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Home » Recipes » Cakes and Cupcakes

July 4th Sheet Cake

Published: Jun 29, 2020 · Modified: Aug 11, 2020 by Lexi

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This vegan vanilla sheet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting is perfect for a patriotic July 4th dessert! Topped with homemade red, white and blue vegan meringues, it's a real showstopper.

overhead of vegan US flag cake

Components

Vanilla cake (vegan & gluten free)

The vegan and gluten free vanilla cake is a relatively basic recipe. We bake ours in a 9x13 cake pan for the perfect flag shape.

Vanilla buttercream frosting

Vegan buttercream frosting couldn't be any easier to make. Let your vegan butter soften at room temperature, then cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar until the frosting is stiff and creamy. Add in vanilla and nut milk if needed for texture. That's it!

close up of slice of vegan flag cake

If it's particularly hot in your kitchen, store the buttercream in your fridge until you're ready to use it.

Set aside about ½ cup of frosting for piping stars on the flag.

Vegan meringues

To make the perfect vegan meringues to top this cake, check out this tutorial.

overhead view of vegan meringues

The only step that differs is adding food coloring to make them red, white and blue. Divide the finished vegan meringue into three bowls. Keep one third white, and add red and blue to the others.

Gel food coloring works best. We tried a few different natural options, but none of them worked well (and tended to deflate the meringues).

Pipe the red and white meringue into larger stars or circles onto 1-2 baking sheets.

Use a smaller, star-shaped tip for the blue meringues. These won't bake for quite as long, so place them on a separate baking sheet.

Once the meringues are finished, be sure to store them in the refrigerator until you decorate the cake. They tend to get pretty sticky at room temp and can be difficult to work with if not refrigerated.

overhead view of vegan meringues

Assembly

Let the sheet cake cool completely before frosting. I use an angled spatula to evenly spread the frosting.

Then, start by arranging the blue meringues in a rectangle or square in the top left corner of the cake. We're not going for historical accuracy here; as long as it somewhat resembles the American flag, we're good to go.

Then, arrange the red and white meringues in rows. You should get anywhere between 5-7 rows, depending on how big your meringues are.

Finally, use your leftover buttercream to pipe small stars between the blue meringues. So patriotic!

overhead view of slices of vegan flag cake for july 4th

Substitutions

If you don't feel like going through the trouble of making vegan meringues, we suggest substituting with buttercream stars instead.

To do so, make a double batch of vanilla buttercream and divide into three. Leave one bowl white, add red food coloring to one and blue to the other.

If you'd prefer to use natural food coloring, beet powder works for red. Blue butterfly pea powder is great for a vibrant blue. Just don't add too much or it will change the flavor.

If you'd prefer to make a different cake base, try chocolate cake, funfetti cake or lemon almond cake instead!

overhead view of slices of vegan flag cake for july 4th

Storage

Meringues tend to get pretty sticky at room temperature (especially in humidity), so we suggest waiting to decorate until just before serving. Or, decorate the cake with the meringues, then store the entire cake (covered) in the fridge until serving.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

More recipes for your vegan July 4th menu:

  • Red, White & Blue Sangria
  • 4 Berry Pie Bars
  • Berry Yogurt Popsicles
  • Macaroni Salad
  • Grilled Cauliflower Steaks
  • Grilled BBQ Tofu Kebabs
  • Crostini with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
overhead view of vegan flag cake with meringues

If you make this vegan July 4th sheet cake, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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July 4th Sheet Cake


  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 12 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This vegan vanilla sheet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting is perfect for a patriotic July 4th dessert! Topped with homemade red, white and blue vegan meringues, it's a real showstopper. 


Ingredients

Scale

Cake:

  • ½ cup vegan butter, softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract 
  • ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup vegan creamer or nut milk
  • 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

Frosting:

  • 1 cup vegan butter, softened at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (more if needed for texture)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Optional: 2-3 tablespoon almond or coconut milk if needed

Meringues:

  • Follow these instructions
  • Red and blue food coloring

Instructions

Cake:

  1. Set out butter, applesauce, creamer, and lemon for 30 minutes to warm to room temperature. 
  2. Preheat oven to 335˚F. Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together gluten free flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Cream butter with an electric mixture until light and fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
  5. Add in a quarter of the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. Add another quarter of the flour, then add the applesauce and mix until well combined. Add in remaining flour in two batches.
  6. Add in the lemon juice and creamer/milk and mix just until the batter comes together.
  7. Pour into cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Frosting:

  1. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Add in vanilla and almond milk if needed to thin it out. 
  2. Set aside about ½ cup of frosting. Use the rest to evenly frost the top of the sheet cake. 

Meringues:

  1. Follow these instructions, but before piping, divide the batter into thirds. Color one third red, one third blue and keep the other third white. Pipe the red and white stars into the same-sized shape. Pipe the blue meringues into smaller stars. 
  2. To assemble the cake, start by arranging the blue meringues in a rectangle or square in the top left corner of the cake. Then, arrange the red and white meringues in rows. You should get anywhere between 5-7 rows, depending on how big your meringues are.
  3. Finally, use your leftover buttercream to pipe small stars between the blue meringues. Store in refrigerator until serving.

Notes

If you don't want to make the meringues, make a double batch of frosting, divide into thirds, color red white & blue and pipe on top of cake.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 hours
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 542
  • Sugar: 68.1 g
  • Sodium: 433.2 mg
  • Fat: 17.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 6 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 93.8 g
  • Fiber: 3.4 g
  • Protein: 4.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: july 4th sheet cake

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Hi, we're Lexi and Beth, a mother-daughter team from Michigan. The recipes you'll find here are a reflection of how we bring our family together around the dinner table despite various dietary differences.

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