BUTTERCREAM AMERICAN FLAG CAKE RECIPES

Steps:

• To make this cake you will need to prepare your box cake mixes ALMOST according to package directions. A few simple ingredient swaps make boxed cake mixes a little moister. I have a traditional size oven at home, so I will bake my cake layers one box mix at a time, starting with my strawberry layers.
• Start by preheating your oven to 350F and preparing your cake pans. Use a pencil to trace a circle around the bottom of your cake pans onto parchment paper. Cut the parchment paper circles out with scissors. Lightly spray the bottom of your cake pans with Baker’s spray (such as Baker’s Joy). Place one parchment paper circle onto the bottom of each pan. Generously spray each cake pan with Baker’s spray.
• Combine strawberry cake mix, 1 C milk, 1/3 C melted butter, 3 eggs, and several drops of red food coloring gel in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat all ingredients together over medium speed until well combined.
• Pour equal amounts of strawberry cake batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake cakes for 23-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and cool on wire racks for 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto wire racks to cool completely. Once cake layers are completely cool, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• While the strawberry cakes are baking, prepare your white cake mix.
• Combine white cake mix, 1C milk, ½ C melted butter, and 3 eggs in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat all ingredients together over medium speed until well combined. Pour half of the white cake batter into prepared cake pan. Add blue food coloring gel and white cupcake gems to the remaining white cake batter in the bowl. Stir the cake batter until the food coloring gel is completely blended into batter. Pour remaining batter into your prepared cake pan.
• Bake white cakes for 23-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool on wire racks for 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely on wire racks. Once the cake layers are completely cool, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
• To prepare your buttercream, use the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or hand mixer or a large spoon, beat your softened butter in a bowl until smooth. Slowly add in sifted confectioners sugar by the spoonful. Finally, add in your vanilla and heavy whipping cream and beat or mix until the frosting is smooth. For a thinner icing consistency, add in additional heavy whipping cream or milk one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. An optional step is to use food coloring gels to tint your icing to your color of choice. Store buttercream frosting in an airtight container until you are ready to build your cake.
• For the red layers:
• Start by using a serrated knife to split both of your red cake layers in half, crosswise. Use a 4” biscuit cutter to cut a 4” round out of one of the halved layers.
• Save the layer with a circle cut out of it, and one other half layer for a separate use.
• For the white layer:
• Use a serrated knife to split the white layer in half crosswise. Use a 4”round biscuit cutter to cut a 4”round out of one of the halved layers.
• Save the halved layer with the circle cut out of it for a separate use.
• For the blue layer:
• This layer does not get split. Use a 4” round biscuit cutter to cut a circle out of the center of this layer.
• Save the circle cut out for another use. 
• Once the layers are cut and you have your 4?round cake cutouts in white and red, the cake is ready to be built. Follow these steps to build the American Flag Cake:
• 1. Start by placing a halved red layer on a plate. Frost the top of this layer.
• 2. Place a halved white layer on top of the frosted red layer. Frost the top of the white layer.
• 3. Place another red layer on top of the frosted white layer. Frost the top of the red layer.
• 4. Place the blue layer with a 4” circle cut out of the center on top of the frosted red layer. Frost the top and insides of the blue layer.
• 5. Place the white 4”circle inside the center of the blue layer. Frost the top of the white circle.
• 6. Finally, place the red 4” circle on top of the white circle in the center of the blue layer. Apply a crumb coat to the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove cake from the refrigerator and frost it completely with the remaining buttercream. An optional step is to use a piping bag fitted with a star tip to add detail to the cake. Top with patriotic sprinles.
• Recipe Notes: Use toothpicks around the side of your cake layers to split them in half evenly. Refrigerating your cake layers prior to splitting them will also help make this step easier.
•  You will have half of a red cake layer, half a red cake layer with a circle cut out of it, half of a white cake layer with a circle cut out of it, and a blue 4” round cutout leftover that are NOT used to build the 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.