This red, white, and blue layer cake is the ultimate patriotic dessert for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! With 3 different colored cake layers and tons of red, white, and blue sprinkles it's sure to be a showstopper!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make this red, white, and blue layer cake!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Vegetable Oil - I use oil instead of butter in this cake not only to help keep the cake super moist and delicious, but also to help keep the cake nice and white! You can also use canola oil or a neutral olive oil.
Milk - I use milk in my cakes to keep them nice and moist, but you could also substitute full-fat plain yogurt or sour cream!
Egg Whites - Using just egg whites instead of the whole egg, helps keep the white layer of this cake pure white with no yellow-ish tinge from the yolks!
Clear Vanilla Extract - I'm usually a sucker for pure vanilla extract, but since I want the white layer of this cake to be as white as possible, I like to opt for clear vanilla extract instead! You can find it in the baking aisle.
Red Food Coloring - When it comes to red food coloring, a little goes a long way so you'll only need a couple drops!
Blue Food Coloring - You want to use a deep blue food coloring for the best color! After the first drop or two, the batter might look slightly green, so just keep adding a drop at a time until you like the color!
Purple Food Coloring - The secret trick for perfectly white buttercream frosting is to add a tiny drop of purple food coloring! It helps neutralize the naturally yellowish tint from the butter. Normally I don't bother, but for this red, white, and blue cake I wanted the frosting to be as pure white as possible!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make a 3 Layer Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray three 6 inch layer cake pans with pan spray.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla together until combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
Separate the batter out into 3 equal bowls (about 2 cups of batter in each). To one bowl add 1-2 drops of blue food coloring, to another bowl add 1-2 drops of red food coloring, and leave the last bowl plain.
Pour each different color of the batter into a cake pan (they will only be about half full). Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming.
Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even. Wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight to help the frosting spread on smoothly (minimum of 2 hours).
Remove cake layers from the freezer. Place the blue layer of cake on your cake stand and spread about ¼ of the frosting on top in an even layer.
Then top with the white layer and repeat. Place the red cake layer upside down so that the top of your cake is as even as possible.
Spread a thin layer of buttercream (your crumb coat) over the top and sides of the cake. Then place the cake back in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.
If desired, set aside a small amount of buttercream in a piping bag to decorate the top of the cake (about ½ cup is plenty). Evenly smooth the rest of the buttercream on the top and sides of your cake as desired.
Use an open star piping tip to make little dollops of frosting along the top and bottom edges of the cake, then garnish with red, white, and blue sprinkles if desired!
Refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours before slicing and serving.
How to Get Perfect Cake Layers
There are a few tricks that will help you get perfect, even layers!
First, you need good nonstick cake pans and pan spray. I use three 6×2 inch Fat Daddio’s layer cake pans and I love them!! It's super important to get actual layer cake pans because the sides are perfectly straight! It's a little annoying because this means you can't stack them, but your layers will have perfect sides! With just a tiny bit of pan spray, the cakes just slide right out and never stick! For pan spray, I love both Everbake Pan Spray and Baker's Joy!
Next, is trimming your cake. This can be a little tricky, but it's super easy once you do it a couple times. Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature, then take a large bread knife and very carefully slice off the very top of the cake so that you have a perfectly even layer. I like using a big bread knife because it's sharp, serrated, and long enough to go through the entire layer at one time.
And of course freezing the layers! So after you've let the cake layers cool completely and trimmed them; wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap in place in the freezer overnight (or at least 30 minutes). Don't take them out until right before you start assembling the cake! This allows the frosting to slide on smoothly and prevents any crumbs from getting in the frosting.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cake Decorating Tips
I absolutely love my rotating cake stand! I hesitated buying one for a long time, but it really does make getting nice, even frosting so much easier!
My must have tools for frosting cakes are an offset spatula and an icing smoother. Both are super helpful in achieving that perfect, smooth outside frosting.
I use a 6 inch cake board to transfer my cakes from the turning caking stand, to the stand I like to photograph with.
To decorate all of my cakes and cupcakes, I use this Wilton Decorating Kit and I love it! It’s super easy to use and has a ton of tips in different sizes. For this red, white, and blue layer cake, I used the #32 open star tip.
For this fun patriotic cake, I used red white and blue jimmies and these red white and blue star sprinkles!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the red white and blue layer cake in the fridge for up to 4 days. However, it will taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Yes! The different cake layers can be made and frozen up to a month in advance! Wrap the layers indivuvally with plastic wrap, and then seal in a freezer safe bag for the best results.
Yes! I recommend freezing the cake in individual slices. Tightly wrap cake slices in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature before eating!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More 4th of July Recipes!
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Recipe Card
Red, White, & Blue Layer Cake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Layers
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1-2 drops red food coloring
- 1-2 drops blue food coloring
Frosting
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 drop purple food coloring, optional
- patriotic sprinkles
Instructions
Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray three 6 inch layer cake pans with pan spray.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla together until combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
- Separate the batter out into 3 equal bowls (about 2 cups of batter in each). To one bowl add 1-2 drops of blue food coloring, to another bowl add 1-2 drops of red food coloring, and leave the last bowl plain.
- Pour each different color of the batter into a cake pan (they will only be about half full). Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
- Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming.
- Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even. Wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight to help the frosting spread on smoothly (minimum of 2 hours).
Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
- Add in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Then beat the frosting on high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Optional: If the frosting has a yellow tinge, you can add a tiny drop of purple food coloring to help the frosting look bright white!
Assemble the Cake
- Remove cake layers from the freezer. Place the blue layer of cake on your cake stand and spread about ¼ of the frosting on top in an even layer.
- Then top with the white layer and repeat. Place the red cake layer upside down so that the top of your cake is as even as possible.
- Spread a thin layer of buttercream (your crumb coat) over the top and sides of the cake. Then place the cake back in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.
- If desired, set aside a small amount of buttercream in a piping bag to decorate the top of the cake (about ½ cup is plenty). Evenly smooth the rest of the buttercream on the top and sides of your cake as desired.
- Use an open star piping tip to make little dollops of frosting along the top and bottom edges of the cake, then garnish with red, white, and blue sprinkles if desired!
- Refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Charlotte says
How tall is this cake once assembled? If I needs to transport it how big of a box would I need?
Kyleigh Sage says
I’m not quite sure but if I had to guess maybe a max of 10-12 inches high?