Flag Cake Recipe Cream Cheese

NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter in a bowl until mixture is thoroughly combined and crumbly.
• Transfer crust mixture to a 9x11-inch baking dish. Press crust into bottom of dish until smooth and even. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Mix cream cheese and mascarpone cheese in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract into mixture.
• Whisk 1/3 cup sugar into whipping cream in a separate metal or glass bowl until the cream is fluffy and forms soft peaks. Add whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and gently whisk until filling is soft, fluffy, and well combined.
• Spoon filling on top of the graham cracker crust, spreading and smoothing the top. Tap the pan gently on a work surface several times to settle the crust and filling. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 3 hours.
• Starting at the bottom long edge of the cake, arrange strawberry halves in a horizontal line with the pointed bottoms of the strawberry halves pointing to the right. Start a second stripe of strawberry halves at the top right of the cake, arranging strawberries with the bottoms pointing right in a line stretching about 2/3 of the length of the cake.
• Continue to make strawberry stripes, starting about 3/4 inch up from the bottom stripe and laying down 3 more stripes stretching the full length of the cake. Make 1 more line of strawberries beneath the short stripe to leave a square space for the blue field of stars.
• Lay a line of blueberries with the blossom ends pointing up in the upper left square space. Continue to lay down blueberries in lines, berries touching the previous line, until the square is filled with blueberries. Cut cake into squares to serve.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch 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. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

WAVE YOUR FLAG CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Slice 1 cup strawberries; halve remaining strawberries. Set aside. Add boiling water to gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add ice to cold water to measure 2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Refrigerate 5 min. or until slightly thickened.
• Meanwhile, line bottom of 13x9-inch dish with cake. Add sliced strawberries and 1 cup blueberries to thickened gelatin; stir gently. Spoon over cake. Refrigerate 4 hours or until gelatin is firm.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over gelatin. Arrange strawberry halves on cream cheese mixture to resemble stripes of flag. Add remaining blueberries for stars.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9x13-in metal pan, or use nonstick cooking spray with flour in it, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (Don't worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point.)
• Reduce the speed to low, then beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour, then scrape down the bowl and beat again until the batter is evenly combined. Do not overmix.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is set and lightly golden around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl if using a hand mixer), combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and light, about 2 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the confectioners' sugar, mixing on low speed to combine. Once the confectioners' sugar is mixed in, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the frosting (you'll need it for the blueberry "stars.")
• When the cake is completely cool, use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly over top. The frosting won't show so no need to fuss over making it perfect.
• Outline the "stars" section on the upper left corner of the cake with a toothpick (or skip this step and just eyeball it) and fill with a generous layer of blueberries. Dip a small handful of the remaining blueberries in the reserved frosting, and then in the remaining 1½ cups of confectioners' sugar to make white "stars." Evenly scatter the "stars" over the section of blueberries. Arrange 1 row of raspberries across the top of the cake, laying them sideways, like a red stripe. Gently roll the next row of raspberries in the confectioners' sugar to make a white stripe, and alternate until the flag is completed. (I suggest using one hand for rolling and one for placing; if any powdered sugar accidentally gets on the red "stripes," use your fingertip to dab the berries lightly with water and it will come right off. )
• Cut the cake into squares and serve directly from the pan.
• Note: If you'd like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
• Note: The berries should be dry before decorating the cake. (In general, I don't rinse raspberries because they are so delicate.)
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The cake itself can be made one day ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Frost and decorate the cake before serving.

CANADIAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 11X17-inch baking pan with 1-inch high sides.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar and butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat one egg at a time into the butter mixture; beat in sour cream and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
• Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk just until combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and finish mixing with a rubber spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread to corners of pan and smooth top with a spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cake completely, about 30 minutes. To remove cake from pan, run a paring knife between cake and pan. Cover cake pan with plate or cooling rack; invert to transfer cake onto plate.
• Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low; slowly pour in cream. Once cream is incorporated, turn mixer speed to medium-high; beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over top and sides of cake, smoothing the top. Place 2 to 3 rows of overlapping strawberry slices parallel to short sides of cake for the two red stripes of the Canada flag. Trace out a maple leaf shape in center of cake with a toothpick; use points of strawberry slices to create points of maple leaf. Cut a strip of strawberry for the leaf stem; fill in the area of the maple leaf with sliced strawberries. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.

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.

AMERICAN FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to temperature indicated on the box mix.
• Prepare cake batter according to box directions.
• Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Alternatively, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides for easy removal. Bake according to package directions.
• Let cake cool for 15 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter to cool completely.
• Place cake in the freezer while you prepare frosting (this makes the flag cake easier to frost).
• With an electric mixer , beat the cream cheese, whipped topping, and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
• Remove cake from freezer and spread top and sides with whipped cream frosting.
• To decorate flag cake, outline a square in the top left corner with blueberries.
• Fill in with remaining blueberries, leaving some white space showing through. These are the stars on your flag cake.
• Make several lines of raspberries next to and below blueberries. These are the stripes of your flag cake. Refrigerate flag cake until ready to serve.

