Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free American Flag Cake
If you're hosting a Fourth of July barbecue, Memorial Day cookout, Labor Day picnic, or summer family gathering, this cake is guaranteed to be the centerpiece of the dessert table. This Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free American Flag Cake has a light, moist, fluffy homemade vanilla cake topped with a rich dairy-free buttercream frosting and decorated with fresh blueberries and raspberries for a patriotic dessert. The best part? This cake is insanely easy with only 9 ingredients, uses 1 bowl, and the flag design looks impressive but only takes a few minutes to create! Plus, you can easily bake, cool, and freeze the cake for up to a month for an easy make-ahead dessert.
Equipment
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake:
- 2 2/3 cup almond flour, super-fine
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 2/3 cup potato starch (not flour)
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cup dairy-free milk (we use almond, oat, or coconut-not canned)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 1 cup dairy-free butter (we use Earth Balance)
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp dairy-free milk (we use almond, oat, or coconut-not canned)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
- 12 oz fresh raspberries
- 6oz oz fresh blueberries
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and grease a 9x13 size pan and lightly dust with brown rice flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together well until combined.
- Next, add the wet ingredients and whisk until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Pour batter in the prepared baking dish and bake for 22 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean from the middle or with just a few crumbs, remove the cake.
- Let the cake cool in its pan on a wire rack for a couple hours.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth on low-medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Stop the mixer, add the 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, then mix on the lowest setting so that the sugar doesn't jump out of the bowl. Once sugar is incorporated, move to a higher speed.
- Let it mix on high speed for about 2 minutes, then stop the mixer and add the vanilla and dairy-free milk. Mix again on high speed for about 1 minute.
- Frost the cake right away or refrigerate. Spread a 1/3 of the frosting evenly on the cooled cake. Scoop the rest of the frosting into a piping bag. I like to use a 1M frosting tip.
Decorating the Cake:
- Place blueberries in the top left corner of the cake. I do about 6 rows and 8 columns of fresh blueberries to make a rectangle shape.
- Carefully space your rows of raspberries and rows of frosting, so you don't run out of space with an odd layout of the stripes. I like to start with a row of raspberries at the top of the cake.
- Optional: pipe small stars in between the blueberries to make white stars.
Notes
Cupcakes: This recipe works great for making about 18 cupcakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes! Use same frosting recipe.
Tier Cake: You can also use two 8-inch round cake pans for a tiered cake. Bake for 24-28 minutes! Use same frosting recipe.
Make Ahead option: Freeze baked cake for up to a month. Allow to thaw before frosting. Or freeze after baked and frosted, let thaw before serving.
Storage: Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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