This flag cake still held its piped stripes four hours into our cookout. The previous version on my site used cream cheese frosting, which softened too quickly once it sat outside. This version uses vanilla pudding folded with Cool Whip instead, so the frosting stays lighter and holds its shape longer. Tight strawberry rows and piped white stripes also keep the design looking clean once the cake is sliced.

An American Flag Cake decorated with strawberries, piped white frosting, and blueberries sits on a wooden table with fresh berries and utensils nearby—perfect for any patriotic celebration. Try this classic American Flag Cake recipe today!. — This cake stays soft under the chilled frosting, and the fresh berries keep the whole thing from feeling overly rich after a heavy summer meal.

Ingredient Notes

A variety of baking ingredients arranged on a white counter, ready to make an American Flag Cake, including flour, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, milk, Jello pudding, baking powder, oil, butter, strawberries, blueberries, sour cream, Cool Whip, and two eggs.

Frozen fruit is not recommended.
Instead of strawberries, you could use rows of raspberries for the red stripes.
It’s important to make sure that your blueberries and strawberries are rinsed and patted dry really well before adding to the cake.
White chocolate or cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix can be substituted for the vanilla pudding.
Sugar-free varieties haven’t been tested for this frosting.

The Step That Makes This Cake Look Finished

Push the strawberries against each other in every row. Straight rows read clean even when your strawberries are different sizes.

Sheet cake decorated like an American Flag Cake with rows of strawberries, whipped cream, and blueberries on white frosting. A rectangular slice has been removed from the lower right corner, revealing the fluffy cake inside.

Pipe the white stripes between strawberry rows rather than leaving negative space.

A classic American Flag Cake decorated with sliced strawberries, blueberries, and white frosting stars. Small American flag picks rest on the wooden table next to this patriotic dessert—a perfect treat for any celebration!.

Cluster the blueberries tightly with stars between them. Tight clusters with piped stars between them read as the union of a flag.

What I Learned During Recipe Testing

The cake was done around the 16-minute mark during testing. The edges should be lightly golden and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Waiting for deeper color dries the cake out quickly in a shallow sheet pan.

The berries stay the brightest flavor in this cake. Heavy buttercream and cream cheese frostings muted the strawberries during earlier tests, especially once the cake sat outside for a while. The lighter pudding frosting keeps the fruit tasting fresh instead of burying it under a dense layer of frosting.

This post was originally published in June 2021. The frosting was changed and the cook time was adjusted in May 2026.

Don’t Miss This Step

The frosting sets much faster than traditional whipped frostings because the pudding mix provides the structure. Once the whipped topping is folded in, it is thick enough to spread and pipe immediately.

Fold the whipped topping in gently and stop the second it disappears into the pudding.

A hand pipes white frosting stars onto blueberries in the top left corner of an American Flag Cake decorated with rows of strawberry halves, resembling the stars and stripes. — During testing, overmixing was what loosened the frosting fastest. If this happens, the piped lines will soften within minutes of decorating.

Serving Instructions

This cake is best the day it is decorated. The strawberries slowly release juice into the frosting, which softens the piped stripes by the next day.

A hand holds a slice of cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. In the background, an American Flag Cake decorated with strawberries, blueberries, and small flags is visible.

Overnight refrigeration is still fine, but the cake looks sharpest the first day.

If serving outdoors, decorate the cake as close to serving time as possible. An hour or two ahead works well. After several hours outside, the frosting starts losing definition.

This perfect patriotic dessert will be the star of the show at your festivities this year. For another star-spangled treat, try our 4th of July trifle and 4th of July sugar cookies.

A slice of vanilla cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries sits on a plate, sparkler aglow. An American Flag Cake and a bowl of strawberries add festive flair in the background, perfect for your next American Flag Cake recipe celebration.

You could also customize our sugar cookie bars with white icing and red, white, and blue sprinkles for a fun and patriotic treat.

If you’re planning a backyard cookout or bringing dessert to a summer party, take a look at my 4th of July desserts filled with easy cakes, chilled no-bake treats, fruity favorites, and fun desserts made for sharing.

American Flag Cake

5 from 1 vote

This beautiful red, white, and blue American flag cake is the perfect dessert for any Memorial Day or 4th of July gathering.

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 16

Total Time 41

Servings

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe

Ingredients

Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk

Frosting

1 ½ cups whole milk, very cold
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
6.8 ounces instant vanilla pudding (two 3.4-ounce boxes)
16 ounces whipped topping, thawed (two 8-ounce containers)

Toppings

48 large fresh blueberries
26 to 28 fresh strawberries, halved

Instructions

Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 12x17x1-inch half sheet pan with non-stick baker’s spray and set aside.
Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the granulated sugar and unsalted butter on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes or until very light and fluffy.
Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Be sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next. Scrape the bowl and paddle as needed to ensure even mixing of the ingredients.
Add the sour cream and vegetable oil. Mix on low speed just until fully combined.
With the mixer on low, add a third of the flour mixture, followed by ½ cup of the buttermilk, another third of the flour mixture, the remaining ½ cup buttermilk, and the final third of the flour mixture. Be sure to allow each addition to fully incorporate into the batter before adding the next. Scrape the bowl and paddle as needed to ensure the batter is evenly combined.
Spread the batter into an even layer in the prepared pan.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or just until the edges are very lightly browned and the center springs back when lightly pressed. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before adding the frosting and berries.

Frosting

Using a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on low speed, add the cold milk and powdered sugar. Beat for 15-30 seconds or until the powdered sugar is fully dissolved into the milk.
Add the vanilla instant pudding mix and beat for 1 to 1 ½ minutes or just until thickened. Set aside for 2-3 minutes to fully set.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the thawed whipped topping until thoroughly combined.
Spread about two-thirds of the frosting evenly over the cooled cake.
Transfer the remaining frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large decorative piping tip.
Top the cake with the fresh blueberries and strawberry halves in the pattern of the American flag. In the upper left hand corner place 6 rows, with 8 blueberries in each row, to create the blue area where the stars go.
Then place the halved strawberries in rows across the rest of the frosted cake (representing the red strips of the flag), being sure to leave some white space between rows of strawberries.
Pipe the remaining frosting in straight lines in the space between the strawberry rows to represent the white strips of the flag.

Notes

Don’t forget to properly thaw your frozen whipped topping before adding to the pudding mix for the frosting. This will ensure the proper consistency when mixed.