4th of July cake

Stars and stripes cake for the Fourth of July. It packs a fireworks-like response and it is so easy to make. I saw it online here. I don't bake very much this time of year- too much to get outside and do- and my friends/family have taken notice. I thought I'd come through for the 4th.

I had the "help" of 3 little girls with this cake, but their heads were turned more towards the Disney Channel than towards the bowls of batter, frosting, layers, etc. Next time, instead of teaching them how to bake, I'll teach them how to do the dishes so they can clean up my mess! Separate your white cake batter into 3 equal portions. Color one portion red. Color one portion blue. Leave one portion white. Bake and cool.

Here is the breakdown for construction:

After leveling the tops of each layer, slice the red and white cakes in half.

I baked 6" cakes, so I chose a 3" round cutter and cut the middle of the blue layer. You will use the outer ring for the cake.

Cut a circle in the middle of one white half layer and one red half layer. You may discard the outer ring of the red and white layers. How many helpers do you think I had when there was discarded cake to be eaten?

You should have the following to stack:

Place the white circle in the middle of the blue ring. Add frosting on the top of the white circle so the red circle (stripe) will stay intact when you cut the cake.

Place the red circle on top of the white circle:

Place a white half layer on the cake stand and spread buttercream frosting across the layer. Place a red half layer on top of the white layer and spread another layer of buttercream frosting. Place the blue layer on top of the red layer.

Crumb coat all 3 layers. I decided to do a ribbon cake for the edges and solid blue for the top of the cake. Spread a layer of blue frosting on the top of the cake. Load two piping bags (one with red frosting and one with red frosting). Using a #103 or #104 Wilton tip, place the small end of the tip close to the cake and fold about a one inch layer of frosting over itself (like a zig-zag motion) until you reach the top of the cake. Repeat with the 2nd color until you get all the way around the cake.

Tip for straight lines: use a toothpick to draw a line up the sides of the cake to use as a guide. The frosting will cover the guide lines.

For the stars, melt white chocolate and spread on aluminum foil. I added white sugar sprinkles for a little extra pizazz. Place in the freezer to set.

Using a small star cookie cutter, press the star into the chocolate and carefully remove. You will break plenty of stars in the process. You might want to spray a little cooking spray on the cutter to help remove the chocolate from the cutter. Insert your stars on the top of the cake.

The wow factor is cutting the cake for your guests. Since all fireworks were banned this year due to extremely high and very dangerous dry conditions, the cake had to serve as the fireworks.