I made this cake so excited and it took longer than I thought it would because, as it turns out, my baking soda was old so my cake didn't rise as it should've. But it was tasty and looked so good. I was pretty proud of myself. Try it, its not as hard as you would think!
Independence Day Cake
The beginning of this post is about assembling the cake. You can use any white cake recipe but you need to use one that is pretty dense, a box mix will be too light and airy. The recipe I used is at the end of this post.
You will need 3 - 9inch layers. 1 blue, 1 red, and one left white.
Bake layers according to recipe instructions. Let completely cool. Level off the tops of cakes.
Once you have a red layer, a blue layer, and a white layer, you need to slice the red and white layer horizontally with a long, serrated knife or Wilton makes a tool made to slice your cakes in half, I found mine at Michaels but I know they have them at Wal-Mart. These layers form the stripes of the cake.
Next, take one red half-layer, and one white half layer and stack them on top of one another. Take the blue layer that hasn't been cut and set it in front of you. Place the stacked red and white layer on top of the blue layer. Check that they are evenly centered on top of one another.
Using a circle template as a guide, cut a circle exactly centered through all three layers of the blue, white, & red. For this you could use a lid or a small bowl about 5 inches across for a 9inch cake. Try to get as close to this measurement as you can so the color ratio looks right. Cut carefully and make sure you get through all the layers.
Next, separate the blue from the red and white layers. Take the middle out of the blue. You won’t use the blue circle, so set it aside. You now have a ring of blue.
Now remove the outside ring from the red & white layers. You wont use these either so set them aside. You should have a 5-inch circle consisting of 1 white half-layer, and 1 red half layer. This will be the top stripes of your flag cake.
To Assemble....
Take the white half-layer that doesnt have the circle out of the center and place it on your cake stand. Spread a layer of frosting over the top. Try to keep it as even as you can. Lay the red half-layer that doesnt have the circle cut out of it on top of the frosting, make sure it's centered. These make up the bottom two stripes of your flag. Frost like the last layer. Make it as even as you can.
Now take the blue donut like circle and center it on top of the bottom stripes. Using a small spatula or knife, spread a thin layer of frosting around the inside of the blue ring.
Take the white 5-inch circle and set it inside the blue ring. Push it down as far as you dare so it doesnt break. You want it as even with the blue as you can get it. Spread a thin, thin layer of icing over the white that is inside the blue ring. Place the red circle on top and press down carefully, trying to make the top layers even.
Frost your cake! Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
White Cake
**This cake makes 2 - 9 inch layers for the Flag Cake, you will need to make this recipe twice and divide and color as directed below before baking.
8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
5 large Egg Whites, room temp
2 3/4 cup Cake Flour, sifted
1 cup Milk, room temp
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2- 9 inch cake pans. Place parchment in the bottom of each pan and grease the bottom again. Then tap flour all around the inside as well, tapping out the extra flour. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening until very well incorporated and very light in color, about 2 minutes. Add the baking powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat one more minute.
3. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating very well and scrape down the sides in between each addition. This should take about 5 minutes. The mixture will be very fluffy and thick. Add about 1/4 of the flour, and then 1/3 of the milk. Add another 1/4 flour, another 1/3 milk until you add the last 1/4 cup of flour. Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated, but don't over beat the batter.
4. Split your batter in half and add the food coloring at this time. I made one batch and colored 1/2 blue, and 1/2 red. It will take quite a bit, especially of the red. To get the white layer you need to make a second batch of batter, leaving it white. You will have a leftover layer of white cake. Use a spatula to spread the batter around evenly.
5. Bake the two layers in the oven for 27–32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Remove pans from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges and carefully remove from pans and let finish cooling on a wire rack. When the cake has cooled completely, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
Cream Cheese Frosting
3 - 8oz pkgs Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 lb Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Whip together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the
sifted powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined then add the vanilla and turn up to medium high until fluffy.
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Sweets for a Saturday 
