My Picadillo: 2013

Flag Cake

I am happy to be blogging again and especially about one of my very favorite chefs - Ina Garten. I happen to have all her cookbooks, however, which dessert to pick was my dilemma! A BBQ with our best friends were our holiday plans and I was in charge of dessert, so that narrowed it down to something patriotic or at least red, white, and blue. After browsing through all her recipes I decided on a Flag Cake from her Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook.

This is a very easy recipe to make, however you should start early because the assembling of the fruits takes a while. The batter was delicious (hard not to try it while mixing the ingredients) and the icing...yummy!!! I was a little concerned because the cake is somewhat dense, perhaps next time I will an additional half cup of sour cream. However, this did not affect the final verdict: delicious, flavorful, fresh, and everyone had seconds! This recipe is a definite keeper!!!

Flag Cake

Courtesy of Ina Garten/Food Network

Ingredients for the cake:

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

2 half-pints blueberries
3 half-pints raspberries

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

Please visit some of these wonderful bloggers for more of Ina's delicious recipes: