Memorial Day isn't the official start of summer, but it certainly feels like it: People gather in backyards, pools open up, and stars and stripes appear on porches and flagpoles everywhere.
What you may not know about the holiday is that it was started by women in 1886 as a day to decorate the resting places of fallen soldiers. So it's only fitting that Ina Garten, who we're declaring our country’s First Lady of comfort food, shared her recipe on Instagram for a deliciously-festive American flag cake just in time to make it before the celebration on Monday. It comes from her from her classic 2002 cookbook Barefoot Contessa Family Style.
The sheet cake, decorated with fresh blueberries and raspberries, is the perfect dessert to bring to a picnic, backyard barbecue, or lakefront gathering. (The recipe calls for 1 ½ pounds of butter, but it’s worth every indulgent bite.)
“This cake has been made over and over in our home and never disappoints,” one Instagram user commented on Garten's video.
“I make this glorious cake every Memorial Day, and it’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted," another wrote. "We all love you, Ina. You’re an absolute icon.”
Ina Garten's Flag Cake
Ingredients:
- The 18 tablespoons (2-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- The 3 cups sugar
- The 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- The 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- The 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- The 3 cups all-purpose flour
- The 1/3 cup cornstarch
- The 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- The 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the icing:
- The 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- The 1-1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
- The 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- The 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
To assemble:
- The 2 half-pints blueberries
- The 3 half-pints raspberries
You can find the full, step-by-step guide for making Garten's Flag Cake on her Barefoot Contessa website. Here are the instructions for decorating (although, don't be afraid to get creative and put your own spin on it!):
"Spread three-quarters of the icing on the cake. Using a toothpick, outline a flag on the cake. Fill in the upper left corner with blueberries. Place two rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like the red stripes. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternately, add two rows of raspberries and two rows of icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries."
Memorial Day isn't the only occasion this cake would be a hit this summer—in case you forgot, the Olympics are upon us! Make this for a watch party to cheer on Team USA. And try our take on a Flag Cake if you want to switch it up or have more than one option.