The theme for the next few weeks here on Erica Sweet Tooth is going to be “quick and easy”. 1) It’s summer and we’d all like to spend as much time outside in the sun and as little time in front of a hot oven and 2) I started studying for my boards this week and so I need to cut back on the blogging time! I hope you’ll still appreciate these cute little flag cakes I whipped up for a 4th of July inspiration, even if there’s not as much chatter going on here about them. Festive and fun doesn’t have to be overly complicated!
If you’re looking for a fun and different treat for Monday, these will definitely brighten up your party spread, and I’m offering you 2 different methods for creating them. If you’re short on time, grab a box of red velvet cake mix, a tub of cool whip, a bar of cream cheese, some blueberries, and you’re ready to go! Or you can try making the cakes from scratch (which is actually what I did for these) and make your own whipped cream. I baked these in a little square pan I have (like this), but you could totally bake these as regular cupcakes and just slice them in half. I got creative cutting up a few extras to make the red stripes flush with the piped white stripes — a little compulsive, but definitely cute.
Have a great holiday — I’ll be holed up studying for most of the weekend, but I’m hoping to get out in the sun for some BBQ and margs on Monday so I don’t go insane! What are you baking for the 4th? I’ve been loving on all the adorable red, white, and blue desserts being posted this week. I want to try them all!
Mini Red Velvet Flag Layer Cake
Ingredients:
Quick n’ Easy Method:
1 box red velvet cake
1 8 oz container Cool Whip
4 oz cream cheese
Blueberries
A Little More Work Method:
1 batch red velvet cupcake recipe found here
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz cream cheese
Blueberries
Directions:
Prepare the red velvet mini cakes either according to the package’s directions or following the recipe linked above.
While cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. If you’re going for the easy way, let the cream cheese come to room temperature, then beat it with an electric mixer until super creamy and fluffy. Fold the beaten cream cheese into the Cool Whip gently with a spatula. If you’re making the whipped cream yourself, first beat the softened cream cheese and set aside. Then use a whisk attachment for the electric mixer to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip for another 30 seconds. Fold in the cream cheese gently with a rubber spatula.
Pipe the frosting between layers and make 4 dots of frosting for the blueberries and 2 stripes across the top. Add blueberries and scraps of red velvet cake to complete the flag design. Enjoy
Cute! Even better that Red Velvet is my favorite cake!
Good luck studying for boards! The released exams you can buy are clutch, as well as dental decks!
Erica, you are so talented! I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time–I’m sorry I’m just now commenting! These little cakes look so scrumptious (and patriotic)… I featured them on my own blog :)
http://sarahplanet.com/?p=1878
Happy Fourth, and good luck on the boards!
-Sarah
http://www.sarahplanet.com
Here’s mine…
http://phoodinyoface.blogspot.com/2011/07/4th-of-july-food.html
My boyfriend REALLY liked them. thanks Erica!
These are great! There are lots of flag cakes out there, but these look like some I could actually pull off. And mini is always cuter!
So cute! I think I like these better than the big flag cakes. Something about them being tiny :) p.s. I love how you organized your kitchen!
These are so cute!!!!! I would LOVE to make these! I wonder if there’s a way to come up with a Canadian flag equivalent :) Great blog by the way!
So fabulous & so going to doing this!
Hi Erica, your blog is just gorgeous! I was looking for some baking insperation (beats working), and found the Mini Flag Layer Cakes – They are so cute! Im defently going to give this a try. Thanks for the recipe :)
These are adorable! I like that there is an “easy” version and a “more time-consuming” version. Thanks for sharing!
Erica — June 9th, 2014 @ 9:23 pm
So glad you like them, I think they’re pretty cute too :)