Name: Red, White & Blue Rosette Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 160 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 2 cups granulated sugar; 6 large whole eggs; 2 large egg yolks; 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup cornstarch; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 1/2 Tablespoons strawberry emulsion; 1 1/2 Tablespoons blueberry emulsion; Fuchsia gel food coloring; Super red gel food coloring; Royal blue gel food coloring; 2 cups (or 4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature; 7 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted; 1 Tablespoon heavy cream; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 Tablespoon strawberry emulsion; 1 Tablespoon blueberry emulsion; Fuchsia gel food coloring; Super red gel food coloring; Royal blue gel food coloring

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Make this 4th of July festive with this fun Red, White & Blue Rosette Cake!

This red, white and blue rosette cake is a simple vanilla cake made with creamy buttercream. The cake layers are individually colored and flavored for a perfect 4th of July surprise.

The red cake and buttercream are made with strawberry emulsion. While the blue cake and buttercream are made with blueberry emulsion. The emulsions are concentrated flavorings that won’t water down your cake or buttercream but will add bright bold flavor. You can find flavor emulsions at your local cake specialty store or online like Amazon.

This festive 4th of July cake is not only pretty to look at but tastes incredible. I wanted to create this cake to show you how to turn a simple vanilla cake base into a fun and exciting cake. Since baking and cake decorating starts with confidence in the kitchen, this red, white and blue cake is great for beginner bakers.

It’s then decorated with the rosette buttercream pattern. Which is deceivingly easy as it looks complicated but it’s actually one piping techniques repeated over the whole cake. It’ll certainly make you look like a pro baker!

Tips before baking:

You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Simply wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month.
You can make the lime curd and buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.
A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
Be careful to not overmix this cake batter or else the cake will come out dense. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Food coloring gets darker over time so it’s best to gradually add the food coloring.
Serve cake at room temperature.

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake:

3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
Offset spatula
8-inch or 10-inch white cake board
Serrated knife or cake leveler
Turntable
Bench scraper or cake scraper
Piping bag (I use silicone reusable bags)
Closed star piping tips (Ateco #844)
Whisk
Rubber Spatula
Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
Cake Stand, optional
Strawberry emulsion
Blueberry emulsion
Fuschia gel food coloring
Super red gel food coloring
Royal blue gel food coloring

Here’s how to make this festive red, white and blue rosette cake!

Let’s Get Baking!

How to Make Red, White & Blue Cake

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
Turn the mixer on low and add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix on low for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do NOT overmix the cake batter.
Evenly divide the cake batter into 3 bowls. In one bowl add the strawberry emulsion, a drop of fuschia food color and red food color, use a rubber spatula to quickly mix together. In another bowl add the blueberry emulsion, a drop of fuschia food color and blue food color, use a rubber spatula to quickly mix together. Be careful to overmix or else cake will become dense. Leave the last bowl white.
Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

How to Make Red, White & Blue Buttercream

In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream, salt and vanilla extract. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles.
Fill ⅔ of a piping bag fitted with a closed star piping tip and white buttercream. Set aside for stacking.
Divide the remaining buttercream into 3 bowls. In one bowl, add strawberry emulsion, followed by with a drop of fuschia food color to build a base color then add a drop of super red food color. In the second bowl, add blueberry emulsion, followed by with a drop of fuschia food color to build a base color then add a drop of royal blue food color.
Prepare a piping bag fitted with a closed star piping tip and red buttercream. Then repeat with the blue buttercream.

Putting It All Together

Remove the cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even.
Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board.
Layer the chilled blue cake, cut side up onto the cake board. Pipe ½ cup of white buttercream on top and smooth out with an offset spatula.
Place the white cake layer cut side down over the top. Pipe ½ cup of white buttercream on top and smooth out with an offset spatula. Place the red cake layer cut side down over the top.
Crumb coat and freeze for 20 minutes.
Starting with the red buttercream, pipe rosettes along the bottom of the cake. Then pipe a row of white buttercream. Repeat until the sides are covered with red and white buttercream.
Then pipe rosettes with the blue buttercream on top of the cake.

This 4th of July red, white and blue rosette cake will certainly impress your friends and family. It’s perfect for kids of all ages!

In the comments below, tell me what’s the #1 thing you’re struggling with baking and cake decorating?

For real, though. I’m a real human being and read every comment I get. Don’t be surprised if I reply to a few of you! 🙂

Happy Baking!

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake program. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so you can take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/creator-program. I will see you there!

Watch The How-to Video Below: