4th of July Cake

5 from 11 votes
22 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.

This 4th of July Cake is the perfect chilled dessert for your Independence Day celebrations. Fun, flavorful and colorful with red, white, and blue colors inside.

4th of July Cake with red and blue Jello topped with frosting, strawberries and blueberries.

Get ready to wow your guests with this show-stopping 4th of July Cake! Every bite is the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness. With its vibrant red, white, and blue colors on the inside and the outside, this cake is a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds.

Ingredients for this July 4th Cake

Who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen on a holiday? Not me! That’s why this easy dessert is made with a box cake mix rather than a cake from scratch. Yep, I admit it. And it’s delicious!

Cake Ingredients:

I add a bonus ingredient to make the cake rich and moist.

  • White cake mix (dry, not prepared)
  • Water
  • Sour cream
  • Vegetable oil
  • Eggs
  • Blue gelatin powder (berry blue or blue raspberry Jell-O)
  • Red gelatin powder (strawberry or raspberry Jell-O)

Frosting Ingredients:

  • Cream Cheese
  • Sugar
  • Whipped Cream Topping (Cool Whip)
Ingredients to make 4th of July Cake including white cake mix, cool whip, sour cream, blueberries, strawberries, eggs, sugar, oil, water, strawberry jello, berry blue jello and grape jello.


Suggestions for Decorating

Unleash your creativity and make this delicious cake your own with a variety of stunning decorating options!

  1. Craft an American flag-inspired masterpiece with fruit. Begin by generously coating the entire cake with the cream cheese whipped frosting. Then, carefully line the top of the cake with fresh berries, using blueberries for the starry field and juicy strawberries or raspberries for the iconic stripes.
  2. For a quick and easy touch, sprinkle festive red, white, and blue sprinkles on top, adding a playful and colorful twist.
  3. If you prefer buttercream or cream cheese frosting, let your artistic flair shine through by using a pastry bag and decorative tips. Create an American flag, a fireworks scene, or add writing. The possibilities are endless!
Baking dish with American Flag 4th of July Cake decorated with fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries.
4th of July Cake with sprinkles.

Adding the Colors to this Poke Cake

Adding colors to a simple vanilla cake elevated it into a beautiful work of art! Don’t be intimidated, as creating this artistic effect is easier than you might think. Here’s what to do:

  • First, wait until the cake is completely cooled after baking. 
  • Then, in a medium bowl, mix together blue Jell-O powder with a cup of boiling water, then stir in a half cup of cold water. It needs to be still in liquid form to insert into the cake, so don’t allow it to set up ahead of time. We like the blue raspberry flavor or any blue Jell-O you like.
  • Repeat that step with red Jell-O powder. Again, any red colored Jell-O will work to make a red, white and blue poke cake.
  •  If you have medicine dispensers in your medicine cabinet, you can pour it into the dispenser to keep the colors from bleeding into each other. See image below. 
  • Condiment squeeze bottles also do the trick.
  • Be sure to make nice holes in the spots you want the color to go. I used the handle end of a butter knife to make the holes in the cake, then I alternated the red and blue colors.
  • If you want to make bigger holes, you can use the handle of a wooden spoon.
Injecting red Jello into a cake for 4th of July Cake.

4th of July Cake Serving Tips

  • Be sure to make this cake well in advance of when you want to serve it, the longer it refrigerates, the better it will taste. I like to make it up the night before I plan to serve it so all the flavors have a chance to settle.
  • Cover the cake with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out in the fridge.
  • Serve this cake COLD. It makes it more refreshing for a hot day.
  • The frosting can be made in advance as well. Keep it refrigerated, but don’t frost the cake until the day you are ready to serve it.
  • Add toppings to the cake just prior to serving. Fresh fruit and sprinkles tend to bleed into the frosting over time.
Placing a sliced strawberry on top of 4th of July Cake.

Switch It Up For Different Holidays

You can easily switch the colors to make this work for different holidays- like grape and lime or orange jello for halloween. Cherry or Lime would work great together for Christmas. Purple and Pink or Yellow of Easter. Red and Pink for Valentine’s Day. This Fresh Strawberry Cake is delicious for a Mother’s Day brunch or baby shower. The sky is the limit!

Make Layered Jell-O Cups with the Extra Ingredients

For a bonus treat, I took things up a notch by using 6-ounce packages of Jell-O, instead of the 3-ounce packages, allowing me to create charming and festive Jell-O cups for our 4th of July celebration.

Making these adorable cups is as easy as can be! Simply add the extra Jell-O to a glass cup and allow it to set. Then top with whipped cream (Cool Whip). Elevate the visual appeal by sprinkling on extra fresh berries, sprinkles, or even Pop Rocks for an element of surprise.

