• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Simple Sprinkle
  • Home
  • Vegan Lifestyle
    • Vegan Lifestyle Tips
    • Vegan Recipe Roundups
  • Browse Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizer
    • Desserts & Sweets
      • All Desserts & Sweets
      • Cake
      • Cookies
    • Holidays
    • Whole Foods Plant Based
  • About
  • Contact
  • Appetizer
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Is it vegan?
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Lifestyle
    • Is it vegan?
    • Subscribe
    • About
    • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Desserts & Sweets

    American Flag Birthday Cake

    Published: Jun 28, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links. · 8 Comments

    This American Flag Birthday Cake recipe is the easiest way to make a festive-looking dessert. This cake is also perfect for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. It is made with a simple homemade sheet cake, (vegan) whipped cream, and fresh berries. Wow, your friends and family with this party cake!

    Jump to:
    • 💡 The recipe in a nutshell
    • 🎂 What is a flag cake?
    • 📋 Ingredients
    • 🇺🇸 How do I make a flag birthday cake?
    • 🥣 Storage
    • ❄️ How to freeze
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Reviews
    vegan flag cake

    💡 The recipe in a nutshell

    • Vegan (eggless and dairy-free)
    • Can be made gluten-free (read recipe notes)
    • Easy to make
    • Festive, decorative and fun!

    🎂 What is a flag cake?

    A flag cake is typically a soft yellow sheet cake topped with whipped cream or frosting. It is then decorated to resemble a flag by using ingredients such as fresh fruit and berries, colored icing and more!

    This flag cake recipe resembles the American flag and is the perfect dessert for themed birthday parties and patriotic holidays.

    📋 Ingredients

    To make the vegan sheet cake from scratch you will need:

    • Plant milk, such as almond or soy
    • Apple Cider Vinegar
    • Applesauce
    • Vegetable oil
    • Cane sugar
    • Vanilla extract
    • Almond extract
    • All-purpose flour
    • Baking powder
    • Salt

    To create the US flag onto the cake you will need:

    • Whipped Cream (or frosting), you can use a vegan store-bought variety or make your own with this recipe
    • Strawberries
    • Blueberries

    🇺🇸 How do I make a flag birthday cake?

    Making a flag cake is super simple! All you need is your favorite sheet cake, (vegan) whipped cream, or frosting, such as cream cheese frosting and fruit to decorate. To make the sheet cake you can use my recipe below. Or as an alternative, a boxed cake or a pre-made unfrosted one from the store will work too.

    To resemble the red in the American flag use fresh strawberries. For the blue rectangle use fresh blueberries. Putting them next to each other will also form small star shapes in between them. Just like you see in the images! You can also find a how-to video in the recipe card below.

    🥣 Storage

    To store the unfrosted sheet cake: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and secure the top, sides, and bottom. Then place the wrapped cake in a plastic zip-log bag or air-tight container and store it on the kitchen counter at room temperature for up to five days. If you need to keep unfrosted layers longer than that, freeze them.

    Store frosted cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add berries shortly before serving. If added already the toppings keep fresh for up to 2 days. Check strawberry slices before serving.

    ❄️ How to freeze

    Wrap the unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap and secure the top, sides, and bottom. Place in a zip-log bag or an air-tight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.

    Place frosted cake in an air-tight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

    📖 Recipe

    vegan flag cake

    American Flag Birthday Cake

    Jacqui
    This American Flag Birthday Cake recipe is the easiest way to make a festive-looking dessert. This cake is also perfect for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. It is made with a simple homemade sheet cake, (vegan) whipped cream, and fresh berries. Wow, your friends and family with this party cake!
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Bake 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Dessert, Sweets
    Cuisine American, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Vegan
    Servings 16 servings

    Equipment

    • mixing bowl, electric mixer (or whisk), 9x13 -inch cake pan (23x33cm), spatula, knife and cutting board to slice strawberries

    Ingredients
      

    Sheet Cake

    • 185 ml plant milk, such as almond or soy (6.2 fl oz)
    • 155 ml filtered water (5.2 fl oz)
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon applesauce
    • 75 ml vegetable oil (2.5 fl oz)
    • 200 g cane sugar (7 oz)
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ teaspoon almond extract
    • 300 g all-purpose flour* (10.5 oz)
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • a pinch of salt