WAVE YOUR FLAG CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Slice 1 cup strawberries; halve remaining strawberries. Set aside. Add boiling water to gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add ice to cold water to measure 2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Refrigerate 5 min. or until slightly thickened.
• Meanwhile, line bottom of 13x9-inch dish with cake. Add sliced strawberries and 1 cup blueberries to thickened gelatin; stir gently. Spoon over cake. Refrigerate 4 hours or until gelatin is firm.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over gelatin. Arrange strawberry halves on cream cheese mixture to resemble stripes of flag. Add remaining blueberries for stars.

WAVING FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Combine 1 package cream cheese, 2/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium until light and airy, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low and stream in 1 quart heavy cream. Mix until incorporated; scrape the sides then increase the mixer speed to high and whip to stiff peaks, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cream. Add the mixture to the large bowl.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of the cream mixture to a small bowl and color it with 4 drops of the blue food coloring. Transfer 1 1/4 cups of the cream mixture to a medium bowl and color it with 8 drops of the red food coloring. Transfer 1 3/4 cups of the cream mixture to a second medium bowl (do not color it). Cover all 4 bowls and refrigerate while you assemble the cake.
• Split the angel food cakes in half horizontally using a long, serrated knife. Keeping the layers stacked, cut each cake in half vertically. Arrange 2 of the stacked halves from one cake on a large platter or cake board so that they create an S shape; slide the ends so they are slightly offset. Repeat with the second cake, nestling the halves up against those of the first cake so that together they resemble a thick curved line. (There will be some gaps between the cakes.) Repeat with the third cake.
• Trim the edges of the arches along the short ends of the cake to create a more or less straight line (these will be the ends of the flag). Use half of the cake scraps to fill in the holes between the cake stacks. Reserve the other half of the scraps.
• Remove the top pieces from the cake stacks and set them aside. Spread the bottom pieces with 3 cups of the undyed cream mixture in the large bowl. Scatter the strawberries and blueberries on top. Dollop with 3 more cups of the cream mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the reserved top cake pieces. Fill in the gaps between the cake stacks with the remaining cake scraps. Cover the sides and the top of the cake with the remaining cream mixture in the large bowl.
• Transfer the blue cream mixture and 1/2 cup of the reserved white cream mixture (from the medium bowl) to separate pastry bags fitted with large star tips. Transfer the red cream mixture and the remainder of the reserved white cream mixture (from the medium bowl) to separate pastry bags fitted with large round tips.
• For the stars: Pipe a blue star in the upper left corner of the cake; use a small offset spatula to press down in the center of the star and then drag the spatula to the right to create a short smear. Wipe the spatula clean. Pipe a white star next to the blue one and repeat the pressing and dragging motion; wipe the spatula clean. Repeat piping and dragging stars in alternating colors, wiping the spatula clean between each, to make 3 rows of stars in the upper left corner of the cake.
• For the stripes: Use the same piping and dragging technique to create red and white stripes, but pipe dots with the pastry bags fitted with the round tips instead of the ones with stars.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease and lightly flour an 11x17-inch half-sheet pan or coat with baking spray (the floured kind, like this). Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer or spoon, cream the butter for 1 minute on medium speed, until it is smooth and creamy. Add the sugar on medium speed and beat until fluffy and light in color. Beat in the honey, then the eggs and vanilla until smooth and nicely combined, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. The mixture may look curdled. Beat in the yogurt on medium-high speed until blended.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour one-third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then pour in half of the milk. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds. Repeat with the next third of the flour, then the remaining half of the milk. Add the last third of the flour and beat just until combined and the batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
• Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it into a thin, even layer with a rubber spatula or offset spatula. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pan 180 degrees once halfway through.
• Place the baked cake on a wire rack and let cool in the pan completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting.
• For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer or spoon, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, yogurt, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth and combined.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Arrange blueberries in rows in top left corner to form the "star" portion of the flag. Line the strawberry slices in 5 rows to form the "stripes." Refrigerate until ready to serve.

VANILLA SHEET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9x13-in pan, or use nonstick cooking spray with flour in it, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. (Don't worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point.)
• Reduce the speed to low, then beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the buttermilk. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add another third of the flour, followed by the remaining buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour, then scrape down the bowl and beat again until the batter is evenly combined. Do not overmix.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake is set and lightly golden around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and light, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add about half of the confectioners' sugar; mix on low to combine. Gradually add the remaining sugar, keeping the speed on low. Once all of the sugar is mixed in, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
• When the cake is cool, use a butter knife or small offset spatula to swirl the frosting lavishly over top. The cake is best enjoyed fresh on the day it is baked, but it will keep nicely for a few days. Store in an airtight container (or cover tightly with plastic wrap) at room temperature.
• Note: If you'd like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING FOR FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high until fluffy. Reduce speed; add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat until well combined.