Red and Blue Jello cups topped with whipped topping and fresh fruit from extra Jello used to make 4th of July Cake.

More 4th of July Desserts

Why stop at just one yummy dessert? In addition to this 4th of July Cake, you can create an entire buffet of patriotic treats and keep the party going all day and into the night. 

4th of July Cake with red and blue Jello topped with frosting, strawberries and blueberries.

4th of July Cake (Patriotic Poke Cake)

5 from 11 votes
This 4th of July Cake is the perfect chilled dessert for your Independence Day celebrations. It is festive and fun with the red, white, and blue colors inside.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Refrigerate 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 15

Video

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

  • 15 ounces white cake mix (unprepared)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 ounces raspberry Jell-O gelatin or any red color flavor
  • 3 ounces berry blue Jell-O gelatin or any blue color flavor

Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sugar (white, granulated)
  • 12 ounces cold whipped topping (cool whip)

Topping Options

  • Fruit raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
  • Sprinkles red, white, and blue

Instructions

For the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake ingredients and mix for 2 minutes by hand or with a mixer. Follow baking instructions on the box for a 9×13 pan.
    Mixing bowl of cake batter for 4th of July Cake.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
    Baked cake in a baking dish for 4th of July Cake.
  • While cake is cooling, mix together the first jello package with 1 cup boiling water, then stir in ½ cup cold water. The Jell-O mixture needs to remain in liquid form for dispensing, so don't refrigerate before adding to cake. Make a bunch of holes in the cake using the handle end of a butter knife.
    Mixing grape and berry blue Jello in a bowl for 4th of July Cake.
  • Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a butter knife to poke holes in the cooled cake.
    Holes in a baked cake for 4th of July Cake. Butter knife on the side.
  • Using a child's medicine dispenser, add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the Jello into every other hole.
    Injecting red Jello into a cake for 4th of July Cake.
  • When finished, repeat steps with the second color of Jell-O. Cover cake and refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 1 hour).
    Unfrosted 4th of July Cake with jello in the holes.

For the Frosting:

  • Using a hand mixer, thoroughly blend the frosting ingredients.
    Mixing bowl with cream cheese and Cool Whip frosting for 4th of July Cake.
  • Once the cake is cold, spread the frosting evenly over the cake.
    Frosting 4th of July Cake with a spatula.
  • If topping with fruit, wash and dry fruit well. Slice strawberries.
    Slicing strawberries and a bowl of blueberries for decorating 4th of July Cake.
  • Just before serving, top with fruit or sprinkles.
    Placing a sliced strawberry on top of 4th of July Cake.

Notes

To make this cake in advance:

  • Prepare and bake the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to a day ahead.
  • Prepare the frosting. Keep it in a covered bowl in the fridge.
  • Just before serving, stir the frosting well, then frost the cake. Add toppings and serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 367kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 333mgPotassium: 95mgFiber: 1gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 340IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 116mgIron: 1.2mg

Love this recipe?

We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.

Rate and Review



Share This With the World

PinYummly

About the author

Emily Walker

Emily lives in Meridian, Idaho, with her husband, Beau, a physician assistant, and her three incredible children: a son and two daughters. Travel is one of her favorite ways to experience new cultures and cuisines, and she has a love for all things Disney.

More about Emily Walker
5 from 11 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

How many stars would you give this recipe?




Comments

  1. Hi,
    I was just curious, is it 12 ounces of cool whip or just one tub? My tub is 8 ounce.

    Thanks,

    Katie

    1. You can probably use either but we used granulated white sugar for this recipe, hope this helps!

      1. I haven’t tried it that way, but I bet it would work! Let me know how it goes if you try it!

  2. Was following the recipe which calls for 3 eggs welllll it’s egg whites only. I should have realized but after an extremely long day I didn’t. Also I looked at other recipes for what type of sugar, I’m going with white. Who knows. Recipe really needs to be edited

    1. If the box mix that you are using says “egg whites only” you will just want to use egg whites. If it doesn’t specify on the box you can just use the whole egg (which is what we did with the original recipe). It is also white granulated sugar. Hope this helps!

  3. 5 stars
    Poke cakes are seriously my favorite! They are perfect during summer & always such a crowd pleaser. I love the colors in this! And, I usually just add cool whip on top, but this topping sounds great! I will have to add that on top next time.

  4. I didn’t see where you add the sour cream! I believe it goes in the frosting but the recipe doesn’t say!

    1. The sour cream is added to the cake mix with the water, vegetable oil, and eggs. It makes the cake extra moist. Thanks for asking!

  5. 5 stars
    Delicious! Instead of making a sheet cake I decided to make cupcakes and the results were awesome. Everyone enjoyed them for the 4th of July gathering. Thank you .

      1. Can you use a vanilla cake mix and if so do I still use the ingredients for the white cake mix? Thanks!