    Topping

    • 450 g vegan whipped cream, lightly sweetened (15.8 oz)
    • 300 g fresh strawberries (10.5 oz)
    • 100 g fresh blueberries (3.5 oz)

    Instructions
     

    Making sheet cake from scratch

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and lightly grease, spray or line a 13 by 9-inch cake pan with parchment.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the plant milk and vinegar. Let sit for 1 minute to curdle. Now add the applesauce, oil, sugar, extracts, and water. Whisk to combine. Then add dry ingredients. Mix with an electric mixer (or whisk) until a smooth batter forms. Do not overmix.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is just slightly golden on top.

    Assembling the cake

    • Prepare vegan whipped cream if making at home, and wash berries. Slice strawberries shortly before assembling.
    • Once the cake has cooled completely, frost the cake, using as much whipped cream as you desire. Then, carefully place the blueberries and sliced strawberries on the cake, making a flag design. The strawberries will resemble the red stripes, the blueberries will resemble the blue rectangle in the upper left corner of the flag. See the pictures above, or watch the video below. 
    • Serve immediately and enjoy! Do not keep the cake out in the heat or in the sun for too long. Otherwise, the whipped cream may melt and the berries could spoil. Store any extra cake in the fridge for up to 3 days.

    Video

    Notes

    *Can I make this cake gluten-free? Yes, absolutely! Simply use a 1:1 gluten-free flour such as Bob's Red Mill instead of regular all-purpose.
    Keyword american flag birthday cake, flag birthday cake, flag cake, gluten free flag cake, vegan flag cake
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • TikTok
    • Link

    PS: Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment on your experience - this helps improve my recipes and serves you with the best instructions, tips, and substitution ideas. Plus, I love hearing about your takes on my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplesprinkle to show me your pictures.

    Pin1
    Share
    Tweet
    1 Shares

    More Desserts & Sweets

    • vegan Irish soda bread cut into slices
      Vegan Irish Soda Bread
    • vegan chocolate peanut butter protein bar being bit into laying on other protein bars
      Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars (no bake + vegan)
    • vegan protein balls with chocolate flavor
      Vegan Protein Balls Recipe (easy)
    • vegan matcha buttercream frosting spread out
      Matcha Buttercream (5 ingredients + vegan)

    All Categories

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Sabine Schidelko says

      June 29, 2022 at 6:12 am

      5 stars
      Very Delicious

      Reply
    2. Andrea White says

      July 18, 2022 at 1:52 am

      5 stars
      love how cute this cake is! it turned out so delicious as well!

      Reply
    3. Rob says

      July 18, 2022 at 1:57 am

      5 stars
      Such a fun cake!

      Reply
    4. Alexandra says

      July 18, 2022 at 2:27 am

      5 stars
      Such a lovely idea and great presentation!

      Reply
    5. Emily says

      July 18, 2022 at 2:53 am

      5 stars
      So delicious and perfect for summer, we all loved it! I'll be making this every Fourth of July!

      Reply
    6. Jean says

      July 18, 2022 at 3:56 am

      5 stars
      cute and so delicious

      Reply
    7. Donna says

      July 18, 2022 at 4:21 am

      5 stars
      How creative! And delicious too 🙂

      Reply
    8. Peggy says

      July 18, 2022 at 4:31 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for this awesome recipe. I love the texture and flavor of the cake with the fresh fruit topping. 🙂

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    about jacqui
    image of oatmeal with text saying how to be vegan on a budget

    Popular

    • dairy free vegan quark
      How To Make Vegan Quark
    • vegan german currywurst recipe
      The Best Vegan Currywurst
    • air fryer tofu katsu vegan and gluten free
      Crunchy Air-Fryer Tofu Katsu (vegan)
    • Vegan German Cherry Streusel Cake
      Quick German Cherry Streusel Cake (vegan)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Notice
    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Contact
    • Work With Me

    The articles you are reading on this Website may contain affiliate links and/or products submitted for editorial consideration. To find out more visit our Affiliate Disclosure and Privacy Policy Page.

    Copyright © 2020 - 2022 The Simple Sprinkle LLC