This American flag cake is the perfect patriotic dessert for a Memorial Day or Fourth of July celebration! If you have a party planned that is full of iconic barbecue favorites – this beautiful berry-topped cake, decorated with red, white, and blue should be on your menu as well! Follow our simple step-by-step guide to make the perfect show-stopping dessert!

flag cake closeup from overhead

Table of contents

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

If you make this festive flag cake recipe, make sure to take a photo and tag me @healthyseasonal on Instagram so I can see your designs!

Why We Love This American Flag Cake Recipe

Yes, you could buy an American flag cake from the supermarket or you could even pipe frosting tinted with red and blue dye onto a homemade flag cake. But colored with fresh summer berries, this one is so much more beautiful, natural, and a little bit healthier too. 

Kids love this cake! And once you make it, you’ll make this recipe for more than just July 4th or Memorial Day. Since I developed this healthy flag cake recipe in 2013 for EatingWell Magazine’s July issue, I have found myself making it throughout the summer and arranging the fresh blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries in various patterns – usually, flowers to help keep in line with a summer-fun feel!

Recipe Highlights For This Fourth Of July Dessert

  • This healthy flag cake has fewer calories, sugar, and saturated fat than a typical flag cake. 
  • Put down that box of white cake mix, because this homemade sheet cake batter is made with a blend of whole wheat pastry flour and cake flour to incorporate whole grains with more fiber and nutrients than refined flour. 
  • Uses less sugar than traditional American flag cake. 
  • Uses heart-healthy avocado oil or canola oil in the cake instead of butter to reduce saturated fat.
  • Made with Neufchatel and low-fat Greek yogurt for a lower-calorie frosting.
  • No artificial colors, just beautiful summer berries to decorate this cake!
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Key Ingredients for American Flag Cake with Berries

Flag cake ingredients on a white table
  • Flours: We used a blend of whole-wheat pastry flour and cake flour to create a light and tender crumb while incorporating healthy whole grains to increase fiber and nutrients.
  • Buttermilk: Used to help create a rich, moist, tender crumb. If you cannot find it at your local grocer, make your own by mixing together 1 cup of milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
  • Fresh Berries: Beautiful sweet blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are used to decorate the cake. Remember, when picking fresh berries, fruit should be firm, fragrant, and free of mold.
  • Fresh Lemon: Lemon zest and lemon juice help brighten up the flavors of the cake while complementing the fresh fruit flavors of the decorations.
  • Extracts: Together, we find that the almond and vanilla extracts add a subtle yet complex flavor profile to the cake; however, if there is a nut allergy, add a little extra vanilla in place of the almond.
  • Unsalted Butter: To help reduce the saturated fat in this recipe, we used a smaller amount of unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter on hand, reduce the amount of additional salt to about 1/4 teaspoon.
  • Avocado or Canola Oil: Used to help keep saturated fats low while providing a moist texture to the cake crumb. Feel free to swap in another neutral cooking oil if you prefer.
  • Cream Cheese: Use reduced-fat cream cheese or Neufchatel to help lighten up the cream cheese frosting.
  • Greek Yogurt: We used a low-fat yogurt to help keep the calorie count of the frosting lower, but if you’d prefer a thicker, creamier consistency in your frosting use a minimum of 2% milk fat.
  • Kitchen Staples: Granulated sugar, Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and eggs.

In a rush? You can swap in a box cake for the homemade cake. We like European Gourmet Organic Vanilla Cake when we don’t have time to make a from-scratch cake. Simply bake in a sheet cake pan instead of round cake pans.

How To Make Flag Cake

Step 1: Prepare the Baking Pan

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with parchment paper and coat it with cooking spray. 

Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together whole-wheat pastry flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Step 3: Beat Butter, Oil and Sugar

Combine lemon zest, granulated sugar, oil, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the butter and sugar mixture on medium speed until smooth and combined, about 30 seconds. Then, add in eggs, one at a time. And finally, add the lemon juice and beat to combine.

Step 4: Mix Liquid Ingredients

In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine buttermilk, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

Step 5: Add Buttermilk and Dry Mixture to the Batter

To the egg mixture, alternate between 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture, beating on low between each addition until just combined.

Step 6: Pour Cake Batter into Pan

Pour cake batter into the prepared pan.

Step 7: Bake and Cool

Bake until the center is set up and springs back when lightly touched about 28 to 34 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, turn out onto a wire rack or cooling rack to allow it to cool completely.

Step 8: Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with the paddle attachment until smooth. Then add in the Greek yogurt, confectioners sugar, and remaining vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Step 9: Frost the Cake

Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake with an offset spatula. There is just enough frosting for a thin layer to cover the entire cake.

How To Decorate A Flag Cake {Step-by-Step}

Step 1: Create a Flag Pattern

Using a long knife, mark lines to create a flag pattern to demark the lines and a box for the stars.

