Firecracker Cake

Last Updated on June 20, 2022 by Kathryn Donangelo

This Firecracker Cake is a fun and festive dessert for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! Made with boxed cake mix and filled with red, white, and blue swirls, then topped with frosting and sprinkles. 

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Looking for easy (and delicious) 4th of July dessert ideas? This stunning Firecracker Cake is perfect and made with a boxed cake mix! It’s colorful, takes only a few minutes to prepare, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Everyone will love this 4th of July cake because the inside has swirls of red, white, and blue cake and the top is drizzled with red, white, and blue frosting and sprinkles. Celebrate and bring this cake to your 4th of July BBQ, party, get-together, and any time you want to show American pride!

Even though this cake looks like it can be complicated to make with all the colorful swirls, it’s extremely easy and simple. Kids will even love helping out to make this cake! 

INGREDIENTS

White cake mix: use your favorite brand. 

Red and white food coloring gel: this will make the cake colorful. You just need a few drops of each color. You can add more or less drops depending on how light, dark, or bright you want your colored layers to be.

Frosting: I used canned vanilla frosting but you can use homemade frosting.

HOW TO MAKE 4th OF JULY CAKE

HOW TO FROST 4th OF JULY CAKE

THIS FOURTH OF JULY CAKE IS

• Colorful, eye-catching, and easy to make!
• The perfect 4th of July dessert and everyone will love it. 
• Made with a boxed cake mix and takes minimal time and effort in the kitchen. 
• Fun for kids to make. They will love stirring, adding the frosting, and sprinkles on top. 

RECIPE TIPS & VARIATIONS

Instead of using frosting on top, you can use melted white chocolate. 

Bake the cake the day before so all you have to do is frost the cake the next day. This will save you time so you don’t have to wait for the cake to cool. 

Frosting: you can make your own frosting from scratch or use other canned frosting flavors such as cream cheese frosting, buttercream, vanilla, or any other flavor that’s white. 

You can switch out the red, white, and blue colors and use any color combination that you want. You can also add more cake layers by using less cake batter in each bowl. Make this a rainbow cake for a birthday or celebration.

Some other topping ideas are red, white, and blue-themed M&Ms, edible glitter, star candles, and other red, white and blue-themed candy. 

LEFTOVERS & STORAGE

Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. The cake will stay fresh for up to 4-5 days when stored in a cool area. 

If the cake seems to harden after a few days, you can heat the cake in the microwave for a few minutes to soften and warm. The frosting will slightly melt but it will be just as delicious. 

OTHER 4th OF JULY RECIPES

• Sugar Cookie Truffles
• 4th of July Brownies
• Firecracker Cake
• Patriotic Berry Salad
• Red, White, & Blue Cheesecake Bites

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Firecracker Cake

This Firecracker Cake is a fun and festive dessert for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! Made with boxed cake mix and filled with red, white, and blue swirls, then topped with frosting and sprinkles. 

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 4th of july bundt cake, 4th of july dessert, firecracker cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Author: Kathryn Donangelo

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• Bundt pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 box white cake mix plus oil, water, and eggs called for on the box
• ▢ red and blue gel food color
• ▢ 1 can frosting
• ▢ red and blue sprinkles optional

Instructions

To make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously grease a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, and water until combined with an electric mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
• Divide the cake batter into 3 bowls. In one bowl add 3-5 drops of red food color and stir with a spoon until blended and combined. Add the blue food coloring to the other bowl. Add more or less food coloring depending on how light, dark, or bright you want your colors to be.
• Pour the red-colored batter into the bottom of the prepared bundt pan. Then slowly pour the white batter on top, and then carefully pour the blue batter on top. It's OK if any of the cake batter colors overlap. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Let the cake sit for at least 10 minutes, and then remove it from the cake pan. If the cake is sticking to the bundt pan, gently tap the edges of the bundt pan or scrap the edges as much as you can with a spatula. Let the cake sit on the cooling rack until completely cooled.

To frost the cake

• Once the cake has cooled. Place a sheet of wax paper, foil, or parchment paper to catch any of the drippings from the frosting.
• Divide the frosting into 3 microwavable small bowls. Microwave each bowl for 15-20 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle over the cake.
• Add a few drops of red food gel to one of the bowls and stir until combined. Then add a few drops of blue food gel to the bowl and stir until blended.
• Drizzle each frosting color over the cake with a spoon until you run out of frosting. Add sprinkles to the top and let the cake sit for about 20 minutes to let the frosting harden. Slice and enjoy!

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Notes

Recipe Notes: 

• Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. The cake will stay fresh for up to 4-5 days when stored in a cool area.
• If the cake seems to harden after a few days, you can heat the cake in the microwave for a few minutes to soften and warm. The frosting will slightly melt but it will be just as delicious.
• Instead of using frosting on top, you can use melted white chocolate. 
• You can make your own frosting from scratch or use other canned frosting flavors such as cream cheese frosting, buttercream, vanilla, or any other flavor that's white.
• Some other topping ideas are red, white, and blue-themed M&Ms, edible glitter, star candles, and other red, white and blue-themed candy.