This Red, White & Blue Tie Dye Cake is so easy to make with a cake mix. When you cut into cake, each slice has a fun new pattern. Then frost it with a homemade buttercream to make it extra yummy. Perfect for July 4th or Memorial Day!
I made this cake for July 4th at my daughter's request. I had pinned lots of sweet recipes for the holiday on Pinterest but couldn't decide which one to make. So this is the one she picked. The idea comes from a great site called SallysBakingAddiction.com. I decided to do a sort of "semi-homemade" version and used a cake mix.
You start with a white cake mix. Prepare the batter according to the package instructions. Divide the batter evenly into 3 different bowls. Color one bowl of batter red, another one blue and leave the last one white. Sally suggested 10 drops of food coloring for each color, but I think I used about double that amount. Then you place alternating spoonfuls of the different colored batters in a greased 9" round cake pan. I used a knife to swirl the colors around a bit before baking. Bake according to the package instructions. Then let it cool completely. While it's baking, you can make the frosting. Recipe follows. I used Sally's buttercream recipe and it was delicious.
Cutting the cake was a lot of fun. And each piece had a different design. Isn't it festive!
Red, White & Blue Tie Dye Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 box white cake mix prepared according to package instructions
- Red food coloring gel
- Blue food coloring gel
For the frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened at room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract use clear vanilla flavoring for whiter frosting
- Red, White and Blue sprinkles
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch x 2-inch round cake pan. Divide batter equally into 3 bowls. Leave one bowl of batter plain, with no color. Color one bowl red. Add 10 drops of red food coloring. Stir. Add more color if desired. Repeat steps for the blue batter. Alternate adding spoonfuls of each color batter in cake pan. Then use a butter knife or small spatula to spread the colors around in a tie dye design. Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool for one hour. Level top of cake by using a large bread knife or cake leveler and cutting the rounded top of the cake off horizontally. (You just want to have a flat cake, not rounded on top.) You can save the top and let your friends or family taste the cake while they are waiting for you to decorate it. Then frost (recipe follows). Using a pastry bag and 1M pastry tip, pipe a border around the top of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles.
For the frosting
- Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick.
LuAnn says
This cake looks AMAZINGLY delicious. Can this be doubled for a 13x9 baking pan? TIA.
Lise Ode says
Yes it can!!