Description
This July 4th Marble Cake has soft vanilla layers with red, white, and blue swirls, plus creamy buttercream frosting. It makes one festive layered cake for summer parties.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups (293g) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
Blue gel icing color
Red gel icing color
2 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
11 cups (1265g) powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
6–8 tbsp (90–120ml) water or cream
Salt, to taste
Blue gel icing color
Red gel icing color
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Line and grease three 8-inch cake pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs in batches, scraping the bowl as needed.
4. Add half the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing gently until smooth.
5. Separate the batter evenly into three bowls. Leave one white, tint one red, and tint one blue with gel coloring.
6. Layer spoonfuls of each color into the cake pans and lightly swirl to create a marbled effect.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool completely before frosting.
8. For the frosting, beat butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, water or cream, and salt until creamy and spreadable.
9. Color portions of frosting red and blue while leaving some white.
10. Stack and frost the cake, decorating the outside to resemble an American flag with stripes and blue frosting detail.
Notes
Use gel food coloring instead of liquid coloring to avoid thinning the batter or frosting.
Do not overmix the batter after adding coloring or dry ingredients or the cake may become dense.
A cake smoother helps create cleaner frosting stripes and a polished finish.
Measure flour carefully using a scale or spoon-and-level method for best texture.
The recipe can be made gluten-free using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Store covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours, then refrigerate for 3–4 days.
Bring refrigerated slices to room temperature before serving.
Cake layers can be frozen for up to 3 months if tightly wrapped.
Can be baked in a 9×13-inch pan instead of layers; reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Decor can be simplified with plain frosting and patriotic sprinkles or sanding sugar.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: 4th of July
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice