Transfer half of the remaining uncolored batter into a 3rd prepared cake pan; smooth top as before. This will be the white cake portion.
• Add blue food coloring to the remaining uncolored batter in the large mixing bowl; fold 1 cup white chocolate chips into blue batter until combined. Transfer batter to remaining prepared 8-inch cake pan; smooth top of batter with a spatula.
• Bake all 4 cakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from oven and place onto cooling racks until cooled completely.
• Run a knife around edge of each cooled cake. Invert cakes, remove pans, and peel off parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to trim tops of cakes flat and even.
• Cut both of the red cake layers and the white cake layer in half horizontally. You will have 4 thin red cake layers and 2 thin white cake layers.
• Place a 4-inch round stencil on top of 1 thin red cake layer; cut out a 4-inch red cake round. Repeat, placing stencil on 1 thin white cake layer to make 1 4-inch white cake round. Center the 4-inch round stencil on the blue cake; cut out and remove center portion covered by the stencil to make a blue cake ring.
• To assemble the cake, you will need 2 thin 8-inch red cake layers, 1 thin 8-inch white cake layer, 1 4-inch thin red cake circle, 1 4-inch thin white cake circle, and 1 blue 8-inch cake ring. Reserve the leftover thin red cake layer and other cake pieces for making crumbs for decorating.
• To assemble cake, place 1 8-inch thin red cake layer on a cake pan and frost the top generously with white frosting. Place the thin 8-inch white cake layer on top of the red one, and frost the top. Place remaining 8-inch thin red cake layer atop the white one. Frost the red layer.
• Place the blue ring cake on top of the 2nd red cake layer and carefully frost the inside of the blue cake ring. Gently fit the 4-inch white cake layer into the blue cake ring. Frost the top of the 4-inch white center. Place the 4-inch red cake layer on top of the white one. Gently press small cake circles flush with the top of the blue ring.
• Frost the entire outside of the cake generously with the remaining frosting.
• Crumble red and blue pieces of leftover cake into 2 separate bowls. Score lines into the top of the cake's frosting with a kitchen knife to make a flag design on top of the cake. It should have a 2-inch square at the upper left for blue field and white stars, and 7 thick horizontal stripes about 1 inch wide.
• Fill the square field at the upper left with blue crumbs and press 1 tablespoon white chocolate chips upside-down into the blue crumbs to make 'stars.' Fill the bottom stripe and every other stripe with red crumbs to make red stripes. Sprinkle white sugar generously into the white stripes to make them stand out.
• To serve, cut cake into wedges. The inside of the cake will reveal its layers of red and white stripes and blue field with white chocolate chip stars in every slice.