Ina Garten’s Flag Cake

Food

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Ina Garten’s Flag Cake

Ingredients:

For cake:

• 18 tablespoons (2-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the Icing:

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To Assemble:

• 2 half-pints blueberries
• 3 half-pints raspberries

A few notes on making this:

• Bake the cake the night before or morning of the day you want to serve it so it has time to properly cool. 
• Frost and decorate just before serving. If you need to frost and decorate ahead of time, make sure cake stays chilled in refrigerator. 
• This is a large cake and will serve 20-24 people. 
• Here is a link to baking essentials that you might need to make this cake. 

Directions: 

• Heat the oven to 350°F. 
• Butter and flour an 18 x 13 x 1 inch sheet pan and line with parchment.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 3 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. (If the butter is too cool to be light and fluffy, add a teaspoon or two of warm water.) 
• On medium-low 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, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. 
• Stir the batter with a spatula and pour into the prepared pan. 
• Smooth the top and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 
• Cool to room temperature and turn it out into a board before you ice and decorate it. 
• For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until very smooth. 
• Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed. 
• Stir with a spatula to be sure the icing is well mixed.
• Spread three quarters of the icing on the cake. I like using an offset spatula for this.
• Using a toothpick, outline a flag on the cake. 
• Fill in the upper left corner with blueberries. 
• Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like the red stripes. 
• Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries.
• Alternately add 2 rows of raspberries and 2 rows of icing until the flag is completed. 
• Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.