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.
Servings: 10 servings
Equipment
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!
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.