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Red White & Blue Marble Cake

Red white & blue marble cake with a vanilla base swirled in red and blue gel coloring for a festive patriotic look. Moist cake bakes in two 8-inch pans, then gets a smooth vanilla buttercream frosting with berry and sprinkle garnish.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.5 Red gel food coloring Use enough to reach a vibrant red.
  • 0.5 Blue gel food coloring Use enough to reach a vibrant blue.
Frosting
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish
  • 0.5 cup Red, white, and blue sprinkles
  • 1 cup Fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup Fresh strawberries

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer

Method
 

Bake the cake layers
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
  3. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt together.
  4. Beat the unsalted butter, softened, and granulated sugar until fluffy.
  5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
  6. Mix in the vanilla extract.
  7. Alternate adding the flour mixture and whole milk, mixing just until combined.
  8. Divide the batter into three bowls.
  9. Leave one bowl white; color one bowl red gel food coloring and one bowl blue gel food coloring.
  10. Spoon the batters into the pans and swirl gently to marble.
  11. Bake for 28–32 minutes, until the centers spring back lightly.
  12. Cool the cakes completely.
Make the frosting and decorate
  1. Beat the unsalted butter, softened, with the powdered sugar until smooth.
  2. Mix in the heavy cream and vanilla extract until the frosting is creamy.
  3. Frost the cake layers and decorate with red, white, and blue sprinkles, fresh blueberries, and fresh strawberries.
  4. Slice and serve.

Notes

For cleaner marble swirls, spoon red and blue batter on top of the white in thin ribbons, then swirl only 1–2 passes with a knife. Store leftover cake covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze unfrosted layers up to 2 months, thaw in the fridge overnight. For a lighter option, use low-fat butter and replace some powdered sugar with a small amount of meringue-style powdered sugar if available, keeping the texture smooth.