Have fun with your kids in the kitchen by creating a fun cake for Independence Day. This Firecracker Cake recipe is a festive dessert for the 4th of July and a super way to get the children involved.
My children are always begging to help me when I am cooking in the kitchen, and most of the time, I am just trying to get the job done. But, every once in a while, you have to give in and be a fun mom.
Before you think it, I will say it… this recipe requires the dreaded ingredient “food coloring” but if you are only making it once a year and the Firecracker Cake gives you the opportunity to have a fabulous time with your kids in the kitchen, is it worth it? You can decide for yourself.
How to make a Firecracker Cake
To make this cake, you will need:
- ingredients for your favorite white cake
- ingredients for your favorite white icing
- red and blue food coloring
- colored sprinkles or Pop Rocks candy
- sparklers, optional
Step One – Cake
Mix your favorite white cake and divide it equally into three portions. Add red food coloring to one portion and blue food coloring to another.
Allow the children to fill a bundt pan with the batter using large scoops, creating a layer of white, the red, and finally blue. Expect a mess, but keep smiling. You are creating HAPPY memories.
Bake the cake according to your recipe’s directions and allow it to cool completely.
Step Two – Icing
Meanwhile, prepare your white icing and divide it into three portions. Add food coloring (I use Wilton Gel Colors) to make one portion red and another blue, allowing one portion to remain white.
Place the icing into zip-top freezer bags. Do not use sandwich bags unless you really want a bigger mess when the side pops open. You need the thick plastic of the freezer bags to allow the children to squeeze without having an icing explosion.
As you work with the icing, you should notice that it becomes a little more loose in texture which will make it easier to squirt onto the cake. If the icing does not reach a consistency than can be squeezed from the bag, just lash and work with the bag until the heat of your hands brings the icing to a consistency that will work.
Twist the plastic bag and snip a small corner off the bag. Allow the children to squeeze the bag over the cake.
Step Three – Decorate
Once all three bags of icing have been squeezed over the cake, use a spreader to smooth between the colors but do not overwork the icing as that will cause the colors to blend.
Finally, have the children drop sprinkles over the entire cake. Keep smiling. In a child’s mind, there is no such thing as “too many sprinkles.”
If you want to make the cake extra-special, you can insert sparklers like candles and light them before serving.
Even though it may just be 1 day out of the year, for our family it’s just not worth it. Our daughter has severe emotional/neurological reactions to Red #40 and Blue #1. Different children show different problems from artificial food dyes. Most people seem to think it’s just hyper-activity, but I think any odd behavior or strong mood swings are suspect.
I recommend trying one of these alternatives instead of the red food dye: beet juice, red beet powder, pomegranate juice. For the blue dye you can try one of these:
Blue #1 – Take 1/2 head chopped red cabbage and simmer in 1 cup of water. Simmer the cabbage and water in a covered enamel or glass pan until the cabbage turns dark green and is just tender. Strain the juice, which will be blue.
Blue #2 – 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or canned. For a darker shade of blue, cover the fresh blueberries with water and simmer for 30 minutes. Mash the berries and strain the juice. If using canned blueberries, strain the juice.
There are candy sprinkles available online that contain no artificial food dyes, however they are VERY expensive. I’ve been buying the frozen diced strawberries and peaches to decorate cakes/cupcakes with, but this time of year fresh blueberries on top would be great too. 🙂
That is AWESOME information, Sharon! You need to write it up as a guest post for me.
Thanks for posting this cute idea! Made it today with my 2 year old and we had so much fun together 🙂
That brought a tear to my eyes, Jackie! I am so happy that you made a wonderful memory!