If you’re like most Americans, you’re at home right now, thinking about how you’ll celebrate the Fourth of July. And if you’re like us, you want it to be extra special to compensate for all the cancelled barbecues and picnics of summer 2020. So, we’ll be leaning on national treasure Ina Garten's iconic flag cake, a festive (and more importantly, delicious) dessert that's become a beloved annual tradition. While we await this year’s rendition with bated breath, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe, which is something of a specialty for the chambray queen.
Back in 2017, Garten posted the above video tutorial of the cake, saying on Instagram, “It’s a Fourth of July tradition! I’ve made so many flag cakes over the years and I’ve gotten really fast at decorating them!!” (Yep, she’s got jokes and pristine baking skills.)
And she’s not lying, either. Fast-forward three years and the contessa posted yet another version of her flag cake on the ’gram, this time for Memorial Day. “We may be stuck at home,” she wrote, “but we can still celebrate Memorial Day with a fabulous Flag Cake! It’s the perfect baking project with the kids. Or with anyone you love!” How much do you want to bet that she makes it again this year? We’re sure Jeffrey won’t mind a repeat.
So, we already figured that Garten was utter perfection, but after watching her zippy time-lapse video, we’re absolutely convinced. The precision with which she places the blueberries and raspberries on the sheet cake is mesmerizing. And she definitely knows her way around an icing bag. Something tells us that even if the video weren't time-lapsed, she’d have that cake looking patriotic in no time.
Fingers crossed our berry-coconut rocket pops turn out remotely as pretty. On that note, here are a few other recipes we’ll be tackling on the big day (and serving ahead of Ina's iconic flag cake):
