Fourth of July Cake You’ll Love!
This chiffon cake so dreamy!
Happy Fourth of July everyone!
When I think about the Fourth of July, for me, it’s not fireworks and sparklers. It’s the smell of freshly cut grass. Odd, right? Let me explain! My birthday is July 1, and when I was young, my parents would throw my party on the Fourth of July weekend. To prepare for the party, my dad would always mow the grass in our little lawn that he planted from seed. I can remember being about six years old, in my nicely ironed party dress, pressing my head against the front screen door, and watching my dad cut the lawn before everyone arrived. There’s something about the combination of freshly cut grass and a cake cooling in the kitchen that always makes me think of the Fourth of July.
Things are pretty similar to the Fourth of July holidays of yesteryear. There are birthday celebrations and delicious cakes, and I still love a party dress! Now, however, it's usually one of my boys out there mowing our lawn.
One tradition I’ve added along the way is decorating the house with festive flags. I love putting them up in each of our windows…even if the only neighbors that will actually see these festive flags are the cows that wander by, it’s always worth the trouble! I end up keeping them on our windows well past July 4th because they feel so full of summer to me.
We’ve also enjoyed being part of the parade that happens in our local town. We get together with friends who hook up their flatbed trailer to the truck, fill it with hay bales, and decorate it with flags. It has become one of my favorite new traditions. After the parade, we all head down to the beach for a salty dip or home for a fun family BBQ.
If friends are popping over for a Fourth of July BBQ, I try to keep decorating and hosting simple by using items I already have in the house. I love using handkerchiefs as napkins and mason jars as cups, and my tin blue plates are so easy to stack and wash. But the only decoration I really need? A freshly cut lawn. 🙂
CHIFFON CAKE WITH BERRIES & WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING!
Since berries are at their peak, I love making any and all desserts with berries this time of year. (Check out my Strawberry Rhubarb Galette from my last post. Yum.) To me, this cake screams summer! It's light, it's airy, and you can cover it with all the best summer berries. It’s the perfect cake to bring for a barbecue, make as a birthday cake for a loved one, or enjoy with your family after a weekend meal.
I don’t usually make a lot of sheet cakes, but I think this is going to become my new summer tradition! It feeds so many, transports easily, and is filled with all the berries you love. I used blueberries and strawberries to lean into the red, white, and blue Fourth of July flair, but I think blackberries, raspberries, or boysenberries would be delicious too.
This is a cake that you can make well ahead of time, which is so helpful for me when I’m planning out meals, big or small. Many times, I make the cakes a day in advance, ice it with the whipped cream frosting and store in the fridge over night. I then top the cake with berries right before the event. Just be sure to leave the cake in a cool spot and enjoy!
Active time: 30 mins
Total time: 2 hours (including cooling time of cakes)
Serves: 20-25 guests
INGREDIENTS:
🍰 CAKE:
2 cups of cake flour
6 large egg yolks
6 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup of vegetable oil
¾ cup cold water
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of soft butter for greasing the pans
🍓 STRAWBERRY FILLING:
1 cup of strawberries, hulled and cut lengthwise
¼ cup of granulated sugar
😋 WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING:
6 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 ½ cup of granulated sugar
4 oz of cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 325° and prep your two baking sheets (greased with parchment paper).
2. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
3. In a large bowl, sift in the flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together egg yolks, water, vegetable oil, and vanilla and add it to the flour bowl and mix well.
5. In a bowl or stand mixer, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar. Once they begin to be fluffy and light, slowly add the last ½ cup of sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites hold their peak.
6. Fold egg whites into the batter until well combined.
7. Pour half of the batter onto one baking sheet and the rest of the batter onto the other baking sheet. Use a rubber spatula to carefully smooth the cake batter into a rectangle, about 15 inches x 11 inches. The batter will be thin, but make sure it is as even as possible.
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cake becomes a light golden brown.
9. Let cool for 5 minutes and then flip the cake onto another parchment paper and pull off the baking sheet parchment paper. Let cool completely.
10. While the cake cools, make the strawberry filling and whipped cream frosting.
WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING and STRAWBERRY FILLING:
1. Cut 1 cup of strawberries in half lengthwise and mix in a bowl with ¼ cup of sugar. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, begin to mix the cream cheese with ½ of a cup of sugar and vanilla. When the cream cheese becomes smooth, add the whipping cream then add the rest of the sugar slowly. Once the whipped cream begins to be airy, add the rest of the sugar slowly. Whip until it holds strong peaks!
CAKE ASSEMBLY:
1. Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate. Cover top with some of the whipping cream, then place sugared strawberries in the cream. Add a bit more whipping cream and add the second layer to the cake.
2. Using a rubber spatula, cover the entire top and sides of the cake with the rest of the whipped cream frosting. This does not need to be smooth. It should feel light and airy. Place your berries of choice (I used cut strawberries) over the cake for decoration. Keep in a cool place or refrigerator until ready to serve.
TOOLS I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
P.S. for the baking nerds, like me: What makes a chiffon cake a chiffon cake?
Chiffon cakes are meant to be airy and light. They are in the sponge cake family. They use oil instead of butter, and a chiffon cake also separates the eggs and uses whipped egg whites as well as baking powder to make the cake more fluffy, or leavened, as the chefs say. A chiffon cake is also very similar to an angel food cake, but an angel food cake only uses whipped egg whites, while a chiffon cake also uses the yolks.
Our cats don’t get enough of the spotlight, but they really should, especially Tuffy! I have never met an animal that lives up to his name as much as Tuffy.
Seven years ago, Santa Claus brought Tuffy and his sister Smokey. It was one of my most magical Christmas memories. Our boys, Jack and Hank, had just finished opening their gifts, but there was one more special box hiding behind the Christmas tree. The boys opened it up carefully, and out popped two kittens! Jack and Hank were shocked and elated. The other toys were forgotten, and the rest of the day was spent cuddling with the kittens!
As the cats became part of the family, a funny rivalry happened with our dogs. Tuffy has ruled the roost from the beginning, scaring off all the dogs whenever he’s nearby. When he comes around the corner, Captain, Gertie, and the rest of the crew quickly run away. He’s a true lion king, and he knows it!
Over the years, the cats really loved being outside and transitioned themselves into full-time outdoor cats. They spend their days hunting, napping, and sunning themselves on the back porch. Smokey does not wander off too far, but Tuffy is tough! Tuffy will disappear for weeks, with us often making the awful conclusion that he’s not coming back, but each time, he shows up like no time has passed. He wants to be fed, pops into the house, and lays out for a nap in the sun. Just last night, I nervously said to Austin, “I haven't seen Tuffy in weeks. Maybe he is not coming back?” Then, like clockwork, he jumped on our back porch this morning and purred at the door, waiting to be let in. Welcome home, Tuffy, welcome home.
See you next week!
xo, Elizabeth
so festive!!
Tuffy looks like Smutt Mutt .. He is the BOSS inside the house and out. And he is definitely my baby even though he’s 8 now. I call him out cat food model he’s so handsome.