Sparkling Stars and Stripes 4th of July Cake

Sparkling Stars and Stripes 4th of July Cake – With the 4th of July around the corner, I wanted to share with you a new design idea you’ll be able to create with just buttercream, a little fondant, a cookie cutter and sparklers.

Sparkling Stars and Stripes 4th of July Cake

I love creating cakes inspired by the holidays, and since the Fourth is one of our favorite holidays here at the Rich house, I always have a blast designing cakes inspired by our flag. I’ve done several designs in past years that scream “I love America!” Take a look at this roundup of Celebration Worthy 4th of July Cakes from last year.

This year, I made a new Sparkling Stars and Stripes 4th of July Cake that is sure to impress all your guests!

What You Need to Make the Stars and Stripes 4th of July Cake

• Wilton 1m tip
• Piping bag
• Striped scraper
• Straight scraper
• White buttercream (about 3 cups)
• Red buttercream (about 4 cups)
• Blue fondant
• Star cookie cutter
• Sparkler candles

How to Make Red and Blue Buttercream

Creating buttercream stripes is actually easier than you may think. First up, though, we need to create some red buttercream! I wrote a post last year about how to make red and blue buttercream that won’t stain your teeth. The key here is not adding more food coloring! It’s patience! Letting your buttercream rest overnight gives the coloring time to darken. You’ll love how rich the color becomes without having to use an entire bottle of food coloring. Make sure to read the post for all my tips.

How to Make Red and Blue Buttercream That Won’t Stain Your Teeth

How to Cake It

Now that your red buttercream is prepped, you’re ready to start the buttercream stripes. Follow the steps below and refer to my video tutorial (up next).

• After you crumb coat and freeze your cake for 15 minutes, apply a layer of red buttercream around the entire cake.
• Use the straight scraper to smooth the sides and ensure the sides are straight.
• Use the striped scraper to create stripes. Make sure the stripes are full – meaning there’s no gaps in the raised stripes. You’ll see the difference in the video. After I scrape once with the striped scraper, the lines aren’t completely full. I had to go back and add more buttercream to them.
• Freeze your cake for at least 20 minutes.
• Using a piping bag with an opening about the size of your stripes, pipe the white buttercream in the open areas.
• Use the straight scraper to start smoothing and scraping the white buttercream.
• You’ll be using way more pressure than when you normally smooth the sides of your cake.
• REMEMBER: it gets worse before it gets better. Trust the process, apply some serious pressure, and keep scraping. Keep scraping until you’re removing a little white and red buttercream.

Fondant Stars

Quick tip for the stars: after you roll out and cut out your stars, paint a little sugar water on the back of the star to attach it to the cake. The sugar in the water helps “glue” the fondant onto the buttercream.

I found the star sparkler cake toppers at Orson Gygi.

Lighting the Sparklers

This was A LOT of sparklers! It made for a very entertaining show for my kids, but might have been a little over the top. You’ll find several larger star sparkler cake toppers online. One of those in the center of the cake will look darling!

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Can’t wait to see what you create for your 4th of July desserts!

More 4th of July Cakes

If you need some 4th of July cake inspiration, make sure to check out THIS post.