Patriotic Berry Cake

3 layers of white cake with blueberry and strawberry filling, this Patriotic Berry Cake is the perfect summer dessert! You’ll love the light, whipped frosting on top.

Summertime is the perfect season to bring out all things red, white and blue.We love cooking with berries during the summer season. Blueberries in a blueberry breakfast cake or strawberries in a fruit filled bundt cake both make me smile on a warm summer day.

Patriotic Cake with Strawberries and Blueberries

Last summer we made a delicious chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling. It was amazing. Ever since then I knew I needed to make a white cake for July 4th and the summer months…with fresh strawberries and blueberries. A Patriotic Berry Cake!

Three delicious layers, two sweet fruit fillings and an amazingly light whipped frosting.

What flavor is a white cake?

The base of this Patriotic Berry Cake is three layers of homemade white cake. We often get asked what flavor white cake is. It’s vanilla, but a light, sweet vanilla flavor.

It is different from yellow cake which has more of a buttery flavor.

Fruit Filling for Cake

The first step to making this Patriotic Berry Cake is to make the fruit fillings. You’ll need to make these in advance so they can cool and thicken.

You’ll use the same method for both the strawberry and the blueberry fillings. Just make them in two separate pans (and do it at the same time to save a few minutes!):

• In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together ¾ cups strawberries, sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring often. Reduce heat and add the vanilla.
• In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and a tablespoon of water. Mix well.
• Pour this into the boiling strawberry mixture. Stir and boil over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Add ½ tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last of the strawberries (or blueberries) and stir to mix. Refrigerate the filling until you assemble the cake.

How to Make White Cake

When you make this homemade cake, you’ll want to follow a few key tips.

• Use cake flour. Cake flour is a low-protein flour which helps your cake to be light and fluffy and not tough.
• Cream the butter first for several minutes, then add the sugar and cream again.
• Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
• Mix the milk and extract in another bowl.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the milk.
• Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment until they are stiff and form peaks. This may take a minute or two.
• Fold the egg whites GENTLY into the batter. Do not mix too hard or much, but do keep folding until the egg whites are completely mixed in.

Homemade Whipped Cream Frosting

The homemade whipped cream frosting really makes this cake stand out and gives a great base to the fresh berries.

Making your own homemade whipped cream is not hard at all. And there are two hints that make it even easier.

• Use a COLD metal bowl to whip the cream in. And make sure your whipping cream is VERY COLD. Don’t pull out the whipping cream with other ingredients at the start of making this cake. Make sure it stays in the fridge. Cold heavy cream will make your whipped cream come together beautifully!

• Whip the cream and powdered sugar until it holds stiff peaks but be careful not to over beat it. Sometimes over beating can make the cream have a weird texture.

Store the whipped cream in the refrigerator until you are ready to build the cake.

How to Layer a Cake

It’s important not to put this cake together until the fruit filling is thickened and chilled and the cakes are totally cooled. Once you’ve done that, start building the Patriotic Berry Cake!

• Place a cake layer down on a cake plate.
• Put down a thin layer of whipped cream.
• Use a slotted spoon to spoon one of the fruits on the cake. You may end up with some leftover and that’s ok (it’s amazing on ice cream!). Allow some of the liquid to drip off the spoon before gently placing it on the cake.
• Place a second cake layer on top.
• Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the second cake.
• Then add the other fruit layer in the same way that you did the first.
• Place the third cake layer on top.
• Frost the entire outside of the cake with the whipped frosting.
• Garnish with fresh blueberries and strawberries as you’d like.

**Pro Tip: This cake is best served the day you make it. To save time you can make all three parts the day before, then simply build the cake the day you want to serve it.**

How to Store Fruit Cake

Because this cake has fresh fruit and whipped cream you’ll want to store it in the refrigerator. Make sure it is covered well after you cut into it.

