This red, white, and blue firecracker cake is a must-make this summer!
It’s insanely tender with a lovely light glaze everyone will love. And that color! Oh, em, gee, it’s so fun!
This vibrant cake will steal the show at any BBQ or July 4th celebration. So give it a try and let freedom (and your tastebuds) ring!
Why You’ll Love This Firecracker Cake
Serve this cake at your next Independence Day cookout, picnic, or pool party, and get ready for the oohs and aahs.
Showstopping Presentation: The vibrant red, white, and blue layers make this cake a true centerpiece dessert. It’s sure to wow your guests and be the talk of the party.
Easy Assembly: While the colorful layers look impressive, creating this cake is surprisingly simple, even for novice bakers.
Versatile Design: You can easily change the colors to make this for other holidays. For example, orange and purple work well for Halloween, and various shades of pink and red are ideal for Valentine’s Day.
Ingredients
If you want to use boxed cake mix for this, go for it! I’m a huge fan of quick and easy desserts.
But I find cake mixes don’t work well in bundt pans because, believe it or not, they’re too soft.
Bundt cakes need to be slightly dense to rise properly and hold their shape.
So, for the perfect from-scratch bundt cake, here’s your shopping list:
- All-Purpose Flour and Vanilla Pudding: Flour is the foundation of the cake batter, providing structure and texture. The pudding mix brings flavor and added moisture.
- Baking Powder Baking Soda: The leavening agents that help the cake rise to fluffy perfection.
- Salt: A simple flavor enhancer to balance the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter and Cream Cheese: Add richness and ensure a tender, moist crumb. If you use salted butter, skip the added salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, delicate texture.
- Eggs and Egg Yolks: They bind the batter together, provide richness, and help with rise.
- Vanilla and Almond Extract: To infuse the cake with sweet fragrance. The almond is optional, so feel free to leave it out.
- Buttermilk and Sour Cream: Add moisture and richness, ensuring the crumb is extra tender.
- Red and Blue Gel Food Coloring: “Gel” is the keyword here. It’s much more concentrated, so you don’t need as much. Liquid is fine, but it can water down the batter.
- Glaze: A quick blend of milk, powdered sugar, vanilla, and food coloring. Feel free to use canned frosting if you prefer!
How to Make Firecracker Cake
Not only is this firecracker cake gorgeous, but it also tastes fantastic. The tender vanilla cake and sweet glaze are the perfect combination.
And while it requires more hands-on time than a boxed mix, it’s super straightforward.
Here are the steps:
1. PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.
2. BEAT. Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then beat with the sugar. Mix in the eggs and yolks, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and almond extract.
3. MIX. Stir the dry ingredients and the buttermilk and sour cream in separate bowls. Then, alternate adding them to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour.
4. COLOR. Transfer 2 cups of batter to two clean bowls. Color one with red coloring and the other blue.
5. BAKE. Layer the red, white, and blue batters in the bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
6. COOL. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, turn it onto a wire rack to cool fully.
7. GLAZE. Mix the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a bowl until smooth. Divide the glaze into 3 and color 2 portions with red and blue. Drizzle the colors over the cooled cake.
Boxed Cake Shortcut
Want to skip a few steps to save time? No worries! Here’s what to do:
- Make the white cake mix per the box instructions.
- Or mix 1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix with 1/2 cup oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 3 eggs.
- Color and layer as instructed, and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Tips For the Best Firecracker Cake
I love making bundt cakes from scratch, and this one is extra special.
With all that color, it’s a super fun baking project that looks way fancier than it actually is.
I actually made multiple cakes for various parties, BBQs, and gatherings.
There were a few with glaze and a few with white frosting. And while they were all incredible, I love the extra color you get with the glaze.
Either way, check out these tips before you start:
- Use cake release. Bundt cakes are notorious for sticking. So, use a blend of equal parts flour, oil, and shortening brushed in the pan (1/4 cup each mixed into a paste).
- Layer carefully. Pour the colored batters into the pan slowly and carefully to avoid mixing them together.
- Make it even more colorful. Color 2 cups each of the batter red and blue. Then, instead of layers, dollop the three batters randomly and marble them with a skewer.
- Cool completely. The cake must be completely cooled before glazing and decorating, or the glaze will melt into it, and the colors will run together.
- Canned frosting hack. Use canned vanilla frosting as a quick alternative. Microwave it for 10-15 seconds to make it easier to spread or drizzle.
How to Store
With make-ahead convenience, you can bake and glaze the cake a day in advance. You just need to know how to store it properly:
To Store: Cover the whole cake in a cake dome or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
To Freeze: Wrap the completely cooled, unfrosted cake in two layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Alternatively, wrap slices in plastic and place them in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for 2-3 months.
Thaw frozen cake in the fridge overnight. Then, let the chilled cake come to room temperature before serving.
More Bundt Cakes to Celebrate the Fourth of July
Pineapple Upside-Down Bundt Cake
Million Dollar Pound Cake
Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
Strawberry Pound Cake
Firecracker Cake
16
servings30
minutes1
hour425
kcalThis red, white, and blue firecracker cake is a must-make this summer! It’s insanely tender with a lovely light glaze everyone will love.
Ingredients
- For the Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs + 3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract, optional
3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon each red and blue gel food coloring, or as needed
- For the Glaze
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon each red and blue gel food coloring, or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C). Generously grease a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan and dust with flour. Tap out the excess and set aside.
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and lump-free. Add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, followed by the vanilla and almond extract, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, pudding, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly blended. Mix the buttermilk and sour cream in a separate small bowl or a measuring glass until smooth.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
- Transfer 2 cups of the batter to 2 small bowls. Color one with about 1/2 teaspoon of red and the other with 1/2 teaspoon of blue, adding more coloring as needed.
- Spoon the red batter into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread it even. Top with the plain batter, smoothing into an even layer. Spoon the blue batter into the center of the white batter like a ring (it doesn’t need to cover it). If desired, use a skewer to marble the colors.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: In a bowl, mix the milk with the vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Add more milk or sugar as needed until the desired consistency is reached.
- Divide the glaze between 3 bowls. Stir about 1/4 teaspoon of red food coloring into one bowl and 1/4 teaspoon of blue into another, leaving the third bowl white. Add more coloring, as needed.
- Drizzle the red, white, and blue glazes over the cold cake and top with festive sprinkles, if desired. Let set before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use cake release. Bundt cakes are notorious for sticking. So, use a blend of equal parts flour, oil, and shortening brushed in the pan (1/4 cup each mixed into a paste).
- Canned frosting hack. Use canned vanilla frosting as a quick alternative. Microwave it for 10-15 seconds to make it easier to spread or drizzle.