How to Make a Red, White and Blue Cake

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If you're hosting a cookout or watch party for the London 2012 Olympic Games, don't forget about dessert! Show your support for the USA teams competing in this year's Olympic Games by making a red, white and blue cake. A flag-inspired cake can be a great way to show your patriotism and is sure to be a welcome addition to any dessert table. You can even make the cake ahead of time so you don't have to worry about dessert as you take care of other party preparations.

Follow these simple steps to make a show-stopping red, white and blue cake for your Olympic Games festivities:

#1: Decide what type of cake you want to make. You have a few options when it comes to making a red, white and blue cake for the event. You can use a vanilla cake mix and food coloring to make a layered cake of different colors, or opt for a white sheet cake that's covered with white frosting and decorating with strawberries and blueberries (or colored decorator frosting). For this particular project, we're going to make a layered cake and decorate it with fruit.

#2: Gather ingredients. The easiest way to create this cake is to use a vanilla or white cake mix as the base. Buy three separate packages of cake mix and follow the directions to prepare the batter in separate bowls. Color one bowl with red food coloring and another with blue food coloring, then bake as directed in the appropriate round or square cake pans.

#3: Prepare the frosting. If you're short on time, you can pick up a tub of white or cream cheese-flavored buttercream frosting. If you want to make your own, go with something simple and easy to spread like this Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting . Your entire cake will be enrobed in just white frosting - you'll decorate with colors later.

#4: Prepare your layers. You can use blueberry and strawberry (or raspberry jam) as a filler between the cake layers, or just stick with a thick layer of buttercream frosting. You'll need to stack your layers of cake, alternating red, white and blue and filling with the appropriate jam or frosting as you go.

#5: Freeze the cake. If you have three or more layers of cake, you'll want to freeze the cake for at least a couple of hours so it sets in place. This step will also make the cake easier to frost.

#6: Frost the cake. Frost the entire cake with the white buttercream or cream cheese frosting, generously coating the sides and top of the cake. Even out the frosting with a hot knife or spatula.

#7: Decorate with berries. Top the cake with an arrangement of sliced strawberries and blueberries. You can also use any remaining food coloring to color leftover frosting and pipe some flowers or an Olympic Games-inspired design on the top of the cake. If you want to make this a flag cake, use strawberries cut in half to create "stripes" and blueberries to create "stars" on a small flag in the middle of the cake.

#8: Keep cool until ready to serve. Store the cake in a cake carrier and place in a cool area until its ready to serve. You don't want to refrigerate a buttercream-frosted cake because it will dry out fairly quickly. Try and keep it at room temperature until your London Olympic Games party begins. When the cake is cut, guests will be able to see the red, white, and blue layers in each slice!

Content by Sabah Karimi .