Other Berry Cake Recipes

• Strawberry Cake Roll
• Blueberry Cake Roll
• Blackberry Layer Cake
• Berry Mascarpone Cake
• Strawberry Bundt Cake

Tools to Make This Cake

• Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
• Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
• 8” Round Cake Pans: I love this size cake pans since it makes the cake a little taller than using a larger cake pans.
• Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
• Wire Cooling Racks: This will help your cakes cool more quickly.
• Wilton 1M Tip: For piping pretty swirls on cupcakes.
• Cake Plate: I have this cake plate and everyone loves it! It comes with the cute server too.

Patriotic Berry Cake

4.45 from 59 votes

3 layers of white cake with blueberry and strawberry filling, this Patriotic Berry Cake is the perfect summer dessert! You'll love the light, whipped frosting on top.

Servings 15

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Chill Time 2 hours hours

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Ingredients

 

For the Strawberry Filling (prepare in advance):

• 6 ounces frozen unsweetened strawberries divided (about 1 ¼ cups total)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 tablespoon butter

For the Blueberry Filling (prepare in advance):

• 6 ounces frozen blueberries divided (about 1 ¼ cups total)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon butter

For the cake:

• 1 cup butter (softened but not melted)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups cake flour* (345 gramspooned & measured carefully)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk (2% milkfat)
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup egg whites plus 3 tablespoons**

For the whipped frosting:

• 3 cups cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

For Garnishing:

• fresh strawberries and blueberries

Instructions

 

Make the Strawberry Filling:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together ¾ cups strawberries, sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Heat the mixture to boiling, stirring often. Reduce heat and add the vanilla.
• In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and tablespoon of water. Mix well.
• Pour this into the boiling strawberry mixture. Stir and boil over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Add ½ tablespoon of butter and mix until the butter has completely melted.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then add the last of the strawberries and stir to mix. Refrigerate the filling until you assemble the cake.
• REPEAT THE STEPS ABOVE WITH THE BLUEBERRIES TO MAKE BLUEBERRY FILLING.

Make the cake:

• Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment until they are stiff and form peaks. This may take a minute or two. Pour the egg whites into another bowl and place them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to add them to the batter.
• Using the same bowl that you used to beat the egg whites, place the softened butter in and cream the butter for about 2 minutes (using the beater blade attachment until it is white in appearance.
• Add the sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy (about another 1-2 minutes).
• In a small bowl, combine the flour (measured carefully*), salt and baking powder. Set aside.
• In another bowl, combine the milk and almond extract.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture alternately with the milk.
• Add the stiffly beaten eggs to the cake batter. Fold the egg whites in gently. Do not overmix at this point. If you do, your cake will become more dense.
• Grease and flour 3 8" round cake pans. Pour the cake batter equally into the prepared cake pans.
• Bake the cakes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top bounces back when you touch it.
• Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges and remove them from the pans to a wire rack, allowing them to cool completely.

Make the Whipped Cream Frosting:

• Chill the metal bowl of a stand mixer (or a large metal bowl to use with a hand mixer for at least 5 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar to the bowl. Beat on high for 3-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
• Place the frosting in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake:

• Place a cake layer down on a cake plate. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream over it.
  
• Use a slotted spoon to spoon one of the fruits on the cake. You may end up with some leftover and that’s ok (it’s amazing on ice cream!). Allow some of the liquid to drip off the spoon before gently placing it on the cake.
• Place a second cake layer on top. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the second cake.
• Then add the other fruit layer in the same way that you did the first.
• Place the third cake layer on top. Frost the entire outside of the cake with the whipped frosting.
• Garnish with fresh blueberries and strawberries as you’d like.
• Serve this cake the same day as you make it. Store in the refrigerator until serving.

Notes

*Some are having problems with the cake being too dense. This can happen when you mistakenly add too much flour. When you measure the flour, spoon it from the flour container gently into the measuring cup. Do NOT pack it down at all. This technique will help you not put too much flour into the cake.

**This is about 6-7 large egg whites. 

The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition

Calories: 524kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 1135IU | Vitamin C: 8.1mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Calories 524

Keyword 3 layer cake recipe, cake with strawberries, fresh fruit cake, july 4 cake, patriotic cake recipe

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