Step 2: Arrange Raspberries and Blueberries

Arrange raspberries in alternating rows to represent the stripes of the flag. And arrange several blueberries in the box for the stars.

Step 3: Create White Stripes

To a fine-mesh sieve, add confectioner’s sugar and dust over the raspberries and blueberries to create white stripes and stars.

Many flag cake recipes will have you make extra frosting for the stars and stripes. Here we’ve opted for a much lower-calorie option: confectioner’s sugar. It’s lower cal and so simple to add – no piping bag required!

Step 4: Make the Red Stripes and Stars

Lay the strawberries between the rows of raspberries. And arrange the remaining blueberries around the white blueberries for “stars.”

Note: Though this recipe was originally intended as a Fourth of July Cake, you do not have to make a flag design. Feel free to use the berries to create another design such as a flower pattern instead!

side view of the cake with berries on top
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

FAQs and Expert Tips

How do I store leftover American flag cake?

Store any leftover healthy flag cake in the refrigerator, tightly covered with cling wrap or aluminum foil, for up to 3 days.

Can I make this cake ahead of time?

The cake and frosting can be made 1 day in advance; however, we recommend keeping the components separate until ready to assemble. To make the cake, follow the directions on the recipe card through step 7 – allowing the cake to cool before tightly covering it with cling wrap or aluminum foil. Store baked cake at room temperature. Store prepared frosting in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to assemble, allow frosting to come to room temperature so it’s easier to work with.

Memorial Day or 4th of July Menu

This healthy American flag cake is the perfect dessert for any patriotic celebration!

More Festive Summer Desserts To Try

  • Dress up your 4th of July buffet table with this easy Red White and Blue Tart! Made with a cool, creamy buttermilk custard and fresh summer strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries – this beautiful tart is sure to impress!
  • This delicious Raspberry Coconut Cake is made healthier with simple swaps but is still decadent, full of flavor, and the perfect cake for any holiday or festive celebration.
  • Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a home-baked treat! Soft-baked cookies with slightly crispy edges are bursting with raspberry and chocolate flavors with subtle hints of lemon and vanilla.
  • This healthy Skillet Blackberry Cobbler is loaded with juicy blackberries, topped with an easy-drop biscuit dough, and finished with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar for a subtle sweet crunch!
  • Cool, refreshing, and a low-calorie summer dessert, this easy 3-ingredient Watermelon Sorbet is the perfect warm-weather sweet treat that the whole family is sure to love!
the cake from overhead with a slice removed

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Flag Cake Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.7 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 24 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Description

This American flag cake is the perfect patriotic dessert for a Memorial day or Fourth of July celebration! So, if you’ve got a party planned that is full of iconic barbecue favorites – this beautiful cake, decorated with red, white, and blue should be in the mix as well!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or whole-wheat flour)
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup avocado oil or organic canola oil
  • 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 8-ounce block of reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese), softened
  • 2 tablespoons low-fat Greek-style yogurt
  • 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups raspberries
  • 1/2 cup blueberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 13-inch cake pan with parchment. Coat with cooking spray.
  2. Whisk whole-wheat pastry flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 
  3. Beat lemon zest, granulated sugar, oil and butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until completely combined, about 30 seconds. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in lemon juice and beat to combine.
  4. Combine buttermilk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and almond extract in a 2-cup measuring cup. 
  5. Alternately add 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture into the egg mixture beating on low between each addition just until combined. 
  6. Spread batter in the prepared baking pan.
  7.  Bake the cake until the center is set up and springs back when lightly touched about 28 to 34 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto the cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
  8. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add Greek yogurt, 6 tablespoons confectioners sugar, and the remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla and beat until smooth. 
  9. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. 
  10. Mark lines in frosting in a flag pattern with a long knife to demark the lines and box for stars. 
  11. Arrange raspberries in alternating rows to represent the stripes of the flag. [Once dusted with powdered sugar these will be the white stripes.] Arrange several blueberries for the stars. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar in a fine-mesh sieve and dust over the raspberries and blueberries. Lay the strawberries between the rows of white raspberries. Arrange the remaining blueberries around the white blueberry “stars.”

Notes

Make this dessert throughout the summer by changing up the decoration. Instead of a flag, make a flower garden. Use blueberries and raspberries to make flowers and arrange strawberry slices around the edge. 

Make Ahead: The cake and frosting can be made 1 day in advance; however, we recommend keeping the components separate until ready to assemble. Bake cake according to the recipe card, allowing it to completely cool, then tightly cover and store at room temperature. Then, make the frosting and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to assemble, allow frosting to come to room temperature so it’s easier to work with. 

  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 264
  • Sugar: 16 g
  • Fat: 11 g
  • Carbohydrates: 35 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 5 g

Did you make this recipe?

Make sure you come back to the recipe post to leave a star rating and review.