Holidays that happen to land right in the middle of the week are always a little weird to navigate. You want to enjoy the day off and really relax, but you can’t party to hard because most of us have work the very next day and in this case, for the next two days afterwards! We’re keeping things pretty low key in my household this year, with just a couple friends, a small bbq…and THIS CAKE! I’m really excited about this 4th of July Funfetti Cake, especially because of the cute lil’ surprise you find inside when you slice into it!
I know things like this always seem like magic and that it would be really hard to replicate, but I promise you, getting those cute lil’ stars into your cake really isn’t hard at all, it’s just a little time consuming.The key is just to make sure you pack them together pretty tight, while you build the cake, so each and every slice has a cute star poking through. We hope everyone has a super fun and safe mid-week holiday! Enjoy! xx, Jenny
4th of July Funfetti Cake
Servings:
EQUIPMENT
- 1-1.5 inch star cookie cutter
- edible silver foil
INGREDIENTS
one bowl chocolate cake
- 2 cups cake flour all purpose is fine
- 1 ⅔ cups sugar
- ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup hot water
one bowl yellow cake
- 3 cups cake flour all purpose is fine
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup red, white, and blue colored sprinkles (specifically jimmies)
cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- red food coloring
- blue food coloring
INSTRUCTIONS
- For chocolate cake: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment and lightly grease the sides.
- Place all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until batter comes together and no dry spots/lumps are left.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Once cake is completely cooled, punch out as many stars as possible, using the cookie cutter. If the cake is a little crumbly, as you cut the stars out, place cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to firm and make the cookie cutting a little easier. Set star cut outs aside and save the cake scraps for another use.
- For vanilla cake: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of 2 (9”) round, cake pans with parchment and lightly grease the sides.
- Place all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Add remaining ingredients and stir together (easiest done with an electric hand mixer) until no dry spots/lumps are left.
- Gently fold in sprinkles until just combined.
- Pour 1 cup of batter into each prepared cake pan. Leaving a 1 inch batter border from the edge of the pan, begin placing the chocolate cake star cutouts in a tight circle, around one of the cake pans, making sure not to press the stars down into the bottom of the pan as you form the ‘star ring’.
- Leaving a 2 inch batter border around the edge of the pan, place the remaining star cutouts in a smaller, tight circle.
- Carefully divide and pour the remaining yellow cake border over the stars, until the batter is level in each pan.
- Bake cakes from 27 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool completely.
- Once cakes have cooled, remove them from their pans and refrigerate cakes for 1 hour.
- For the frosting: Place cream cheese and butter into a mixing bowl and beat together. Add sugar, ½ cup at a time and beat together until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Take 1 cup of frosting and divide into 2 bowls. Add 2 drops of red food coloring to 1 (½ cup) frosting and stir, and then add 1 drop of blue to the other (½ cup) frosting and stir together.
- To assemble: Place a thin layer of the white frosting over the top of one of the cakes and top with the other cake, inverted (so both cake circle tops are touching one another).
- Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting, this is the crumb coat. Place cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Frost cake with another layer of the white frosting and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
- Using a small, offset spatula scoop a 1 teaspoon sized amount of either the red or blue colored frosting onto the back of the spatula and smear it onto the cake. Continue to do so in random spots of the cake with both colors, until you’re happy with the overall look.
- Dab little bits of edible silver foil around the cake, if using. Serve.
NOTES
- *Makes 1 (9”) cake
Calories: 961kcal Carbohydrates: 133g Protein: 12g Fat: 44g Saturated Fat: 29g Cholesterol: 145mg Sodium: 990mg Potassium: 229mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 92g Vitamin A: 1026IU Calcium: 212mg Iron: 2mg
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